A TEESDALE climber has arrived at Everest Camp One, bringing his ambition to summit the world’s highest peak another step closer.
Steve Dixon, from Barnard Castle, was at base camp for a week, but his adventure began when he flew to Kathmandu on April 9. For two weeks before, he had slept in a special tent which steadily reduced pressure to help him more easily acclimatise when he arrived.
“After arriving in Kathmandu we took a flight to the mountainside village of Lukla, one of the most stunning flights worldwide with a beautiful view on the Himalayas,” he said.
Steve, aged 62, is part of an expedition team. To get to base camp, they had to trek several days across many kilometres and over many suspension bridges across deep gorges.
At Namche Bazaar, known as the gateway to Mount Everest, home to the largest Sherpa community, Steve and the team took time to rest as well as hike and practise rope skills.
At 13 days into his 42-day challenge, they trekked from Tengboche (3,900m) to Dingboche (4,200m). He added: “We stayed two nights to help acclimatise to the high altitude, then climbed Nangkar Tshang (5,000m) on the way.”
After reaching Lobuche village, at 4,910m above sea level, he managed to summit Lobuche (6,119m) two days later, climbing to the summit and descending again in a mammoth 10.5-hour effort.
Steve, a former technical manager at William Smith Group, reached Everest Base Camp (5,300m) on April 22, 3,548m below the mountain’s summit. To reach camp one, he had to trek for eight hours across glaciers.
“The days are sunny but freezing, and the temperature drops to minus 15 at night. We have had a couple of inches of snow,” said Steve.
“There is less oxygen at these altitudes, and I was exhausted when we reached camp one. We’ve been practising ice skills and ice climbing and now I am really looking forward to getting up the mountain.”
Steve is head groundsman at Barnard Castle Cricket Club. Ten years ago he decided to tackle Mount Kilimanjar. Since then, he has scaled Mont Blanc in the Alps, Mount Elbrus in Russia, as well as Himlung Himal and Kyajo Ri in Nepal.
