But, this effect is very short term and leads to a crash in mood shortly after the high – in turn triggering more sugar cravings, mood swings and you guessed it, weight gain.  What your body really needs is a sustained, even production and release of serotonin.

• Eating seasonally and keeping your diet high in complex carbs is an easy way to keep your diet in check, plenty of winter crops are low in fat and calories so stock up on squash, onions, oranges, artichokes, kale, Brussels sprouts (yes, they are tasty if cooked correctly!) and cauliflower.

• Making healthy food choices by substituting any cravings for lollies, ice cream, cookies and pies with fruit, vegetables, wholegrain bread without butter, cereals such as millet, oats, and muesli – and eating as much fresh, whole food as possible.  This will increase your fiber intake, keep you fuller for longer and control serotonin production.

• Limit yourself to just one alcoholic drink a day, if you must.  Alcohol is another winter evil containing a lot of empty calories but also contributing to a slower metabolism.

Exercise

Boy, can it be tough to stick to your exercise program when winter hits.  A shortage of daylight hours, the bitter cold, often wet & grey weather and a strong urge to stay in your nice warm bed can all work against staying focused on your workouts.  But, the benefits to maintaining your exercise routine during the winter months far outweigh the discomforts!

Exercise is your best weapon against winter weight gain.  Benefits include an increase in your metabolic rate which will help prevent weight gain, a decrease in the bodies stress hormones such as cortisol and an increase in endorphins.  Endorphins are the body’s natural feel good chemicals, and when they are released through exercise, your mood is boosted naturally.  Nice!

Some ways to make your Winter exercise program more enjoyable:

• Dynamic warm ups. Don’t waste time with static stretches but, instead, focus on doing activities to get your body ready for the coming workout. If you’re walking or running, start with a brisk walk and stay at that pace until you start to feel warmer. Gradually increase your pace and give your body extra time to get the blood flowing. (1)

• If you exercise outside, how you dress can make the difference between misery and just generally being uncomfortable.  Sports Medicine Guide, Elizabeth Quinn suggests in her article, Dressing for Winter Exercise that you focus on three layers - the base layer with thin fabrics like silk or wool, a mid layer like fleece to keep you insulated and an outer layer like a wind jacket to protect you from the elements. (2)

• Don’t be afraid to break your routine and try something new.  Commit to group exercise sessions, indoor or outdoor, for that extra motivation to get out of bed or find a heated indoor pool and swap a run for a swim.

• It’s also a great time to increase or introduce strength training to your program.  Increased muscle mass means increased resting metabolic rate and an added bonus, your body will continue to burn calories at an increased rate for at least 16 hours following a strength session.

And finally, don’t forget to reward yourself.  Plan rewards for completing all your workouts in one month or managing to keep those winter kilo’s at bay.  A weekend trip, a new pair of running shoes, a day at the spa … choose something that makes you smile when you think about it and get moving!!

Sonya Lovell Sonya is a fully qualified Personal Trainer, Experienced Trekker and Mum with an interest in Holistically based nutrition and training.

Want to know more about Sonya’s take on nutrition and training? Drop us an email

References:

(1) How to make Winter exercise easier by Paige Waehner

(2) Cold Weather Exercise Tip - How to Layer Clothing by Elizabeth Quinn

Ingredients:
3 tbs coconut oil
2 small chilli’s, diced
2.5 cm piece fresh ginger root (peeled with spoon)
3 cloves garlic
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces
1 head cauliflower cut into florets
1 onion diced
3 chicken breasts cut into chunks
3 tbs curry powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup cashews
2 cans coconut milk

Directions:
Grate ginger and garlic together to form a paste.  You can do this in a small food processor or by hand using a micro plane.

Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Add ginger, garlic, chili, curry, and cinnamon and cook for 2 minutes, stirring the whole time to be sure garlic doesn’t burn.

Add in chicken and onions and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add in all other ingredients except cashews.  Turn heat down to medium low and cover pot.   Cook for about an hour until veggies are tender.

Uncover, add nuts and cook for 15 more minutes to thicken.

Recipe sourced from: www.paleomama.com

New to Sweat & Tears: Sweat and Tears is available in 1, 2 and 3 month blocks. Sign up for 3 months and get your entry into the Pub2Pub fun run paid for by us!! How good is that!

Current Sweat & Tears member: Email us your interest in joining the team to get your entry paid by us!

