Most people would normally take months to recover from any one of the 9 legs of the challenge and since completing the world first in July last year my schedule has been non stop with the other part of the 737 Challenge which is the fundraising, appearance and media work. I have only had a few days off and I have been pretty much in denial about how long I’ve been able to maintain the schedule, eventually it caught up with me!

In no way am I wanting to sound like I am moaning, I am incredibly grateful for all the experiences over the last 2 years and would go through every second again in a heartbeat, I have loved the journey, and now I am just taking some time to recharge and reflect on the last couple of the years. Writing my book has been really helpful and cathartic actually and it’s kept me pretty busy. With planning fully underway for “Project X” in 2013/2014 I am really looking forward to the final stages of tests and development later in the year on my solo expedition skiing from Hercules Inlet to the Geographic South Pole in Antarctica. It’s vital for the success and safety of the project that I get fit and strong again soon, for that reason, sadly I have had to pull out of leading the 737 Challenge Kilimanjaro Fundraising trek with Jagged Globe in September.

On a more positive note, I have just broken the news to the lucky winner of our Audi A1 competition, kindly donated by Mon Motors Audi. She was pretty surprised and excited and we’ll be announcing the winner soon, so I guess if you are reading and you haven’t had a call from me then you’re not the winner, sorry!! I’d like to say thank you so much to the Mon Motors Group and everyone who entered helping me raise further funds in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. Your support, as always has been overwhelming and amazing.

I’ve also been writing a food test article with my Denali climbing partner Nikki Skinner for next month’s edition of Trek & Mountain magazine. We did a dehydrated meals test on Denali, it was good having to write notes, it kept me and Nikki occupied stuck at 5,200m in a typical Alaskan storm, although I wasn’t saying that when the pen froze!

There’s plenty happening over here, as always, and hopefully soon I’ll be able to announce some new ambassadorial roles/sponsorships, a new schools program initiative, my new website and the sale of my 737 Challenge BBC Wales documentary to international and national networks, plus lots more!

I’ve started easing myself back into training after 8 weeks of forced rest! I’m a rubbish patient and although I feel much better for the recovery, it’s been tough being disciplined not to train. Especially during all the inspirational and awesome performances from the GB athletes during the Olympics. My favorites were the Brownlee brothers in the Triathlon, Bradley Wiggins in the TT, Mo Farah in his double, Lizzie Armitstead in the Cycling Road Race (having only started 4 years ago!), Nicola Adams in the Flyweight Boxing, Andrew Osagie’s amazing run behind the incredible David Rudisha in the 800m final and Wales’ Jade Jones in the Taekwondo. Although it was awesome watching everyone from the volunteers to the athletes, as they did Great Briton proud. I’ve always been proud to be Welsh and British, but our Olympics surpassed my expectations. I’m amped for the Paralympics now. #superhumans

I could ramble on, you know me guys! But I’ve got to prep for a speaking event in Scotland before I leave for my hols in Sicily on Sunday. I can’t wait! It started off as chillaxing holiday but has evolved into a cycling adventure around the island! Ooops! Panniers included! Well...I’ll still enjoy the beach too!

Thank you guys. Your support and faith throughout the last 2 years has been key to me, keeping me going during the dark times and it’s been very much together that we have supported the Marie Curie Cancer Care Charity. You guys rock. This is the just beginning of our journey together...Antarctica again soon.

Until then, safe travels and adventures.

Rich

My last proper update on Denali was from Camp 14 at 4,200m so here’s what happened next…

We had been there a day or 2, weather was really poor above us and it looked like a low-pressure system was approaching which meant yet more bad weather.

We ended up spending 5 days stuck at Camp 14 with mixed conditions, which were pretty challenging. We had some rare good moments but mostly we spent the 5 days waiting for the bad weather to clear. You could see Camp 17 (high camp) and part of the summit above us and the weather looked terrible. We had reports down that people were having a bad time up there.

