Welcome to the Cotopaxi 2007 Reach/ Steps expedition blog!Here are a few words from some of the members of the expedition:
Here are some snippets about the people taking part:
SIMON WEBSTER
"I'm excited although a little daunted about doing this trip and realising how difficult it will be to walk and climb at this altitude. I'm 46 and maybe getting a bit long in the tooth for this sort of thing! I'm really excited at being part of the team and having the opportunity to reach the top of more than one volcano.I work for RSLSteeper. We realize and appreciate the good work which Reach and Steps undertake. If you would like to sponsor the group, please go to www.justgiving.com and enter my name "Simon Webster" in the name box.
HOWARD WOOLLEY:
I live in Manchester near the Old Trafford football ground. I work in Stoke on Trent as a prosthetist. I'm married and have a 12 year old son. Some years ago I cycled from London to Moscow withmy wife on a tandem for charity!
CHARLES MURRAY:
I'm Charles Murray, 44 years old, property company director, live in Sale, S.Manchester. I'm also the chairman of the board of trustees for STEPS one of the benefiting charities. I'm a trustee as my daughter Georgina, who is now 12, was born with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) so it's a bit corny, but"I'm trying to put something back into the charity that helped us when we needed help". So far I've raised £20,500 and rising.
PAUL DONNELLY:
Hi, I’m Paul.
Living in Ireland I bring an international dimension to the group. I must confess that until I heard of the Avenue of the Volcanoes, a vacation would have meant lazy days, good food and lots of drink. How times have changed! I only hope my former (and perhaps future) indulgencies do not hinder me as I strive to conquer the peaks and meet the challenges that lie ahead.
My reason for signing up for this trip is because my 3 year old son Eamon was born missing his right hand and I wanted to raise some funds for the charities that support children with limb deficiencies. Even before I depart, the journey has renewed and rekindled my belief in human kindness as people have donated towards the venture with a generosity I could not have imagined. Thank you to everyone who has given money, time and support. As I prepare to head off in a few days my greatest hope is that I can repay everyone who has supported me by getting to the top and coming home safely.
19 comments:
Good luck, everyone. Have a fantastic trip.
Penny
GOOD LUCK! Have a fantastic time and we hope you make it to the top.
Best wishes the Jones's
Dear Erla and Michael, Hope you have a brilliant time climbing. I am keeping an eye on Joel for you and he is doing very well. Take care and good luck to everyone. Love Thomas
GOOD LUCK to all from Freezing, but not yet Snowy, Sandwich!
Have a great time - we're looking forward to the updates on the blog!
Gail, Jamie and Gregory
Message from Simon Webster 23 Jan:
We arrived safely after a very long journey. Left Heathrow at 5am and arrived at Quito at 11pm UK time (6pm local time). Quito is at 2800m so we can already feel the altitude. Today (Tuesday) is an acclimatisation day. We will be visiting the Equator line and the Madonna on the Hill (not the one with the big boobies!). Still got hot water at the moment. We start trekking properly tomorrow when we will alaso start staying in huts. The guide accompanying us is English and is very experienced. He has already given us a briefing and we have to drink 4 to 6 litres of water a day to help with the altitude. Looks like we'll see a lot of loos! Must dash.....
Message from Simon Webster (23 Jan).
Most of us had a pretty restless night. Bit difficult to know what contributed most to the restlessness - jetlag, altitude or the after effects of drinking so much water. Anyway, after such a long journey it was good to get some rest.
A gentle acclimatisation day today. We visited the Madonna statue. Unusual because the Madonna has wings. The statue is high on a hill and offers great views of Quito. The city lies in a valley between two mountain ranges and is a long spread out strip. On one side is a volcano that erupted a few years ago causing Quito to be covered in ash. The lava fortunately flowed to the other side so Quito itself was protected.
We then went to the other end of Quito to the Equatorial line and museum. It is possible to straddle the world with a foot in each hemisphere. Tried to do the water test to see it swirling clockwise on one side and anticlockwise on the other. Unfortunately you need to be a bit further away as very close to the equator the water gets confused and seems to do its own thing.
After lunch we went to the hire shop to rent our mountai boots, crampons and ice axe for the Cotopaxi summit night. Once kit was sorted we returned to the hotel for the briefing on the trek tomorrow. We are all itching to get started. We will climb to an altitude 4200 metres to summit Pasachoa. It is meant to be a fairly straightforward trek but we have been warned that we will really feel the altitude.
Til the next one......
Message from Simon Webster 25 Jan:
We had a tough day yesterday - eight hours of climbing, quite a lot in the rain, to reach the peak of Pasachoa.
The effects of the altitude were certainly felt - nausea, etc, but everyone is in good spirits nonetheless!
Dear Sophie and friends, Sounds challenging stuff but I'm sure you'll all adapt soon if you haven't already.
Take care and Good luck.It's cold here in Hampshire, even george the cat is staying at the neighbours!
Love mum
Hope the Judge is keeping you in order - very best of luck with the rest of the trek.
Hope the Judge is getting his knee fixed! I'm sure it will heal quickly and let you get on with the rest of the trekking!!
Love
Gail, Jamie and Gregory!
To Erla,Michael & the rest of you brave fundraisers
Sounds very tough! Hope the weather has now improved, you can do without rain. Good luck with the rest of the trip, we're thinking of you. Your efforts are truly appreciated.
Keep smiling
Jane, Ian, Rhys and especially Molly
Hi Simon,
Hope you enjoyed the first gentle stroll up the hill - only a few more molehills to climb.... Hope you are feeling much better too. Looking forward to seeing the pics when you get back. Take care. Yours unenviously.... L & G :)
hi paul and fellow climbers, hope you're adjusting to life on the mountains! what a fantastic challange .thinking of you as you enter the 2nd half of your adventure. take care and good luck.
Hello Si! Well done for getting through the first week. We are all missing you loads and can't wait to see you on Saturday. You missed our snow - it stayed for at least a few hours!! Lots of love Jen, Jack and Anna xxx
Hello Soppy and all you other trekers,we're all glad to hear that your in good spirits but what about them poor Sherpas who are doing the real work lol.
Carry on the good work,we're all missing you lots,
Love From,
MAGIC, SARS, SHOVEE, SP**K CHOPS & SNAT.
Finally worked out how to post a message!!
Hope the last few days go really well for you all, especially Paul, we are looking forward to seeing you back safe and sound at the weekend
Claire, Eamon and Siun xxx
Hi Simon and all with you - keep going - and am sure words are easy.
Hi everyone
Sorry to be so late with the good wishes
All of us here in Reach wish you all the best and hope you're having a great time, even if a little strenuous. I'd love to be with you but I'm more built for staying back and accounting for the funds raised.
All joking apart, we really appreciate every thing you are all doing.
Sue
Hi Simon,
Congratulations on making it to the top. We were really impressed when we saw the picture of Cotopaxi rising up through the clouds - amazing! Clearly not so long in the tooth then...! Have a safe journey home, see you soon :)
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