Thurs 5^th April 2012 Phortse to Pheriche 4240m

A big travel day today. Time estimate is 5 to 9 hours. I decide to tag along with the WWTW nutters. They are always the fastest and as ITV are making a 90 min documentary of the trip and we have two photographers from Associated Press following them as well there is always the slim chance of getting on telly or in the papers.

There are two guys doing the documentary, Alexis and Petter. Alexis is a veteran of many North and South Pole trips but has not been higher than about 4,500m. Petter is Norwegian and has already scaled Everest previously. They have a porter who literally sprints past us from time to time with a heavy tripod as they organise themselves for the various shots along the route.

For me it’s a constant dilemma. Do I hang back to let them get the shot of the WWTW guys all walking together, or, in pursuit of my own fame do I get in amongst them? By timing my run when I see the cameras set up ahead,  I can elegantly and seamlessly position myself in amongst them, feigning my most wistful look, trying to look the least out of breath, with chest puffed out and stomach tucked in, maybe I can’t resist one big cheesy look into the camera as I glide past. Fame will surely beckon ?

Or

‘Who is that middle aged weirdo doing a Rowan Atkinson impression?’

I fear I will have to remain anonymous!

So we reach the first stop in 2 hours and it should have taken three. We then hit the lunch stop in a further hour. We are early and have to wait an hour.

The scenery is quite similar to yesterday, stunning!

Oops I have just realised yesterdays post was wrong, it was today when we captured a glimpse of Everest and Lhotse. Will insert the photo once I get to base camp.

After lunch we have a simple hours hike to Pheriche during which I walk with Wisey.

We chat about the charity and he tells me about how he got injured. He was specifically targeted and took a round through his left lung. Immediately he knew it was bad. In fact it was so bad and he was in so much pain that at one point the medic thought he was almost certainly going to die and offered to make his end as peaceful as possible. Wisey, greedy for more beers and laughs politely declined.

When they got him onto the helicopter his heart stopped beating twice and they had to resuscitate him. During the flight his lungs were so full of blood they had to perform an emergency procedure on him, without anaesthetic, which entailed making a number of incisions, through his broken ribs in order to suck out the blood from in and around his damaged lungs. Much as you would siphon out petrol. He was fully conscious throughout and said the pain was excruciating.

He remembers almost slipping off twice, but it was the thought of his wife, his child and his unborn child which gave him the strength to fight on.

I am glad I am wearing sunglasses as the emotion and tears well up in my eyes. All thoughts of this young man’s experiences render everything else unimportant at that moment in time.

(I can’t keep crying during this bloody blog..... I used to be a Royal Marine!)

Once in the hospital he was still conscious and was put on Ketamin, which while safer than Morphine, has major hallucinogenic properties. So much so that the memories of those awful dreams still haunts him. Once on the operating table they thought his chances were poor. He pulled through though, was in intensive care for over a week and the bullet is still lodged in his lung to this day.

He tells me about how having seen a number of his comrades killed or badly injured leading up to the day he got shot and also remembers chatting with his commanding officer some weeks beforehand admitting he didn’t think he would come through the tour unscathed. He was mildly shocked when his CO said he had come to the same conclusion some weeks ago himself.

The conversation reminds me of why I justified doing this selfish thing of attempting to climb the world’s tallest mountain.

Some two years ago I set out trying to sponsor the first injured Royal Marine to the top of Everest  Unfortunately the Navy doctors, who make all the medical decisions decided that it was their job to make the injured better rather than worse, blocked the proposal, thus ignoring the insoirational effect such an expedition would provide the injured. The Army decided differently and WWTW completed a very successful expedition to the North Pole last year which gave them the green light for ths years Everst Expedition.

I was able to help WWTW by introducing them to Russel Brice and have committed to a secondary aim of  raising money for charities that care for the injured and the bereaved, The Pyal Marine Benevolent Fund, but even more so to begin to raise awareness of the shortcomings in the aid and assistance given to those affected by the state.

These brave young men don’t really have a complete understanding of the risks they take and whilst they accept their injuries and meagre compensation packages with a stoicism that is difficult for me to understand that doesn’t mean to say it is fair or does not need correcting.

We arrive at Pheriche. It has good accommodation and a decent hot shower, an orderly queue is formed!