The low pressure was due to stay so we were sitting it out, we had a lot of snowfall at Camp 14 which meant a lot of slopes were prone to avalanches – there was a lot of minor avalanche activity at Camp 14 but towards the end of our stay at Camp 14 the weather forecasts suggested that there would be a small weather window on Tuesday (12th) that they were calling “Magic Tuesday” where there would be an improvement, nevertheless the conditions were still challenging and marginal.

Even if there was a weather window we knew the climb was going to be challenging just to get to Camp 17. The climb from Camp 14 to Camp 17 is one of the toughest parts of the climb as you are carrying a full load. The steepest part of the climb - which is called the Headwall is around 600 metres of vertical climb just to get to the top of the Headwall, then when you get to the top of that you have Washburn’s Ridge which is one of the most exposed parts of the climb, especially in poor visibility, high winds and with heavy packs on our backs.

On the Sunday before the “Magic Tuesday” no other teams were moving up to Camp 17 (Camp 17, also known as High Camp is called Camp 17 not because there are 17 Camps but because it is at 17,000ft) because of the conditions, but we were feeling acclimatised, strong and confident and had been moving well as a team. That Sunday (the 10th) we were the only team to move to Camp 17 (High Camp) in pretty poor conditions but we made a safe and informed decision to put ourselves in the best position to capitalise on the “Magic Tuesday” weather window which everyone was talking about to be in the best position to attempt to summit.

That day turned in to a tough day. It was around a 9 hour climb and as we got close to High Camp the visibility was total whiteout which made navigating the ridge challenging and we arrived at High Camp whilst it was snowing with high winds and still had to put the tent up and build snow walls to protect us from the weather. It was cold too, considerably colder than Camp 14, probably around minus 20 I guess.

On the Monday the weather cleared a little, it was still cold, windy and grim – Camp 17 (5,300m/17,388ft) is really baron, and there were only 3 or 4 tents around us. Most people had already come down from Camp 17 abandoning their summit attempt but a few had stayed. We took the day to rest, eat and were in good spirits and just as the weather started to break we went to bed a little beaten up, but very positive and feeling like we had a lot left in the tank to attempt the summit. We knew we might have to break trail because of the snowfall etc but were really confident…but then we woke up on Tuesday morning and it was horrific…

We had over a metre of snowfall in 24 hours at 5,300m, it was very cold, all our sleeping bags were iced up, inside the tent was half a foot of snow and it was by far the worst day with really challenging conditions. We spent most of the morning digging ourselves out of the tent. We knew then that this weather window was not going to happen and we weren’t going to get the opportunity to summit.

The forecast had completely changed and there was reports of another bad weather system coming in, gusts up to 80mph, more snow, and even colder for the next week.

Conditions were bad even below us, we could see that Washburn’s Ridge below was a total white out and high winds meant we couldn’t go up and attempt to summit but we also couldn’t go down either, which was physically and mentally challenging for us.

With all the information on the table, we tried to take advantage of a small break in the weather on Tuesday evening. We packed up camp really quickly and tried to get down to Camp 14 but we got to the top of Washburn’s Ridge - we had high winds, it was snowing, absolutely no visibility, so we turned back as it wasn’t safe to climb down the ridge, so we climbed back up to where we had been camping and had to rebuild snow walls and set up camp all over again.

We woke up Wednesday, conditions had improved to a point but the mountain felt sketchy and unsafe. Conditions were changing quickly and severely and weather reports were not accurate making decision making difficult, so we made the decision on Wednesday to get off the mountain as quickly as we could. We had a long, exhausting 25-hour down climb all the way to base camp to get on to the glacier to get a flight off as quickly as possible.