Personal Training clients: If you train with us 1 or more times a week email us your interest to also get your entry paid by us!

More info on the event is available here.

I have talked to the guys at Trigger Fitness and they have put together a fantastic Forefoot Running Clinic to be held over one weekend for our clients, friends and anybody else that is interested! Cato and Latitia are certified as running coaches.

Dates for the weekend are yet to be confirmed but we are expecting available spots to be snatched up quickly so let us know ASAP if you’re interested in taking part, you can email us here.

Details of the weekend and the clinic content are below.

Trigger Fitness Forefoot Running Clinic

When:  Date TBA – will be held over a weekend – Saturday & Sunday

Time: 9am – 2pm with a lunch break at 11.30-12.30

What will be covered over the weekend:

• Running test with video taping
  • Review technique on laptop immediately
• Basic technique skills & drills
  • Body weight awareness drills
  • Body alignment drills
  • Pose/posture drills
  • Pulling drills
  • Falling drills
  • Sharpening & awareness drills
  • Partner correction drills
• Tempo/cadence (Speed) – using a metronome
• Common Injuries – causes/prevention/treatment
  • Trigger Point therapy/foam roller
  • Stretching pre & post training/competition
• Importance of Strength & Conditioning for runners
• Advice on appropriate footwear
• Running session end of each day, cool down & stretch
• Handouts
  • Trigger Fitness stretch manual
  • Nutrition/Supplementation information
• Training programs – beginner, intermediate, advanced

What will the weekend cost:

$400 per person, this will include all of the above and a Paleo lunch will also be provided each day

Who do you work for? Baker & McKenzie, an international law firm.

What do you do for a crust? I eat all the rest of the bread, and voila!  Crust.  Hmm, perhaps not what you were asking?  I’m a partner at my law firm, working in the Structured Assets team.  Basically means helping people buy and sell large commercial office buildings and Hotels & Resorts around the World, primarily in the Asia Pacific region.  To appease my conscience I also help organise various parts of our Pro Bono program, including a service for low-income terminally ill cancer patients where we help with early access to superannuation, preparing wills and the like.

What do you do with Joe? I do the Sweat & Tears bootcamp in the City with Joe on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and also have a personal training session with him once a week.

How long have you been training with Joe? I started the Sweat & Tears group in a former incarnation around March 2008 when I decided to start training for my first Oxfam walk.  Have been with it ever since and Joe took over the group about a year ago.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? I would need to move Hobart to a spot about 3km south of Noosa, then we’re pretty much perfect.

What are you reading?  ?Two books at the moment which I normally hate doing, but one is “Guns, Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond - basically a summary of the last 13,000 years of human history and an attempt to explain why various races on earth have evolved differently - an incredible book and one that I think everyone should read.  However it is pretty serious stuff and I like a bit of escapism with my reading, so I’m alternating chapters of that with “Solar” by Ian McEwan.

What do you watch? With 2 kids we tend to need to plan our watching times, so we are a big fan of TV series which we tape or download (legally of course!) in advance.  At the moment we’re working our way through the latest seasons of 24, Lost, Supernatural, Family Guy and Heroes.  I’m also a big fan of British Comedy and enjoy repeated episodes of Phoenix Nights, Max & Paddy and League of Gentlemen.  Escapism again I guess.

What are you listening to? Anything you have to throw at me!  I love variety in my music and have over 18,000 songs on my iPod which I leave on random most of the day at work.  Some recent regular plays are Dan Mangan, Spoon, Paul Dempsey, Mumford & Sons, Pink Floyd and Dream Theatre, but next week are just as likely to be 60s jazz and swing plus a bit of Laura Marling!

What’s your vice? Joe is doing his best to cure all of them…but I still enjoy a good red wine and a few glasses of home brew or boutique beer whenever he’s not looking.  Music, movies and books are up there as strong vices and he hasn’t weighed in on those yet…

If you could have dinner with anybody, who would it be? My wife and kids.  But assuming I’ve had at least a week of continuous dinners with them (which is unfortunately not always the case with my work) I’d be keen for a dinner party hosted by Sophie Dahl, with the Coen Brothers, Chuck Palahniuk (the guy who wrote Fight Club), Diane van Deren and Michael O’Loughlin.

Tell us a secret? While I pretend to not be interested in it, I do actually enjoy watching the occasional episode of Glee.

What is the key to happiness? True friendship, taking joy in other people’s happiness (and being responsible for that happiness wherever you can) and not stressing about the small stuff.

