Story
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We are back. Unfortunately we didn't manage to complete the climb as I suffered from altitude sickness so we had to take the sensible decision and come down. We are already talking of trying again next year though so stay tuned! The whole experience has been absolutely amazing and I feel priviledged to have been able to get as far as I did, Vikki was an amazing partner in crime and a fantastic support all the way through.
On Saturday we took the cable car to the Aguille de Midi for acclimatisation, crampon training, rock climbing and crevasse jumping (no, not a sport, just a necessary evil when crossing a glacier). At 8 o'clock yesterday morning we went up the same way to start our ascent and had planned to summit in the early afternoon and descend to the mountain refuge for around 8pm. All was going well as we trudged onwards and upwards roped together on the snow and ice. The views were breathtaking (literally!). After a quick food stop we continued on up when I realised I had the beginnings of a headache, I carried on for a while but the headache worsened and I had to be honest with our guide Klemen and Vikki and admit that I would not be able to continue and we took the decision to come back down. I was absolutely gutted and so disappointed in myself at the time but have since realised that what we did was still amazing and we both had a wonderful time and an extraordinary experience and hey, the mountain isn't going anywhere! Vikki got over some of her greatest fears and I am so proud of her and all she has acheived these past months.
Finally (at least for the time being) I would like to thank all of you who have so far made donations to this most wonderful of causes, it is still ok to donate even if I didn't manage to fullfill the challenge! My mother is still in Rowcroft and is being looked after incredibly well as always, I will head back to the UK on Thursday and hopefully I will be able to see her then.
NEWS UPDATE!! We have just been informed that due to the weather conditions we will now be starting our challenge a day early, so on Saturday.... I'd better get my boots then!
Many thanks to all of you who have contributed so far, hopefully more will donate when we have completed the climb.
beautifully cared for for years by my mother and then in his final
weeks by Rowcroft Hospice. Sadly this year my mother, Clare, has also
needed the services of Rowcroft for herself as she comes to the final
stages of breast cancer. The people there do an incredible job , both
in the hospice and out in the community, for both those who are ill and
for their carers. I have been on the receiving end of this support
whilst caring for my mother over the last few weeks and cannot praise
them highly enough.
Back in June my friend Vikki asked me if I would like to climb Mont
Blanc, I jumped at the idea and we set ourselves to training. I had
thought of this initially as a challenge for my 40th year but as my
mother became more ill, decided to dedicate this climb to my her and as
thanks and respect for the hospice and their work to try to raise some funds for them.
We will be climbing on September 7th and hopefully not long after I
will post some photos and let you know how we got on. This is the
first time either myself or Vikki has attempted anything like this so
wish us luck and please donate!!
Thanks to you all
Jo