We left at lunchtime at high camp and went throughout the night, as we knew the mountain would be more stable at night. On our way down to Camp 14 we had learned that the day before on the Tuesday a team that were climbing down to Camp 14 the same day as us hadn’t decided to turn back like we did, they continued to climb down the same day, they got caught in an avalanche on the Headwall that we might have got caught in. We passed the remnants of their accident, their rucksacks strewn underneath the Headwall. We also learned that every major slope had avalanched in the last 24 hours. We were getting extra information at Camp 14 as we had been quite isolated at Camp 17, this reaffirmed our decision to try and get off the mountain quickly and safely.

After the 25-hour down climb we flew off the glacier finally on Thursday morning.

On Friday we learned of the news that 4 out of a team of 5 Japanese climbers had sadly died in an avalanche. We were back in Anchorage when we heard the news. The avalanche happened on a slope on Motorcycle Hill, which we had climbed literally to the hour 24 hours before they were on it.

When we were down climbing through it we were climbing down through thigh deep snow.

My overall feeling of the trip it that it was a really challenging one. All things considered I am really grateful and happy to be safely in Boulder now. Of course mountains are extreme environments and are inherently dangerous places in which to try and perform in, never the less, it’s really sad and tragic when fatalities happen on mountains…. it’s a tough place to earn a living.

Overall Nikki (my climbing partner for this expedition) and I had a fantastic and really productive expedition. It was a really important research and development trip to prepare for my next project. I was testing an MSR tent and some new clothing I have designed with Rab and was also testing different dehydrated food products from different companies for my next project. My tent and Rab gear performed amazingly and the expedition has given me a lot of confidence moving forward…..Remember guys it doesn’t have to be fun to be fun!

So now I have arrived in Boulder, Colorado this morning (It’s boiling hot!) I am spending the next few days with the Rab USA guys and tomorrow night I am talking at one of America’s biggest retailers called Neptune in Boulder, talking for Rab as a Rab Ambassador. I am really grateful to Neptune and Rab USA for helping me raise further funds in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care as well. My climbing partner Nikki has to put up with me for a few more days yet! Nikki is the Marketing Manager for Rab but an awesome climber and friend. We have spent 24 hours together in a tent for 16 days – the equivalent to 7 years of marriage we reckon! Ha! and we are still talking and mates!

I hear the weather has not been that great back home so I’ll try and bring the Colorado sunshine back with me.

Speak soon guys, sorry the update took so long but it’s been an epic week! Thanks for all your messages on Twitter and Facebook. I am going to try and reply to lots of them over the next few days when I can. Will tweet some photos from on Denali and then they will all be up on 737challenge.com when I return. Rich.

It’s been horrific, some of the worst conditions I have endured, -35c, 70mph winds, 1 metre of snow in 24 hours which caused many avalanches.

Lots to update you on but will write more tomorrow. We are safe and well. Rich.

It’s mostly been rubbish conditions, white out, flat light, snow, winds with odd breaks! Totally different to last year. Colder. I prefer these conditions, snow is good to settle upper mountain.

Arrived in anchorage yesterday after an epic 31-hour journey of connections! Yesterday was like supermarket sweep at the biggest supermarket ever getting some last minute additions for our food tests.

I am climbing Denali for the 3rd time. This time my climbing partner is my friend Nikki Skinner and we are testing some new clothing I’ve developed with Rab. I am also testing new MSR tent systems for my next project and writing a dehydrated food test article for a magazine with Nikki.

This is my first real test of dehydrated food at altitude in real mountain conditions, not just in my garden! My body is still a little disorientated with the time difference. We have just loaded our bags on to the Alaska rail road train which is like something from a 1950’s movie! Awesome!

Heading to Talkeetna today for our briefing with the Denali Park Rangers. Conditions aren’t great this year – cold, windy, and dry, which means icy conditions on the upper mountain. Very similar to when I summited in 2010. Perfect conditions to test new systems for me and a real test. We have had news that base camp is shut due to bad weather. Hopefully we will fly on to the mountain as soon as we can.

DENALI FACT: Only 20% of Alaska is accessible by road or by boat.

