Expedition Day 10 (Practice, Preparation and Base Camp!)

Today will go down as a highlight for me for sure.

This morning we had an awesome practice on the wicket. The ball picks up respectably from the wicket, and it’s clear we will be able to have a truly competitive game, which is a huge relief.

In practice I managed to bowl so badly that you’d think we hadn’t been near a net in the last year! However, I made up for it with my batting, so I am confident I will be able to play my part tomorrow. It was pretty special seeing everyone out in their kit practicing. Only 3 years since I had my vision, and now we are so close to it being real!

Just as we finished up our practice and let the Zingers on the pitch, we saw a sight; 2 columns of uniformed people approaching from Base Camp down towards us. One column all in yellow, the other all in red. As they roll up, it turns out to be Russell Bryce and his HimEx Summit expedition. They had come down to lay down a challenge to us. Having heard of our World Record attempt, they wanted to challenge us a week later to a higher game of cricket on the vast glacier above the Khumbu Ice-fall at about 6800m! It was done and received in good spirit and it was a real honour to meet this legend and his team. We gave him a pink Nokia ball, and Everest Test cap to be taken to the summit (amazing!) as well as signing a bat for them. They kindly invited us to visit their camp (a real honour as Russell is notoriously militant about not letting strangers into his camps as strangers bring illness) before heading back up the glacier.

After an early lunch, a few of us decided to ignore medic’s advice and head up to Base Camp. One thing that has become increasingly apparent to me up here this time is how unstable this glacier is compared to 3 years ago. The ceracs coming off the Khumbu Glacier are a fraction of the size, and constantly under the glacier you can here the torrent of melt-water running underneath. That was not a sound I heard at all last time. This year has been the hottest and driest that the guides can remember. Whether it’s a freak year or Global Warming I don’t know, but if it’s the latter then that is genuinely disturbing.

Base Camp is a cool place and we had a good wander. We had tea at the HRA hospital tent, met some climbers. I got invited to meet ‘The Colonel’ at the Indian Army Expedition tent. Nice bloke. Wanted to send his boys down for a game of cricket! Told him no as we only have a licence for one game and I didn’t want to get arrested!

After a pastry at the bakery (yes they even have a bakery there now!) we left the main camp and popped in to see Russell at his separate camp. At the entrance to his camp there is a sign that reads ‘Trekkers – F**k Off!’ (Like I say he doesn’t like visitors). However, we ignored this as we are in fact cricketers! (Besides we had an invite).

Once in the camp we were given a warm welcome by Russell and the others. We were given a tour and then lead into his ‘lounge tent’. This guy doesn’t do anything by halves. Compared to the squalid conditions the climbers at main Base Camp endure, this camp was 6 star! The cooking and dining facilities amazing, toilets amazing, looking at the supplies going to the upper camps, amazing. You are able to see how he has such a phenomenal record when it comes to getting his clients to the top and back safely.

However, it was the lounge tent that was the ultimate. High ceilings, full walled windows, plasma screen, DVD player, stereo, scalextrix and most importantly bar with beer fridge! Russell was quick to offer up a beer to us all. I know we’re not supposed to drink up here, but you can’t refuse Russell Bryce, that would just be rude. So we enjoyed a Tuborg and had a good old chat – awesome! However, we needed to get back as it was getting late, so we didn’t hang around.

On the way out I was fortunate enough to meet Phurba Tashi Sherpa. This man has already climbed Everest 14 times and is looking to summit twice more this year at least. And he’s still only young. What a legend! Getting back was a little hairy as we raced the setting sun back along the glacier. We all just got back in safely and have eaten.

Poor George has taken a bad turn though. He’s over done it today and has gone down with exhaustion. The medics currently have him on an IV drip to rehydrate him. Simmo, Joe and Zoobie rejoined us while we were up at Base Camp. Great to see them, particularly Simmo.