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Other diaries: Antarctica / Circumnavigation / Deserts / Microlighting

Date: 

January 2000

Event: 

Winter Survival Course/Technical Ice Climbing, Glenmore Lodge, Scotland

Description: 

Miles and Jon learning winter survival and mountaineering skills at Glenmore Lodge, Scotland's renowned mountaineering training centre.

Aim: 

Preparation for attempt on Mt. Everest summit 2001.
Included sections of Grade 3 technical ice climbing in severe sub-zero, high wind, unforgiving conditions.

Sighted guide: 

Jon Cook

Miles comments: 

Without sight, I was totally dependent on listening to verbal information from my instructor and Jon.

Lesson learned:

Found out how difficult it can be, tying a bow-line knot one handed on the frozen side of a mountain with gloves on - good teamwork and training essential to achieve your objective!
Trust between team members essential; Jon and I roped together- nearly put my ice axe through Jon's ankle on the climb- forgiveness also useful team attribute! Experienced again that "The only limits in our lives are those we accept ourselves!"

Date: 

April 2000

Event: 

Himalayan Expedition

Description: 

28-day expedition to Khumbu region around Mt. Everest

Aim: 

Training programme to attempt Everest summit in 2001.

Sighted guide: 

Jon Cook

Miles comments: 

A wonderful, spiritual experience, climbing in such a remote, beautiful part of the world, with Sherpas and Yaks for company. I unfortunately experienced some sort of altitude anomoly at 17,500 feet, thought to be a stroke at the time, resulting in an emergency evacuation by helicopter to Katmandu, and a battery of specialist cat scans etc, and a prognosis never to climb again. I returned devastated, as it appeared to put paid to our Everest attempt the next year. However, I have learned to expect the unexpected, and to never give up. So I contacted Chris Bonnington's team doctor, a Harley St. specialist, who diagnosed that, although I had stopped breathing for a short time in the Himalayas, it was a fairly common altitude occurance, and was not life threatening, clearing me to go on climbing, and attempt Everest.
"The mountain may kill you, he cheerfully said, but it won't be the altitude!"

Lesson learned:

My biggest lesson learnt through the Himalayan expedition was to remember earlier lessons I had learned in my life and reapply these lessons to new situations. I went on to successfully summit on Kilimanjaro with Jon (2,000 feet higher), and, rightly enough, it didn't kill me!

Date: 

July 2000

Event: 

Kilimanjaro expedition

Description: 

8-day climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet) Africa's highest mountain via mixed routes. Miles met his blind brother Geoff with South African group on summit by pre-arrangement.

Aim: 

the summit and prepare again for Everest.

Sighted guide: 

Jon Cook, Miles' 16-year old son David, accompanied with RNIB team.

Media coverage:

Carlton TV crew accompanied team; produced international award-winning documentary "Blind Faith".

Miles comments: 

An experience I would recommend to everybody. Some dodgy moments, climbing the 800 foot high Baranko Wall, having to carefully listen to and obey Jon's instructions.

Lesson learned:

Again the importance of teamwork, friendship, mutual trust, and the fact that, in life, success is often achieved by simply persevering, after you have set your goals and made your plans. Just keep focused and going, one step at a time and you will get to the top!

Date: 

August 2000

Event: 

Mt. Blanc "Highest and Lowest 2000" expedition

Description: 

One man to descend to the bottom of the cave, and transmit a picture of himself direct to Miles on the summit of Mt. Blanc, and vice versa. A severe storm produced torrential flooding down the cave, and a blizzard on Mt Blanc.

Aim: 

Transmit the first ever images by mobile phone direct from the highest point in Europe to the lowest point, 3,000 feet underground in a cave in France.

Sighted guide: 

Jon Cook (Highest Team), Tom Whittaker, renowned American foot-amputee and Everest summitter (Lowest team).

Miles comments: 

One of the scarier moments in my life was trying to climb down steep, rocky sections, with a metre of fresh snow covering the rock face, knowing that we could fall at any moment, but, with the storm worsening, we had no alternative. Jon's quiet, reassuring instructions were music in my ears! I just couldn't have done it without him.

Lesson learned:

Sometimes it's good just to do things for the sheer fun of it.Picture a blind man on the side of a high mountain in a blizzard, trying to take a picture of himself, perishing cold, with wind and snow swirling around him. He sends it to another guy with a foot missing thousands of feet down a cave in another country hundreds of miles away. Wherein he was trying not to get swept away by a torrential underground river, yelling above the roaring torrent, sending back a photo in return the blind guy couldn't see anyway!
The signal and pictures were successfully sent!
Keep focused, don't let circumstances distract you, and you can achieve almost any goal you set yourself!