Further update from Rich later today: Looks like we have the green light to fly on to the glacier and mountain today! Fingers crossed the weather stats clear! Conditions are cold, lots of frostbite and worse incidents so far. Never the less conditions are better than last year so I’m positive. A few summits in the last few days is also positive.

Speak soon from the mountain! Rich.

We were all pretty beat up at this point of the Exped. The heavy loads had begun to take their toll, not to mention the fully loaded climb to camp 2 and erecting the tent in 60+kph winds the day before.

All day I stared up at the polish glacier, the route that we'd come to climb. For a mountain that gets bad press for being boring, the East side of the mountain/polish glacier side is pretty awesome in my books! At any given time we were one of only 2 or 3 tents, unlike the mega busy normal route. I know that I made the right call not to attempt the polish glacier as the ice conditions were pretty ropey to say the least, but I was gutted - it looks so beautiful. It's very similar I guess to the Lhotse face on Everest. About a vertical km of hard and steep windswept ice from 6000m to 7000m. The difference is that here the route isn't fixed with safety ropes and you have crevasses and seracs to contend with, and you're not as acclimatised as you would be on Everest. We'd only been on Acon 7 days at this point!

Anyway, enough now, I/we had made the decision so it was now about the best strategy to summit via the 'true false polish glacier route'. I knew we were strong in the team and that the sun rose about 7am. Ironically two of us were carrying relatively recent frostbite injuries, so I had a plan to best protect our toes! If we backed our ability to climb efficiently and therefore fast, we could leave after the sun came up avoiding the bitterly cold night. The down side was that the winds were due to increase in the afternoon. We decided to get up at 6am and leave at 7am on summit day.

Summit morning is the closest thing that I'll get to a pre match rugby changing room. There’s not much talking in the tent, just deliberate conversation and action. It's a great feeling. The other team, from America, that were attempting to summit via the same route had left camp almost 2 hours before us, and seemed miles ahead of us. The first part of the climb is a 3/4hr traverse from the East side of the mountain around to North side rising from 5900m to approx 6200m. Then you join the 'normal climbing route' and the masses! Luckily the poor weather had meant that there were relatively few climbers attempting to summit this day.

Once on the North side of the mountain the climbing route steepens with a series of zig zags and another long traverse to the bottom of the 'Canaletta'. This is the final 2-4hrs of the summit push and probably the most dangerous part of the climb. By the time we had reached this point we had caught the rest of the teams up, although having been climbing for 2-4 hours less.

The weather from Dad was accurate and the winds did begin to increase significantly, but still within the realms of safe mountaineering. We summited on the 3rd February at 15:45 local time, 18:45 GMT in 60+kph winds and around -28 degrees Celcius, after an 8hr summit climb. For obvious reasons we didn’t stay long on the summit, conscious of getting back down safely.

I did however manage to take some photos with my Marie Curie Cancer Care 'Tea Pot' and 'Daffodil' for the Great Daffodil Appeal! I’m not sure they've come out as expected but at least they are authentic!

The down climb is always the hardest both mentally and physically in my opinion, and it didn't disappoint! We got back to the safety of my new MSR tent shattered, but content! A 12 hr day in total.

The following day turned out to be the toughest day ironically!! Mountains have a funny way of kicking you when you’re down! All good character building! We had a map which showed a trail from camp 2, gently traversing down and around the mountain to 'Nido' camp at 5500m. This was the first day that we had 'everything' loaded in our packs, about 30kgs each! To cut a long story short, we dropped down from camp 2 only to realise that there was no trail and the scree slope was too steep to traverse with heavy packs on. This meant a painful 2 hr climb back UP to another camp called 'Colera' to drop down into 'Nido' camp! All above 5700m! A savage twist!

The next 2 days were non-stop down climbing firstly to Plaza De Mulas, the base camp on the other side of the mountain, and then down to the park entrance at Horcones. Once out the park the adventure for the night was only just started! Trying to flag a bus down in what is the equivalent of a motorway was the beginning, and the end was a bunk bed underneath a ceiling fan!! The Argies aren't too hot on health and safety! Ha!

