27-03-2012 - Ready?

It’s been 4 days since I finished work and said goodbye to everybody.

In this time, I’ve managed to start thinking about getting ready for the expedition.

Packing:

As I left some of my kit in Kathmandu, I’m hoping to be under the maximum weight that Jet Airways will allow me to take, I.e 32Kg.

Also, this time around, I have a much better idea on what to take.

Obviously, the usual spring to mid, warm clothes and technical kit.

I always struggle on how much clothes to take, but based on my Manaslu experience, I’m going “light”, with only 2 sets of clothes really, so that I can wear one while the other one is drying. Pants and socks are not in that category, and I’m taking more than 2 sets, as you’re asking.

Apart from those obvious, there other things that I have learnt from my time on Manaslu.

For example, I’m taking 3 Sudoku books, about 40Gb of videos and 8Gb of music (and a book). There is just so much time spent in the tent, and although I was sleeping quite a bit, time did get quite long on the rest days, or while waiting for the weather to improve. So this time, I’m ready, thanks to my sister who organised all those videos (even if she didn’t always agree with my taste).

Once you’ve got video and music, the last thing you need is food, of course. Although the food quality and diversity with Himex is excellent, I’ve found last time that I was missing salty snacks, so this time, I’ve also packed almost 500gr of peanuts. They’re full of calories too, so that’s just what I need. If I get a chance, I might even get some more from Kathmandu.

I’ve also packed my favorite soups and tea, for those cold evenings.

Training:

The weather’s bee absolutely stunning over the last 4 days, blue skies and sun shining, but not silly hot …. perfect weather for running.

With my ankle now back to almost normal, it would be a shame not to. So I’ve managed 10 miles a day for the last 4 days, which is a level of running I haven’t been up to for at least 6 months. On top of that, it also looks like the hill walking with the heavy pack has given strength to my legs as they’re not struggling as much as before.

All this is very good news, after all, maybe I’m not in too bad shape to attempt that trip.

Eating:

Finally, while saying goodbye to some of the guys at work, I remembered that coming back down from the summit of Manaslu, as I fell asleep at Base Camp, I was already drawing a long list of food I was going to go through as soon as I returned to civilization.

As I share this with other people form the group, they also admitted having similar thoughts.

So to preempt this, since Friday, I’ve been eating my most favorite food. Indian on Saturday, Chinese on Sunday, Thai with Rich and Ashley on Monday and finally tonight, Pizza!

I feel fat and stuffed, but hopefully the memories will last.

Talking about being fat, I’ve done a check on the scales: 77Kg, 15% fat and 62% water.

I hadn’t lost any weight on Manaslu, just replaced muscle with fat, lets hope it’s a similar story this time too, I’d rather keep the same weight and have some energy for the main climb rather than loosing weight, as on the mountain, this is bad news.