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Final days
We slept soundly that night and the following morning made
our way to Camp 2. We spent a night there and reached
Base Camp on May 20th. Dawa, Adrian and Sheila were at
the bottom of the ice fall to greet us with bottles of
coke - wha
t a welcome treat! Back at Base Camp, Dawa
had once again put together a real feast for us and we
partied late into the night with the many friends we
had made during our expedition.
The following morning a group of Irish trekkers marched across
Base Camp with the tricolour high in the air. It was great
to get such a cheer from part of our support team and we
spent a couple of hours chatting with them. As they turned
to leave, it suddenly hit me that it was all over. Tomorrow
we would be packing up and heading down the valley. I felt
a twinge of sadness and looked around at our sherpas. I would
miss them all a lot, I would miss heading out climbing everyday
and I would miss our camp.
Now that I've done Everest, I need to start making plans
for my next goal. I can't wait to get started with my next
project; I'm not sure yet what that will be, but I know Pat
and Clare have loads of exciting plans so keep in touch with
the website (www.patfalvey.com) and I'll let you know what
my next adventure is very soon.
Yours, Freddy - First Irish Bear to
summit Mt Everest!!
Freddy celebrates at Base Camp
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May 18
Hi Kids,
Suddenly it was 8pm and everyone began to shuffle at the
same time. We pulled on our down suits, sorted our oxygen
and tied up our boots. I was out of breath after that much
exertion and wondered how I would cope with climbing. It
was cold outside, I shivered violently and my fur stood on
end. I glanced at the time, it was 9pm. My heart thumped;
we were ready to go for it.
We left Camp 4, crossing towards the ice bowl. We began the
slow upward plod, right foot, left foot, right foot, left
foot, puff, puff, puff. We were moving at a pace of only
12 steps a minute; every few minutes we would stop to catch
our breath and every hour or so we would sit down for 2-3
minutes rest. It was too cold to sit for longer although
my body screamed out for a break. We climbed one behind the
other, Lama, Pemba, Clare, me, Pat, Nang Chombi, Jangbu and
Lhakpa. I was glad we were staying together, I loved being
with my team and really wanted us all to make the summit
at the same time.
We climbed on and on. By 1am we reached an area called the
Balcony. We sat down for a short break and changed our oxygen
cylinders. We moved further upwards but in the dark it was
hard to tell where exactly we were. I was glad I couldn't
see everything - the huge drops on either side would have
made me feel really nervous.
After several more hours of hard climbing, the sun began
to come up. I gazed in awe at the spectacular colours of
the sky and wished it was like that at home. By 5.30am we
were at the South Summit and I knew this was where Pat had
had the problem with his oxygen last year. I looked back
to see if he was OK and he gave me the thumbs up. I was relieved
and although I was struggling to keep up, was sure I could
make it now.
We continued slowly onwards and came to a difficult rocky
section called the Hillary Step (after Sir Edmund Hillary).
I watched as Clare climbed onto it. Below her was several
thousand feet of fall off. If she fell, that was it. I shuddered
at the thought. I heard the grating sound of her crampon
spikes on the rock as she made her way upwards. I looked
back at Pat; I wanted to be brave, but was terrified. I didn't
think my little legs could manage that climb. Pat gestured
to me to wait and I was really relieved when he said he would
give me a lift over the step.
At the top of the step was a beautiful snow ridge. I carefully
placed my feet in Clare's footsteps and tried not to look
down. After a while she stopped. I looked up to see what
was wrong and gasped in awe. There in the distance was Lama,
sitting facing us, a prayer flag on his right and a beautiful
clear blue sky behind him. There was no more mountain left
- we had done it!! I wanted to run towards him but didn't
have the energy. I continued with Pat and Clare, enjoying
every moment of these last few steps. I felt really excited
but at the same time thought I would burst into tears. We
sat down with Lama and hugged and kissed one another. I couldn't
believe it. WOW!! I looked all around me and could see the
peaks of fantastic mountains poking through the clouds -
mountains like Makalu, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and many more.
It was strange they were so far below us now, yet had seemed
so tall and spectacular from lower down. We took as many
photos as we could. What a proud team we were as we held
our Irish flags high in the air - First Irish Teddy Bear
(ME!!), first Irish female (Clare) and first Irish climber
to summit from both Nepal and Tibet (Pat). Pemba, Lama, Nang
Chombi and Jangbu were there with us and were just as excited
as us - what a buzz!!
We reached the summit at 6.45am and after about 20 incredible
minutes it was time to head down. My heart missed a beat
as I looked at where we had to go! I knew we had to be really
careful because a lot of people get into trouble on the way
down. We were moving as quickly as we could because the weather
was changing and Pemba was concerned.
By 11.30am we were back at Camp 4. We were utterly exhausted,
completely dehydrated and starving. We had been on the move
for 14 hours with nothing to eat or drink, but it was worth
it. Everyone was on a high and as we lay recovering in the
tent, Pat and Clare spoke to radio stations, family and friends
back home telling them of our amazing success. We could hear
and feel their excitement for us and it was brilliant.
Freddy with team on summit
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May 17
Hi kids,
We had a great day today. We got up around 5am and spent
about 90mins getting ready to move. Most of this time, we
were preparing drinks and eating jellies(!). We pulled on
our down suits and Pemba helped me fix up a fresh oxygen
cylinder. We had about 5-7 hours of climbing ahead of us
and I hoped I'd manage OK. I felt a bit nervous about the
oxygen because the mask was so big on my face, I couldn't
even see where my feet were going!