This trip has been very different to last years climb as part of my 737 Challenge. It's been awesome in fact! Bloody tough, but great! I'm still pinching myself, from the depth of depression around my forced retirement 2.5 years ago to now being able to safely head into the mountains is just awesome. Not many people traverse Aconcagua because it's tough. Done properly, without support, the loads are equal to Denali not to mention the extreme altitude. I'm really proud to have safely summited, especially as its been a difficult year due to weather on Aconcagua. I'm even more proud to say that it seems as if my climbing partner on this trip and friend Aniko Molnar was the first Hungarian to successfully traverse Aconcagua. Nice work mate!!

I'm home at the end of this week and straight back into the fundraising! This trip has recharged me and allowed me some clarity (in life and..) to do what needs to be done in order to maximise the time left fundraising in aid of Marie Curie. We still have a long way to go until July, but many exciting initiatives to get there! Even since I've been away, I know the 737 Challenge team have been on it and the support from you guys is still incredible!

P.S. The truth is this was all a mega high altitude training session for First Nation Home in March! Ha! I'd fancy a punt on us Welshies to bring it home!!

Last night was once again insane winds but blue skies today. More teams arrived today and one are attempting the Polish Glacier. Another team have done like us, planned it but are traversing the false Polish. This exped has been a tougher, better side of the mountain and fun. Aiming to summit tomorrow so hopefully will speak to you guys after my 2nd Summit of Aconcagua!

Today I load carried to camp 1, 5000m. Back at Plaza Argentina now. Great to be working to climb the mountain. Winds increasing now and for tomorrow for the move up to camp 1. Still no clearer on route, but I have options from camp 2. The toe and I are good. Movie night for me on my ipod tonight!

I've arrived in Punta de Vacas and checked in to the park. Our bags dropped off at the mules and as per normal I'm proud to say mine was the lightest at 23kg!

We're getting mixed reports from the mountain so I'm excited and a little apprehensive to get to Plaza Argentina (base camp) to see for myself the conditions and make route plans accordingly. I'm happy to say that there are no ice cream shops here in Los Penitentes at 2610m, but I am planning on smashing a t-bone steak into me tonight! I always get sad eating a t-bone when I can’t take the bone back for Ben! I hear he's up to his usual mischief, when I'm not there to rein him in, eating my folks Indian take away from the oven! Ha! Catch you guys tomorrow.

Tomorrow we drive to the park entrance, Punta de Vacas at 2415m. Load the mules with our gear for base camp. We will stay overnight at Vacas tomorrow and early on Wednesday morning start the 11hr / 31km trek to our first camp, Casa de Piedra at 3245m.

I thought I would send updates whilst I am on Aconcagua, just like the old days! I’m climbing a more technical route on north side of the mountain this time around and using the expedition to test some gear and systems for project ideas further down the line, I’m amped to be back in Argentina!

After 18 hours of travelling I landed in Chile. I slept well but am gutted as I watched all of Moneyball (film with Brad Pitt) but they turned the TV’s off with 7 minutes to go! I’ve now arrived in Mendoza after a pretty bumpy flight in over the Andes! It’s 34 degrees here! First thing first…steak and a coke for lunch! Then we are going to be sorting kit.

Speak soon, Rich.

On the 4th I did my first ever live webchat. I went in to Media Wales, one of my media partners to do it. I really enjoyed it, it was very different to all the other interviews I had already done and it was really good to share the challenge intimately with everyone. People were commenting on how fast I was typing but my 2 finger typing wouldn’t have cut the mustard so it was down to Paul to save the day!

The last 737 Challenge club was held that night and it was great to see some familiar faces and not so familiar, now…(I know I need to let this go) I am still reeling at drawing out my own ticket in the raffle, winning the Rab jacket and having to give it away ha!

