My love affair with Nepal, Tibet & The Himalaya started when I first read Chris Bonnington’s account of the 1975 expedition to Everest in his book, Everest: The Hard Way. I found it on my parent’s book shelf and for some reason it piqued my curiosity so I picked it up and started reading. I was hooked instantly and from then on I devoured books by the likes of Maurice Herzog, Doug Scott, Dougal Haston and Peter Boardman. I am pretty sure at that point I wanted to be a mountaineer; I was twelve years old.
While at Trinity School in Croydon I also had the chance to listen to legendary explorer Mike Stroud, a former pupil, talk about his unsupported crossing of the Antarctic continent, which he had undertaken in 1992/1993 with none other than Ranulph Fiennes. This was a spectacular feat of endurance in one of the most inhospitable and inaccessible places on the planet. I remember thinking that really Mike was no different from me and that there was nothing stopping me doing this kind of thing; I was fifteen. I was also lucky in that the school was blessed with staff, like Mike Alexander, Dick Bouacious and Mel Thompson, who actively encouraged outdoor pursuits and were happy to take expedition groups to the Cairngorms in the Scottish winter, or canoe around the Algonquin in Canada.
It is little wonder then that I spent most of my school years dreaming of exploring far off places rather than listening to my teachers and this was undoubtedly reflected in the piss poor grades I “achieved”. At University this continued as I, for most of the three years, spent my weekends on Dartmoor or in the mountains of South Wales. To be fair I wouldn’t change the experiences or the people I shared them with for a better level of degree. It is also nice to see a few of my companions on those trips have gone on to explore the great outdoors either in the military or, as in the case of Ben Fogle, done rather well with it on TV. I also seem to remember Ben being rather handy on a rugby pitch so Ben, if you’re reading this; do you fancy another trip to Everest? If so don’t forget your boots!
Life has a knack for getting in the way at times and after a succession of pretty serious injuries between 1998 and 2003 I gave up on playing rugby, climbing and walking. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t intended as a sob story. Perspective, if needed, is readily available in the lives and challenges of the incredible kids that Wooden Spoon work so hard to help. What I went through in terms of personal disappointments in those years are only meant to explain my journey and give context to where I have been and where I am intending to go. If anything they are a reminder that sometimes dreams are realised when you least expect and for reasons you would not have thought of previously.
In 2007 my focus swung from walking and climbing back to rugby, specifically the short seven-a-side version with Samurai RFC and then later the Nigerian national team. It is amazing how a focus on one thing can result in you neglecting other things in your life and with the exception of a Three Peaks trip in 2009 I haven’t set foot on a mountain or moor since 2003. I am very much looking forward to getting to Tibet and seeing the Himalaya for the first time. I won’t be doing any climbing or mountaineering and wouldn’t pretend otherwise. All I am going to be doing is putting one foot in front of the other and repeating as necessary, albeit between 5200 and 6600m above sea level.
Today I am 41 years. Yeah, I know, it looks like it was a tough paper round! The last six months, since I agreed to join the LMAX Exchange Everest Rugby Challenge, have been both incredibly difficult and immensely rewarding. I have somehow rekindled a love of being in the mountains. This is a very pleasant side effect of getting ready for the expedition and to be honest is not something I expected to happen. After so many setbacks and injuries in my twenties I just wrote off this kind of thing partly as a practical consideration but also to protect myself from further disappointment.
So twenty years after I smashed up my knees playing rugby and rock climbing (or more specifically falling off rocks) I am back doing something I love. I started this journey not really knowing why and, although that realisation still escapes me, I am feeling like the answers I seek may soon present themselves. That in itself is not a bad birthday present and possibly the most unexpected one yet.
Deano's World 