What have been the benefits of training with Joe? Overall sense of wellbeing, better energy levels and generally feeling much better about myself in all aspects of life!  I believe this is also assisted by my recent conversion to a daily dose of Frog Spawn (Joe’s famous Chia Seeds).

What is you next goal? I’m aiming to complete my first marathon in September in under 4 hours.  Sounds a bit of a strange goal given I’ve just recently done the 100km thing but I think the constant pace over 42km will be as much, if not more of a challenge for me.  All going well with that the plan is to do the Six Foot Track Marathon next year, shave a few hours off the North Face time by running that again a few months after that, and I’ve now convinced myself of a long term goal to take part in the 240km Coast to Kosi in about 3 years time.  My wife is still accusing me of various forms of mental deficiency…

David Jones at the 50km mark in the recent North Face 100

This is an article I got off the net reproduced from Celestine Chua’s blog. Celestine is an avid blogger whom I follow with a multitude of excellent and thoroughly researched articles around life, vitality and personal excellence.

I started off with a slow and easy jog, taking cautious steps, one at a time. After a few steps, I let my instincts take over on my running posture and picked up speed. Within just a few minutes, I could immediately see the difference between running barefoot and running with shoes.  After running barefoot for 2 days of 3km each time, I’m starting to love barefoot running.

Here’s what Wiki says about barefoot running:

In early human history, barefoot running was widespread, but this became increasingly less so following the growth of footwear usage. Barefoot running is near non-existent in modern-day populations of industrialised and wealthier countries, although it remains relatively common in many poorer nations, especially within third world countries.

Come to think of it, in the early times, humans survived perfectly fine without shoes. Somewhere along the way, shoes were invented (for perfectly valid reasons I’m sure, such as protection and cleanliness). Over time, they became a commodity and it was  a social faux pax to leave our house without shoes. And then in the recent centuries, shoes evolved (or degenerated, depending how you see it) into material possessions / fashion accessories – that, ironically, hurt our heels and feet (especially for girls), defeating the very reason why we even wear shoes to begin with.

And it seems like there is already a whole range of study results on how barefoot running is actually better for us, with more being done as we speak.

The notion of barefoot running piqued my interest. For one, I love trying new things – it is through experimentation that I make my lifestyle choices. For example, I’m now a vegan because I experimented with the vegetarian and vegan diets back in ‘08 and found veganism to be better than meat-based diets. I tried raw veganism as well, last year and a couple of months ago (via 21-day lifestyle revamp program), and while I didn’t continue it because it was hard to get raw vegan food in modern society, I’ve since incorporated a higher % of fruits/salads into my diet (at least 30~40%).

Barefoot running is something new to experiment with. If I try it and I like it, I can continue on with it. If I don’t, then at least I know I’ve tried it and it doesn’t suit me. Nothing to lose but everything to gain. This is also the rationale for 21-days cultivate a new habit program – for all new habits, give it a try for 21 days without negative bias and see how it’s like before/after, rather than rule it out at onstart.

More importantly, barefoot running interested me because I like the whole notion of going au naturale. As I journey on the path of personal growth, I’m increasingly seeing how we are closely tied with nature/the universe. A lot of rules and principles we live by today (such as eating meat, cooking food, wearing shoes, etc) were created through human history, and many of them exist now more as habits/practice, rather than out of necessity. Many of them are unnecessary complications that separate us from our true source. Recognizing these physical “noise” and barriers and shedding them away gradually brings us closer to our higher selves. I was surprised I never thought of running/going barefoot before – a lot to do with the societal conditioning that it’s a necessity to wear shoes.

My First Barefoot Run

So 2 evenings ago, I set off for my first ever barefoot run. I picked 10+pm, my regular jogging time. I like to run either in early mornings or late at night when it’s quiet, cooling and peaceful. Since my running spot was a park connector right behind my house, I went straight without shoes.

Walking Barefoot

First thing I felt when I stepped out of my house was how cooling and smooth the surface of the pavements were. I never realized this since I always wore shoes going out. I felt present and connected with every step as I walked over to the lift, stood around in the lobby and took the lift down to the ground level.

As I walked to the park, I walked on different surfaces, including concrete pavements, roads (asphalt concrete) and cemented ground. It was interesting feeling the different textures and temperatures of the grounds – definitely something I had not paid attention to with shoes on. Concrete pavements felt very cooling and smooth – as if you can just slide on them. Roads felt rough and grainy.. somewhat prickly too. Cemented grounds felt like an in-between of concrete and roads.