I’ve got an awesome new Audi to drive! I want to say a massive thank you to Gavin Cleverly at Mon Motors Audi not just for their support throughout the challenge as one of my sponsors but especially for lending me a brand new Audi A4 allroad. To fund part of the challenge I have had to sell my truck and without my new car I simply wouldn’t be able to get around the country fundraising.

It’s been a long time since I have had to drive a car, and it showed as for the entire drive up to Leeds I had to regress to 2 hands on the steering wheel, 10 to 2 all the way!

Every day is like Christmas as I find a new button and a new gadget in the car, it properly rocks.

I had a manic but really awesome day back in Leeds doing press stuff and seeing everyone back at Headingley. We did loads of radio, TV and newspapers and it was pretty much non-stop from 10am - 7pm.

As soon as I arrived in Leeds memories of my time there came flooding back to me, although not all my memories as I got lost on the one-way system! I sincerely loved my time in Yorkshire playing for Leeds and it was great to see lots of old friends…and it was even sunny!!

Then it was a quick dash up to Kendall to meet some of the guys from Rab, Mountain Boot Company and the Kendall Mountain Festival. Meeting the guys at the Kendall outdoor retail show was like gear porn for me, I even managed to pick up a few pressies!

Then it was on the road again back down to Portsmouth via lunch at Jagged Globe. The other Parksy is off again to Cho Oyu at the end of the month, I am really excited for him but wish I was going too, in fact that really made me realise quite how stir crazy I am going not being able to train or climb. On that note my toe is lived up to the name Lazarus and is slowly coming back from the dead! It’s improving every day, apart from when I stub it and knock off the scabs! It’s improving all the time, but not quick enough for Mr Impatient over here.

I went back to the University of Portsmouth where I did my cold-water immersion testing last year in my training for the challenge. After a quick stop at the University, this time keeping out of the cold water tank and keeping my clothes, I did some radio interviews then it was a rare chance for me to catch up with some friends and unwind in a restaurant in Gunwharf whilst looking up at the yellow Spinnaker Tower which was genuinely amazing! They turned it yellow to support my challenge and Marie Curie Cancer Care to help raise the profile of my fundraising, which was awesome.

A pretty good week only just got better – as Saturday I was invited as a guest of honour to the Wales v England game which in it’s own right is a huge honour but the day was made really special by the WRU for not just inviting me but my parents and all the challenge team. It was a wicked day, a huge honour to be there but I also had a really fun time. Met some cool people, got a chance to hang out in the box with the 737 Challenge team and my mates and I really enjoyed being at the game and watching Wales win. I am really grateful for the WRU for inviting everyone and it was amazing being received by the fans but what was really cool about it as that we were all there together.

Sunday was my Birthday. When Mum and Dad asked me what I wanted for my birthday my honest answer was a lie in!! and my day was exactly what I wanted, it was perfect. I got out of bed just after midday, no washing or putting any pants on! Got in my tracksuit bottoms and went down to the supermarket and brought loads of BBQ food, BBQ’d in the afternoon, stopping Ben my dog steeling sausages from the BBQ and then watched movies with my folks for the rest of the day and I had my phone off! Was perfect!

There’s still lots going on and my diary is still as busy as ever going in to the next few weeks. I am looking forward to going back to Sardis Road to Pontypridd this week, and then it’s gonna be interesting going to Paris on Sunday for a press day in Paris Monday, if it wasn’t nerve-wracking enough to do interviews on British TV, now I have to do it in French on French TV too!

After that I am off on holiday for 10 days, I finally get a chance to rest and reflect, can’t wait!

Last but certainly not least I am really looking forward to the Gala Dinner on the 15th September and finding Ben a tuxedo suit to try and sneak him in!!!

Thursday I had coffee with my mate Sid then spent all afternoon at my filming partners Sports media services going through episode 2. Whilst there I was lucky to catch up with the MD of Sony’s technology centre who gave me a cool video camera as a present, which was pretty awesome. I had pizza with my mate Kev in the night. I know I am still readjusting to normal life after 7 months on expedition but I thought it was awesome that you can track your pizza’s progress live online, me and Kev sat staring at the computer for 30 mins!! Quality time!

