#Snowdon – Deano's World

I am on my way to Everest as we speak but before I get to the mountain I need to thank all the people and companies that made this incredible experience possible. So, without further ado….

Huge thanks to PAYE Stonework for being both an incredibly supportive and incredibly tolerant employer. Family and rugby have always gone hand in glove and the family approach at the company is one of the reasons I genuinely love my day job. From everyone on the the board, my own team and to the guys and gals at the coal face the level of support has been incredible from all of you. I’ll be back in early May to bore you all to tears with stories about “weavils in biscuits” or failing that I’ll be dead on a mountain and you’ll have to find someone with a similar level of idiocy to replace me. If so do not look in my top drawer. Ever.

Much love to Samurai Sportswear and all the gang up in East Anglia for once again helping me with the next chapter in my life. You make the best sports kit out there and definitely have the best people working for you! Thanks for treating me like one of the family and you can never know how much everything you do is most sincerely appreciated

Dhan’yavāda to the Gurkha Kitchen and their incredible staff for allowing me to host a fantastic fundraising dinner in their restaurant and demonstrating once again why the Nepalese people are renowned for their hospitality!

Help is always appreciated but even more so when it is unsolicited. Thanks to John Fisher School, staff and pupils for supporting me by taking on their own Everest challenge and also donating the proceeds from their “mufty” day to my sponsorship page. It never ceases to amaze me how much John Fisher, a state school, does with regards to the game of rugby and I firmly believe they should get a lot more credit than they do given how many players and coaches they help on their journey.

I would also like to thank Huge Events, Built Visible, Formark Scaffolding, Hugh Anthony, Samurai RFC, Old Mid-Whitgiftian RFC, Wooden Spoon (Surrey), The Mercer Restaurant and Andrew Campbell Safaris for everything they did to help get me to hit my fundraising target and to get a fat broken old bugger like me on Everest.

Cheers to Ollie Phillips for realising when I was drunk enough to agree to do this bloody thing in the first place and then backing that up with a huge amount of help and assistance to actually get me on the plane.

Special thanks to Paul Jordan, Matt Mitchell, Miles Hayward, Graham Allen, Tamara Taylor & Paul Watkins for so much positive encouragement in the early stages when I didn’t think I would be able to complete that bloody Fairfield Horseshoe. You guys dropped me back in the bowl when I felt very much like a fish out of water. In a desert. Being hunted by a very hungry Eagle. I cannot wait to smash this on the mountain with you guys!

My gratitude to Hugh McCardy, Adedoyin Layade, Imogene Anglaret, Rob Anglaret, Zinzan Brooke, Purna Gurung, Matt Kember, Terry Sands, Rose Sands, Sarah Atkinson, Andrew Dean, Tom Street, John Inverdale, Chris Robshaw, Damian Hopley, David McCrae, Sirish Gurung, Joe Marler, Lawrence Dallaglio, Bryan Hodges, Adam “Bomb” Jones, Steve Kember, Mark Butcher, Sam Showering, John Pennycuick and Sophie Kidd all of whom donated prizes, time or expertise to my fundraising events and without whom I seriously doubt that I would have hit my sponsorship target.

I would also like to take time to thank all the individuals who sponsored me: Adrian Paye, Anna Paye, Antony Stagg, Mark Macaskill, Emma Aalders, Mark Aalders, Benjamin Aalders, Will Wilson, David Abercrombie, Alex Richardson, Geoff Griffiths, Alexander Dean, Catherine Dean, Christopher Dean, Marion Cross, Andrew Campbell, Rachel Hattersley, Caren Cummings, Tony Cummings, Alex Boyd, Luke Treharne, Scott Wight, Ben Ellan, Stephanie Ellan, Peter Wilby, Tom Cuff-Burnett, Will Matthews, Mark Coote, Rob Cottrell, Martyn Worsley, Dino Fritz, Mike Robinson, The Gouldstones, Faye Almy, Carla Cox, Matt Higgins, Karrie White, Linda Viner, Martin Harvey, Rick Eling, Rod Palmer, Tim Kerr, Rachael Burford, Daniel Alcon, Andrew Burnett, Kate Kirven, Christine Stobbs, Garry Gordon (Sunshine 7s), Paul Christopher, Darran Sly, Monique Tomiczek, Paul Archer, Dylan James, Paul Martin, Dom Peachey, Jon Hopper, The Clabburns, all those who donated very kindly but anonymously and everyone who donated by text.

I’d also like to thank all the rugby legends who took the time to send me good luck messages – the message from the USA 7s gang was truly epic!

Almost there……..thanks to Sarah, Jules, Amber, Matt & Laurie at Wooden Spoon for doing all the leg work to make sure this expedition and challenge took place.