It was just 2 minutes walking to the path, and I already felt more mindful and present than my normal self when walking with shoes. I was aware of every step I take, how it felt and my connection with the ground whenever my foot touched base with it.

Running Barefoot

So I reached the park. By the way before this experiment, I didn’t read much about barefoot running. I wanted to try it out first hand without being biased by what others have to say. If it is really good, I would sense it for myself. I didn’t want to overthink the process as well. If we humans have thrived perfectly fine without shoes in the past, all the nitty gritty such as the right posture, jogging stance, pacing, landing form, strides, etc should come naturally once I start barefoot running.

And that’s what happened. I started off with a slow and easy jog, taking cautious steps, one at a time. After a few steps, I let my instincts take over on my running posture and picked up speed. Within just a few minutes, I could immediately see the difference between running barefoot and running with shoes.

Overall Conclusions

After running barefoot for 2 days (I went on for a 2nd barefoot run yesterday) of 3km each time, I’m starting to love barefoot running. And here are 10 reasons why:

10 Reasons To Run Barefoot

1. Connectedness. When I ran with running shoes in the past, I would just feel the cool air and soak in the sights of the sky/trees/stars while running. Running barefoot adds a new dimension to the running experience – I feel a whole level of connectedness to the ground, and as a corollary, the environment I am in.

2. Lighter strides. With running shoes, my feet was completely buffered from the ground. I could never feel my strides, save for the numbing ‘thud’ between my feet and the soles of my shoes/ground whenever I land. This made me take heavy strides subconsciously. With barefoot running, I am definitely running much lighter than before. I’m not pounding on my knees/ankles/feet anymore.

3. Right landing. People who wear running shoes typically land heel first (a.k.a hard heel strikes), which places more stress on the foot. The correct running form should be to land on the front or middle of the foot. Here’s what a Discovery News article says about landing:

The difference in the way the foot strikes the ground is important. Lieberman’s study examined the physical stresses on feet with different types of running and found that people with running shoes strike the ground with the mass of the entire leg, nearly 7 percent of the body. That’s more than three times the weight of impact for barefoot running.

“It’s really about how you hit the ground,” said Lieberman, who specializes in human evolutionary biology. “When you hit the ground, some of your body comes to a dead stop.”?For runners in cushioned shoes, “it is literally like someone hitting you on the heel with a hammer,” Lieberman said.

But, he said that “the way in which barefoot runners run is more or less collision free.”

Interestingly, I came to the same conclusion during my 1st barefoot run, before reading about it. With running shoes, I would land on my heels and it caused a lot of impact. When I run barefoot, I automatically adjust and land on my forefeet/midfeet. Since I can feel my foot on the ground, I can immediately tell if  I am landing incorrectly with each stride. After my first barefoot run, I had a small blister in the top left corner of my right sole, which I see as a sign that I’m exerting more force than necessary on that area. It’s an indication that I should distribute my weight on other areas when landing.

4. Better posture. Everything is very instinctual and it takes no more than just a few steps for me to get into a comfortable running posture. The contact between the foot and the ground is like an instant feedback if my posture needs correcting and if so, how. In retrospect, my posture and jogging stance felt stiff when I ran with shoes.

5. Freedom & Liberty. Running without shoes made me realize how binding it was to have my feet wrapped up in socks and enclosed in shoes. When running barefoot, I can feel my heel, mid-sole, forefeet and my toes against the ground and brushing against the cooling air with each stride. It’s a liberating experience.

6. Mindfulness. Every step I take, I’m aware. Every time my foot touches the ground, I can feel both the ground and my foot. During my run, I am present, of myself, my posture, my surroundings, my environment.

7. Less stress for your knees/feet/joints. Studies have shown running barefoot brings less stress for your feet, even when compared with expensive running shoes (Nike, Adidas and Reebok included). A new study suggests running shoes may cause damage to knees, hips and ankles. With running shoes, we tend to shift our weight down to our ankles, which lead to higher possibility of ankle sprains. You might have heard how prolonged running causes knee cap pain – I suspect it’s because of the heavy strides we take with running shoes rather than running itself. By running barefoot, that’s less likely to happen since you get a better running posture (Reason #4) and lighter strides (Reason #2), which means lesser weight on your knees/ankles/feet.