Still catching up with everyone and on Friday I went to Pembrokeshire to see Gemma our Events Manager and her newborn baby Eva, the first official 737 Challenge baby!! Ha ha! She’s lush and it was great to see Gems and the family.

Yesterday I went to the cinema to watch Cars 2 with my mates Bev, Andy and their kids…but fell asleep in the first 15 minutes! I am still feeling pretty tired.

Today I have been sorting through my diary with my PR Manager and catching up on tweets, which has been fun. I couldn’t bare to see Ben my dog looking ridiculously bored whilst I was on the laptop so we took Ben for a walk in the park.

You might have seen on Twitter but World of Groggs have released a new limited edition Grogg of me which is pretty cool, I’ve even got my expedition beard! Will be sending an eshot all about it tomorrow.

This week is another busy one with appointments and press stuff. On Thursday I am doing a live web chat at Media Wales, which you can get involved in and send questions in live, more details to follow soon. Thursday night is the next 737 Challenge club night with a double denim theme! The team think they are taking the mick out of me with this theme but little do they know that I have got triple denim ready to rock!

The last two weeks since I summited Mount Elbrus have been an absolute whirlwind, a massive sensory shock really. Not just adapting to civilian life again and being off the mountains but also coming to terms with all the overwhelming support from everyone. It’s been pretty humbling and surreal.

When I came back the first week I was living off adrenalin, the buzz of seeing friends, family and everything was keeping me going, however I always knew that at some point the last 6 months would catch up with me and I would be hit over the head by a cricket bat! That happened at the end of last week and I’ve been shattered since! I’d always anticipated that if successful I, and the 737 Challenge team, would be busy making the most of the opportunity from our exposure to fundraise as much as possible. However, I had no idea how manic it would actually be! I’m as committed to this next chapter of the 737 Challenge as I was to the climbing, but it’s not easy, we still have a lot of work ahead of us and I’m amped about it!

Although I’m very proud of what I and everyone involved in the 737 Challenge have achieved, I’m still not really comfortable with all the attention. It’s incredibly humbling how people view the challenge’s success, I still feel lucky to have had the opportunity to even attempt it! I’m not exaggerating when I say that I owe so much to the team, sponsors and many people on the periphery who all helped make this a reality, not just for me, but for Marie Curie. It’s all still sinking in guess! I’ve had really good advice about all the media stuff, never the less it’s been an equal challenge for me, but I am enjoying it.

Yesterday when I was in BBC Radio 2 I just missed meeting The Boss Bruce Springsteen, he was going down in the lift as I was coming up in the other one, and on BBC Breakfast Sir Anthony Hopkins was due on the same day as me but couldn’t come on the show! I am not one to get star struck but I’d be lying if I said I that I wasn’t excited to meet both of them! Still I did eat Sir Anthony’s breakfast in the green room and The Boss probably heard me singing ‘Dancing in the dark’ in the lift over from him as we passed! Ha!

I am really excited about the documentary going out tonight on BBC One Wales. I’m proud that not only have we got a documentary on BBC Wales but also of what we’ve produced, It’s awesome. It’s very powerful to me that, like everyone involved in the challenge, Sports Media Services - my filming partner and BBC Wales took the leap of faith with me when others didn’t in the beginning. I would have loved for it to be longer, but still amped we’re able to share a small glimpse of the last 2 years with everyone. It’s really important to me that people like it. I know we’ve had interest from other network channels and broadcasters, and hopefully we’ll be able to produce a longer insight into the challenge in the near future.

A lot of people are tweeting asking why it’s not on network BBC, the truth is that in the beginning it was near impossible getting this documentary commissioned for various reasons, that’s why I’m grateful to SMS and BBC Wales for sharing my adventurous spirit. Everyone across the UK can view it on the iPlayer, digitally and who knows where it might go after this. There are lots of exciting prospects, possibly even making a DVD. For now I’m excited to see the 1st episode tonight...I’ve got my popcorn and pillow ready!