Last and by no means least I genuinely couldn’t have done any of this without the support of my incredible wife. Buffy has put up with all my shit, all my meltdowns away from the public eye and never batted an eyelid when I told her I was off to Everest to play a game of rugby. She is my rock, my sounding board, my motivator and my inspiration who never fails to make me smile. Plus she cries at almost every remotely sad moment in every single film ever made which is unbelievably cute!

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PS: Buffy in answer to your questions: a) yes I did increase my life insurance premium, why? b) no I will definitely not mention our amazing cats Apollo, Athena, Artemis and Achilles in my blog that would just be stupid! c) I used your toothbrush to do it I hope you don’t mind d) 42 e) buried in the garden f) I have no idea where the 5th cat came from and g) why said cat is called Ares.

PPS: If your name or company has not appeared anywhere above and this makes you feel sad then rejoice! You can rectify this immediately by sponsoring me here

It is 2259 and Buffy and I are checking in to the YHA at Pen-y-Pas after a horrendous journey up from London in rush hour traffic and torrential rain. I know that is always the curse of trying to escape the South East for a weekend in the hills but this trip was particularly horrid. As the YHA staff checked us in with minute to spare I nipped outside under the pretense of getting our bags from the car to sneak a look at the valley. The weather had actually cleared somewhat and the moon lit up the start of both the Pyg and Miners track. It seemed to be clearing but as I had never climbed Snowdon in anything better than low cloud and drizzle I decided to check before I jinxed it. Distracted I headed back in and arriving in the room I was too busy checking the weather forecast to stop Buffy snaffling the top bunk. On the plus side that left me closer to the bag containing the Percy Pigs.

As an aside I would highly recommend the YHA at Pen-y-Pas. The staff are friendly, the bar cosy and the rooms perfect for anyone walking in the hills. Plus they are considerably cheaper than anything else in the area even if the car park requires you to take out a second mortgage. It has the added benefit of just walking out the front door and instantly having access to three of the main routes, Pyg, Miners and Crib Goch, to Snowdon which means that you can get on the hill nice and early and therefore make it back in good time for tea and medals in the bar.

The next day was cold and clear with the tops of the surrounding peaks clear in the low early sun. What cloud there was blew through quickly and I was very hopeful of getting a decent view when we got to the top. There was some lingering mist and cloud in the lower valleys which gave some spectacular views as we made our way up the Pyg track.

Despite having been here many times before the significance of climbing Snowdon was not lost on me. A great many of those who had been to the Himalaya and specifically Everest had trained in Snowdonia. Even the YHA bar, Mallory’s, at Pen-y-Pas was named for the legendary climber George Mallory who famously coined the phrase “because it’s there”. Mallory later lost his life on the North Face of Everest either just shy of the summit or, as I hope, shortly after achieving his life’s ambition and climbing the world’s tallest mountain. His body remains on the mountain.

Even with it being late November there were a lot of people on the mountain and there was the usual flow of “traffic” up the mountain. This is always one of the least enjoyable aspects of a day in the mountains for me as I enjoy a certain degree of solitude, or as my wife puts it “I am a misanthropic miserable bastard” which is probably more accurate.

We made good time on the way up the Pyg track and the weather was so good that I regretted not heading up and over Crib Goch. Reaching the ridge I was treated to a spectacular view. I had never seen it even remotely that clear before and as we slowly made our way up to the actual summit we took the time to admire the view down to the coast and back across the whole of Snowdonia. The summit was crowded but we still managed the obligatory summit shots complete with Wooden Spoon bobble hat!

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We decided to head back down the Miners Track and after the steep descent straight down to the valley bottom from the ridge we meandered back around the lakes to Pen-y-Pas and a well earned beer in Mallory’s bar. A good day and it felt like my lungs had started to get some of the their capacity back. I am starting to remember why I loved walking the mountains and I very much want to go back to Snowdonia before my trip to Everest to walk an old favourite route of mine up around Tryfan, Glyder Fach and Glyder Fawr.

Next up though for my preparation is South Wales. Three days in the Brecons and Black Mountains beckons in early January and I look forward to re-visiting Cribyn, Pen-y-Fan and Waun Fach all of which were regular climbs in my early twenties. Shortly afterwards I join up with the rest of the LMAX Everest Rugby Challenge team on Ben Nevis for another training weekend. I am hoping to get at least some snow during these trips just to get a little flavour before arriving in Tibet. Hopefully the “client lunch” heavy Christmas period will not put too large a dent in my fitness drive but if so I am sure the Welsh and Scottish mountains will soon sort me out!

As the trip comes ever closer I am still trying to define #MyEverest but despite my ongoing doubts and reservations about being ready and my concerns over whether my battered frame will hold together long enough to play that final rugby match I am starting to rediscover my love of the outdoors. For me that makes the effort worth it and I am hopeful that I will want to continue after I return from Everest regardless of the outcome.