8. Gives you stronger feet. All the shoe wearing has made our feet weak and soft. In fact, some of us wear poor-fitted shoes that cramp our toes/feet. Here’s an interesting excerpt from an article “Go Barefoot to Get Stronger“:

“Through years of wearing shoes, our feet lose their tactile capacity, which is bad enough. But they also fail to develop to their proper size and shape. Tendons and ligaments shorten, muscles weaken, and the risk for foot and ankle injuries increases.”

If it sounds like the ancient Chinese tradition of binding the feet, it kinda is. “It’s identical, but to a lesser degree,” Rooney says. “Shoes crush the foot into abnormal positions and you don’t get the movement the foot is designed for.”  Going barefoot builds up our foot muscles and makes them stronger, the way they should be.

9. It’s Fun! Do you remember the times when you were young and ran around barefooted? How did that feel? Walking/Running barefooted brought a sense of child-like wonder that was lost since long ago, like dancing in the rain. It made running fun, more fun than it normally is. I ended up running longer than my normal route (3km vs. 2.4km).

10. Saves money. I wish I knew about barefoot running before I bought all the sport shoes – Adidas, Reebok, soccer shoes, Nike Air, Zoom, Zoom+ and what not. Sports apparel have become more fashion accessories and cost more than they should. If I add up all the money I spent on sport shoes over the years, it easily sums up to over one grand. That is a lot of money that could have been saved and used for better purposes.

Attention from Others?

If you are wondering about what others might think, I didn’t notice any overt stares or unwanted attention from other people. But then again, it was about 10pm at night, so it might not be all that obvious. The people who did see it were probably too wound down to pay much attention.

Running Surface

The track is made of asphalt concrete if I’m not wrong – It’s not smooth like concrete ground, but it’s also not as grainy as roads, so it was good for barefoot running, save for a sporadic twig and stone. Ideally I’d like to run on the stadium tracks which is rubbery and safe from foreign objects, but the nearest stadium is 20 minutes away, so the park is my best option.

Continuing with Barefoot Running

I’m going to continue barefoot running for the next few weeks, and if nothing goes wrong I plan to make it a permanent habit.  I might bring it a notch further by going barefoot in my day-to-day activities. The only concerns I have will be (1) hot surfaces during day time and (2) unwanted attention.

Read the full article by Celestine here.

Further reading on Barefoot Running:

• Barefoot running (Wiki)
• Myths of Barefoot Running
• So, you wanna start running barefoot?
• Born To Run (Book by Christopher McDougall)
• Should you start barefoot running? If so, how? (Video)
• Society for Barefoot Living
• 12 Step Program to run barefoot
• Running Barefoot FAQ
• Extensive 5-Part Q & A on Barefoot Running: Part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

“Several days since last update, no reception so unable to send updates. As I text this I am sitting in Jomsom waiting for a flight to Pokhara, everybody is down off the mountain, safe & well. The last week has been very very exciting. After A2 Base Camp we walked to Manang, the largest town in the valley. Two of the team walked into a local gompa (monestary) and were welcomed into the funeral of a Llama and invited to partake in Yak butter salted tea. From there we had a hair raising trip through rock falls and landslides to Tilicho Base Camp. With rock falls slowing our progress … that got adrenalin going!

We rested for 1 day to acclimatise and then did our highest height gain of 900m to Tilicho High Camp, a hard walk and scramble up to Tilicho Lake. Altitude really taking effect with most people having to stop to catch breath every few meters. We had to climb a pretty exposed ridge but the view of the worlds highest Lake was amazing! We camped at High Camp at a height of 5200m, restless night at altitude. Early 3.30am start to cross the Eastern Pass. This is a moonscape and would be very hard to navigate in bad weather. The weather is very changeable so have got here a day early to allow for bad conditions. One of our porters fell during a river crossing, his OK but wet!

Lots of mounds of Morraine that all look exactly the same. Long hard days walk. The views from the pass are phenominal and we reach a height of 5477m. The weather closed in and we had to cut ice steps and use a fixed rope to negotiate certain parts. All very tired but still 2 hours to camp. We decide that the proper camp at the treeline is too far away so we make impromptu camp in a steep gorge. We all sleep very well!!

Next day we walk down to Jomsom. Everybody moving very swiftly and the mood is bubbly. The walk is stunning and we come across more examples of traditional architecture in the form of huts carved into hillsides high in the valleys. Arrive in windy Jomsom, High winds rattle down the valley from 10am to 10pm every day. Dusty and dry but after all that time in the hills a great place to finish.

