Hot from Berghaus, here's the latest on Alan Hinkes' attempt on
Annapurna, summit number 12 in his quest to become the first Brit to
summit all 14 8,000-metre peaks:
'Speaking by satellite telephone from Kathmandu, Alan Hinkes has
given Berghaus a progress report on his expedition to Annapurna.
Alan has been finalising the logistics of his expedition since
arriving in Kathmandu, and that organisation has taken considerable
time and effort. At the time of his call, he was preparing to fly
the following day to Pokhara, from where a two hour drive was due to
take him to the start of his trek to base camp.
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Alan Hinkes at the recent
Outdoors
Show where he announced his
Annapurna bid
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'The trek in will take Alan about seven to eight days and is one of
some variety. For two or three days it will be a fairly standard
Himalayan trek, but this is followed by about four tough days in the
wilderness as Alan makes his way to the remote base camp on the north
side of Annapurna, where he is hoping to meet up with an Indian
expedition to the same mountain. He will then set up camp and start
the full acclimatisation process, prior to his attempt on the north
face of this 8,000m giant.
'Alan does not know the exact conditions on Annapurna at the
moment, but has heard reports of late snow on the mountain. He is
fit, well and feeling very positive about the expedition and is still
planning a summit bid for around the last week in May. While in
Kathmandu, Alan has been enjoying the local cuisine and general
hospitality. On Saturday, he celebrated New Year's Eve with the
Nepalese and is now somewhat ahead of us in time, as it is now the
year 2059 out there.
Look out for further reports on Alan's progress on the Berghaus
website www.berghaus.com
and, of course, on OM in the coming weeks. Oh, a quick tip, there's a
new caption competition on the Berghaus site, so if you're feeling
witty, get stuck in.
For more information on Alan Hinkes, see this
profile.