Once again Clare was ahead, but today she said she felt much
better and seemed much stronger. The 3 of us climbed together
in beautiful conditions. As we moved upwards, we passed a
few climbers from other teams. Everyone was wishing each
other good luck or congratulating each other; there was a
great spirit and I felt in great form, enjoying all these
good vibes.
The climb to Camp 4 (the South Col) was tougher and longer
than I remembered. Although the oxygen helped, each time
I had to climb over a rock section I gasped for air. I kept
looking upwards, trying to keep Lama in view. Himself and
Lhakpa had gone ahead to start setting up
our tents.
We finally arrived at 1pm. I took a minute to catch my breath
and drink some warm tea and then began to search for my boot.
(You might remember I lost it last year at this Camp). Pat
told me it would have blown away by now, but I wanted to
be sure, after all they had been my favourite pair. I wandered
around, looking as carefully as I could, until I began to
shiver with the cold and Pat insisted that I come back to
the tent. I came across all sorts of rubbish up there - old
oxygen cylinders, food, shredded tents and poles, gas cylinders
and so on. I was disappointed to see so much rubbish; it
spoils the mountain so much.
We had a bite to eat, called Sheila and Adrian for a weather
forecast and settled down to rest for a few hours before
we would begin our summit bid. The plan was to leave at 9pm.
In a way I couldn't believe the time had come. I tried my
best to close my eyes and relax but it was impossible. There
were 4 of us packed into the tent, each of us lost in our
own world, sucking oxygen, and thinking about home, the climb
and just random thoughts.
Freddy melting snow at Camp 4
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May 16
Hi kids,
We were up at 6am this morning and left Camp 2 around 7am;
the weather up here is much colder - that's why we leave
later. We walked across the glacier; everyone was in good
form and I hummed to myself as I walked along. The hard work
started when we reached the Lhotse face and began to climb
up the steep wall of ice. I puffed and panted and pushed
myself as hard as I could. I knew this would be one of the
tougher days and really wanted to give it my best.
As we continued upwards, I climbed between Clare and Pat.
The sun had come out and the temperatures had risen dramatically.
We were now all really hot and sweaty in our layers of warm
clothes. We gasped for drinks; there was no escaping from
the fierce heat as it sapped our energy, draining us completely.
Clare hadn't yet fully recovered and was still moving slowly.
I would have loved to go ahead to get to Camp 3 and try to
hide from the heat, but heard Pat insisting to Clare that
we would stay together. I could see he was suffering in the
heat as much as the rest of us and admired his loyalty. I
remembered what he had told me about the importance of team-work
and knew in my heart that we couldn't leave Clare. I knew
she would do the same for me if I wasn't well.
We reached Camp 3 by lunch time and collapsed into the tent
one after the other. I squealed as Pat landed on my little
paw! The tent was like an oven and the torture of the heat
continued until sunset; we were all dehydrated and exhausted.
Clare had a bad headache and while we tried to eat and drink
as much as possible, she was getting sick out the back of
the tent. She was being brave, but we all wondered how serious
this was and whether she would be able to continue; only
time would tell.
That night we slept on oxygen. It was strange lying in my
sleeping bag with a mask over my mouth and
nose and an orange
cylinder by my side. Once again, I fell asleep with a wave
of excitement and dreamt about what it would be like to make
it. I thought about all the children following my adventures
and how excited they would be too. As I lay there, I crossed
my all my paws, hoping that everything would go well!
Freddy getting used to his oxygen system
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May 14-15
Hi kids,
Boy did I feel nervous this morning! I had tossed and turned
all night thinking about what lay ahead of us and so was
wrecked when Dawa came to call us at 4am. My tummy felt sick
when I looked at breakfast and although I knew we had a hard
day ahead, I could barely eat. We said goodbye to Adrian
and Sheila, who had got up to see us off. It would be at
least a week before we would return to Base Camp and I could
see Sheila's eye's fill with tears as we hugged her and said
goodbye. I knew she was worried about us, but I felt safe
with Pat, Clare and our Sherpas.
We headed for the icefall for the final time and moved up
through it quickly. I did my best to keep up, although I
was really tired. I wanted to climb towards the summit as
much as I could by myself, but my little legs were like jelly
by the time we reached Camp 1. I was really hungry and thirsty
and had to ask Pat and Clare to stop and have a break. I
took a bar of chocolate out of Pat's bag and as I did so,
I caught a glimpse of his tricolour; a wave of excitement
passed over me and I stood up to climb on, filled with a
new energy.
As we carried on towards Camp 2, I noticed that Clare was
getting slower and was having to stop and sit down at times.
She looked unwell and I wondered what was up. I looked back
at Pat, but he had his head down, climbing steadily. We continued
slowly upwards and finally reached Camp 2 and settled down
for the night. Because it had been such a long day and because
Clare wasn't well, we decided to spend a rest day at Camp
2 on the 15th. We kept our fingers crossed that the weather
would hold and that we would all stay healthy for the final
few days before our summit bid. We spent the following day
eating and resting; I kept thinking about what lay ahead.
We talked only about the weather and our climbing plans.
Everyone was excited and in good form, but still there was
tension and anxiety in the air. The phone was constantly
buzzing with messages of good wishes.
Freddy and Clare resting at Camp 2
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