We have a celebration with Sukatee (dried Yak meat), Chang (rice beer) and Rakshi (millet spirit), everybody gets very very drunk and we are all shabby in the morning. Following night we say Thankyou to our porters with tips and raffle gear we don’t want. Beer & whiskey flows a plenty and before long we are all dancing to Nepali folk songs as they sing, dance and play a Djembe drum.

It’s sad as we fly out with our last glimpses of the mountains.”

A public meeting will be held on Tuesday 25th May at 6pm in the council offices in Dee Why where they will be discussing the draft policy for the “Use of Open Space by Commercial Fitness Groups and Personal Trainers”.  This could be the last chance we have to do something before the policy is implemented.

Fitness Australia and other representatives of the Fitness Industry will be addressing the council at this meeting but it will carry a lot of weight if you, our clients and ratepayers speak at the meeting also.  If you feel strongly about supporting our industry please stand up and make a difference to the health of our community by attending the meeting and having a say.

This is the link for a request to address council, which must be lodged by 3pm on Monday 24th May.

http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/council_then/documents/GuidelinesforRequesttoaddressUpdated9Feb2010.pdf

Upon finalisation of the meeting agenda the final report being considered by Council can then be viewed here:

http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/council_then/meetings_council.aspx

Council have advised that during the exhibition period they recieved 98 submissions from interested individuals and organisations.  They have advised that the submissions generally expressed the following:

* opposition to the proposed fee structure identifying issues such excessiveness, impacts on commercial viability and the likelihood of fees being passed onto ratepayers.

* The view that the policy was too restrictive and that when combined with the proposed fee structure would discourage use of open space and be too cost prohibitive for existing and future participants engaged in activities associated with commercial fitness groups and personal trainers.

“Council remains to consider all submissions in developing a balance between community interests, environmental, cultural and heritage protection and economic development.  To this end a report is being prepared for consideration by Council at the meeting on 25 May 2010.”

We, at Joe Bonington, have received many positive responses from our clients and local members of government in response to our plea for support.  Thank you all so much for this support, your many words of encouragement and taking action, it is heartening to know that we live and work in a community with such a strong spirit!

Joe may be in the middle of the Himalayas but don’t think that’s stopped him being in regular ‘text’ contact with us here at the Joe Bonington office providing some great updates (and not to mention some cheeky ones!) of the teams adventures - the wonders of technology!!!

Here’s a journal of what we’ve received so far, you can also follow these updates live on the Joe Bonington - Prepare for Life’s Adventures and Bonington Treks via Facebook and Twitter.

May 4th

“Hard at work sitting in the Kathmandu Guest House courtyard sipping Masala Tea whilst going over our proposed route through the Annapurna.”

May 10th

“Maoists have called off their agitation, Kathmandu was locked down.  All good now.  On bus heading for Beshi Shahar.  Good to see old friends, Ram our Sirdar and his son Khudam and our cook Ratnaman.  All of whom I’ve worked with since Danga II in 2000.  Glad to be moving.  It’s been a very tense few days.”

May 11th

“First night on the trail at Bhulbule (840m).  Spirits are high.  Down in the Marsyangdi Nadi valley, camped next to a river.”

May 12th

“Now deep in the Marsyangdi Nadi valley.  In the village of Chame (2670m), cultural centre for the Ghurung people, much like Namche is for the Sherpas.  Is is also deep in the Maoist heartland as one of the leaders of the Maoist party was raised here.  Got our first views of Annapurna II.  Today we had a very emotional/touching moment for Malcom Grant who’s Dad was on the original expedition with my Dad, Chris.  Malcolm’s Dad died when Malcolm was a young man therefore they never had a chance to do these things together.  So Malcom is doing this trek with his son, Andrew.”

May 14th

“Have had one days rest at Lower Pisang (3249m).  Walked up from Chame through beautiful pine forests, through a gorge and into more open country.  Above camp is a perfect view of Annapurna II and traditional Tibetan style villages.  The terrain is very different to the Khumbu (Everest) region.  Tomorrow we will gain height to 4700m and come back down to help acclimatise.  Before heading for Humde, camping at the Mountaineering School and then up to Annapurna II Base Camp before heading to Tilicho.”

