the mountain within

Well our editor may have been the only member of the film crew to escape illness on the mountain, but she nevertheless managed to dislocate her arm in the somewhat less challenging environment of London. Despite this, the edit remains on schedule and the first assembly (aka rough cut) was completed last week to much acclaim from the lucky few who attended the screening. Even at this early stage, the emotional journey of all of the climbers captures our imagination, as does the strength of the friendships that support them through the daily ups and downs, from the disappointment of those who cannot continue to the relief of those who finally reach the top after the gruelling overnight hike to the summit. And the sometimes soulful, sometimes jubilant, but always uplifting songs of the porters flow through the story, building up to the finale at the park gate and the true joy and amazing sense of team spirit in that moment. Having such fantastic material to work with, with great excitement our director and editor are now turning the first assembly into the second cut.

What an amazing achievement. Seven of the climbers and their buddies made it to the summit (all 19,340ft - 5895m - of it) on Sunday morning: Alex, James S, James B, Morgan, Luke, Bryan and Susie. Dr Chris and Laura (one of our altitude specialists), and Hans and Herta von Stiegel, joined them, as did all of the film crew. The film crew all succumbed to narcolepsy - one of the symptoms of altitude sickness - during this final push, providing many comedy moments for the rest of the team. A notable one, which has us all laughing still, was our producer Gregory falling asleep (and over) whilst filming! The climb leader, John, then took the camera from him and filmed him asleep… Watch out for this classic footage coming to the Watch page soon. To say that spirits were high when everyone returned to the hotel on Sunday evening is perhaps the understatement of the century. Despite major fatigue, all managed to find the energy to cause mayhem in a local restaurant and then the bar (true this time!) and celebrate late into the night. On Monday, the team split into two, with most of the climbers and their buddies heading off for a very well-deserved safari, and the rest - plus the film, medical and expedition teams - returning home. Inexplicably, the airport officials seem delighted to wave us off….

Heartfelt congratulations to all of the climbers and to everyone else involved in this project, not least all of the family and friends who have kept spirits high with their wonderful messages of support.

Blogs will now become more intermittent, but do please keep an eye on the Watch page as well as www.youtube.com/themountainwithin for new footage.

The mountain weaves its magic in many ways. A more unexpected one is the morphing of buddy groups into entirely different characters. Herald the arrival of the Yatu family, headed by Mama Yatu (Pauline, Mama Yatu means everyone’s mother in Swahili), Horatio (Michael) and Piglet (Jamie). Jamie tells me that in the usual way his temporary parents spent most of the climb bickering, which he responded to by (i) oinking (he has perfected this over that last few days), (ii) begging Frank his guide to sing to drown it out, and/or (iii) running away. During one such flight for a comfort break, he found a monkey watching him suspiciously… There has been a huge amount of laughter on the mountain, occasionally bordering on the hysterical but always therapeutic, and much singing too. The atmosphere up there is amazing, indeed one of the climb leaders says that it is the best expedition he has ever taken part in. That atmosphere continues back at base where those who have had to descend are entertaining each other with jokes and stories, as well as willing their team mates to make it to the top.

Well everyone was so desperate for some real news from the mountain that Liz kindly volunteered to come down and regale us all with the story so far! Actually Liz was the first victim of mild altitude sickness. She is exhausted but fine although her porters came off worse; the descent was an ongoing battle of wills about whether she would walk or be carried! Liz’s highlights have been the amazing teamwork on the mountain - everyone pulls you in and supports you - and the sense of achievement and wonder when you pause for breath and look back and see how far you’ve come. She describes the mountain as a child, very very trying a lot of the time, but occasionally it rewards you with something really special which makes it all worthwhile, and sometimes it just needs a hug! Two particular lowlights were our producer’s snoring (our cinematographer demanded to move tents and Laura - one of our doctors - has started a roaring trade in ear plugs!) and the longdrop (toilet) - not a smell Liz ever wishes to encounter again… Sadly no wildlife to report, except for vultures circling in a Hitchcock fashion whenever food appeared. And a monkey that was in fact a chicken!

We are all immeasurably proud of Liz and what she has achieved.

Sunday’s preparation serves us well. Everyone is up and ready to go before 10:00. Spirits are very high indeed and it is evident to all that the team bonds and trust have become rock solid (forgive the pun). Roles become blurred as everyone mucks in and helps everyone else. It is amazing to observe. Several jaws went south when John told us on Sunday that the full team on the mountain would total over 200. Now there is the added excitement of meeting this army of helpers and becoming part of an expanded team. All good, as our director would say (an expression we’ve all now adopted to cover every scenario!). The first part of the climb is fantastic, a veritable array of new sights and sounds. Everyone reaches the first camp safely and in even higher spirits than before. We are all bowled over by the messages of support received from family and friends which are sent by text to our producer to read out. It is fantastic to know that they are with us in spirit. Please keep them coming (by email or via Facebook; details are on the contacts page); edited highlights will be included in future blogs.