May 15th

“Sitting in a Pine Tree glade as I write this, surrounded by Dog Roses with a pale yellow flower.  Today we got up at 3.30am and set off with head torches to get high on the ridge of Pisang Ridge (6091m) for our first acclimatisation walk.  Snowed last night so we walked through pine forests covered in snow to above the tree line then had a hard ascent up to a line of prayer flags on the ridge.  Views back over Annapurna II (7937m), III (7555m) and IV (7525m), Gangapurna (7454m), Makalu (8463m), the Grande Barriere and our destination, Tilicho Pass (5100m).  We kept climbing until we reached 4000m then turned around.  Very happy with how the group is acclimatising.  Weather patterns are hot sun in the mornings, snow and rain in the afternoons.  All low lying snow is burnt off daily.”

May 17th

“It’s great to know that at 3600m and whilst travelling with three Australians, it’s great to hear a good cricket result.  Me thinks the Aussies will be walking at the back or out the front to avoid the banter :-)”

May 19th

“Back down from A2 basecamp 3870m. Away from anybody, we saw nobody for 3 days. An emotional time for Malcolm grant who’s father was in my dads first expedition in 1960. The team walked up the edge of a glacier whilst I took Jeremy Larkins ( our strongest team member ) up to recce Longydande. We had a fantastic adventure that turned into scrambling and scree running but came to the conclusion thy it was a bit wild for the main group. Got to a height of 4552m before descending. Now on way to manang. Slaughtered a goat this morning for dinner … Maybe shouldn’t have told clients the goats name was Kevin the kid!”

May 25th

“Several days since last update, no reception so unable to send updates. As I text this I am sitting in Jomsom waiting for a flight to Pokhara, everybody is down off the mountain, safe & well. The last week has been very very exciting. After A2 Base Camp we walked to Manang, the largest town in the valley. Two of the team walked into a local gompa (monestary) and were welcomed into the funeral of a Llama and invited to partake in Yak butter salted tea. From there we had a hair raising trip through rock falls and landslides to Tilicho Base Camp. With rock falls slowing our progress … that got adrenalin going!

We rested for 1 day to acclimatise and then did our highest height gain of 900m to Tilicho High Camp, a hard walk and scramble up to Tilicho Lake. Altitude really taking effect with most people having to stop to catch breath every few meters. We had to climb a pretty exposed ridge but the view of the worlds highest Lake was amazing! We camped at High Camp at a height of 5200m, restless night at altitude. Early 3.30am start to cross the Eastern Pass. This is a moonscape and would be very hard to navigate in bad weather. The weather is very changeable so have got here a day early to allow for bad conditions. One of our porters fell during a river crossing, his OK but wet!

Lots of mounds of Morraine that all look exactly the same. Long hard days walk. The views from the pass are phenominal and we reach a height of 5477m. The weather closed in and we had to cut ice steps and use a fixed rope to negotiate certain parts. All very tired but still 2 hours to camp. We decide that the proper camp at the treeline is too far away so we make impromptu camp in a steep gorge. We all sleep very well!!

Next day we walk down to Jomsom. Everybody moving very swiftly and the mood is bubbly. The walk is stunning and we come across more examples of traditional architecture in the form of huts carved into hillsides high in the valleys. Arrive in windy Jomsom, High winds rattle down the valley from 10am to 10pm every day. Dusty and dry but after all that time in the hills a great place to finish.

We have a celebration with Sukatee (dried Yak meat), Chang (rice beer) and Rakshi (millet spirit), everybody gets very very drunk and we are all shabby in the morning. Following night we say Thankyou to our porters with tips and raffle gear we don’t want. Beer & whiskey flows a plenty and before long we are all dancing to Nepali folk songs as they sing, dance and play a Djembe drum.

It’s sad as we fly out with our last glimpses of the mountains.”

May 28th

‘Back in the luxury of the Hotel Dwarika . We have stuffed ourselves with a 12 course Newari banquet and the team is splitting up and travelling it’s different ways. Dr John Mccall has left for Canada and Paulette ” Poppy”  has left for Aberdeen . Today most of my guests and my father depart at various times of the day. The end of a trip is an emotionally mixed time. You miss your family and want to get back. But there is also a sense of losing something, I can’t quite put my finger on it but I think it’s the mixture of the bonds formed, the task complete, the journey , the hardships of the trail and the dangers. Anyway I’ll be back in November but I’ll still miss this amazing country and it’s beautiful people…. Till then. Hope to see some of you soon upon my return to Sydney. Cheers Joe.”