I’m still desperately trying to catch up with friends, family and sponsors however that’s proving as much of a challenge as the last 6 months have been! My diary of fundraising, media and appearances is pretty chocca already...I’ve never been so organised in my life!!

I am looking forward to picking up my Audi that Mon Motors Audi are generously lending me to help me get round the country. I don’t know which model it is yet, but who cares it’s an Audi! Our Audi A1 which has been out there already promoting our amazing text to win an Audi A1 competition is proving a bit of a hit, not just amongst the humans but I couldn’t get Ben out the boot the other day as he was too comfy! It’s a pretty cool car! However, I still have issues with driving around in a car with my big face on the side! But it’s all to raise funds in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care so please keep texting, the more you text the better chance you have of winning it! Luckily the winner gets a brand new faceless version! Ha!

My toe is recovering really well. Mega painful, but that’s a sign that all the nerves and tissue are regenerating. I managed to get through the last 2 legs of the challenge without too much trauma to my toe, then yesterday at the challenge team meeting I stubbed it on a chair!! It grossed everyone out as it started bleeding all over my flip flop! Seriously, It’s the very best outcome I could have hoped for and once again I owe my thanks to everyone who helped me through that horrible and uncertain 2 weeks between Everest and Denali. I am likely to lose a small part of it but looking at the big picture Lazarus has done me proud!

It’s fair to say I am feeling pretty mixed up. I am really happy to be home, it’s overwhelming, awesome and I am so grateful to everyone, but I’ve been travelling for so long it’s been difficult adjusting back and in some ways I miss the simplicity of expedition life. I miss the mountains.

My biggest challenge to date though has been teaching my dog Ben out of all the bad habits my mum and dad have taught him whilst I was away! He’s been properly spoilt! Ha ha!

I am going to keep writing my diary and thanks to everyone who has been reading each entry. Just sorting out a new diary page here at 737challenge.com but for now will keep writing here on Elbrus!

Catch you soon guys, Rich.

We trekked back down to base camp after a night at high camp after summiting. On the morning of leaving high camp Dai Camera was on the loo and Parksy and I played a practical joke on him putting some rocks in his rucksack. Dai carried them for about 4 hours without noticing until it started raining and he had to go in his rucksack to get his raincover out for his camera. It was very funny!

After a night at base camp we then had the overland drive back to Mineralny Vody in what can only be described as Russia’s answer to the vdub camper. It was the most uncomfortable 5 hours in a car ever. We were in this 1960’s 4x4 pretty much off roading for 5 hours solid.
The next day we left Mineralny Vody and flew to Moscow. We almost missed the flight and were promptly frog marched to the plane by the military, as we were late!

We were sat about 10 metres from the gate but we didn't realise it was our flight as they were getting on really early, bare in mind we can’t read anything in Russian and our interpreter is no longer with us.

When they realised were the 3 passengers they were looking for who were late we got on our own bus to the terminal and walked on the plane very embarrassed. Dai and I were luckily sat at the front and kept our heads down avoiding the stares of everyone waiting but the other Parsky had to do the walk of shame because his seat was near the back!

We got to Moscow and we had been warned already about non-official taxis at the airport. All we had was an address of the hotel and loads of bags. We tried to get a taxi but couldn’t so we decided to chance our luck on the train. It was proper hot, mid 30’s and there were no seats, so we stood on the train for 40 mins sweating uncontrollably!!

Got to Moscow and its chaos! Millions of people! We ended up bartering with an official taxi driver…who drive us around the same monument twice so we did get ripped off anyway but we got to the hotel, had a welcome shower and found a really good steak house and had a good meal. After steak and 3 espressos, we had sambuka chasers and went out and had a few beers in Moscow, which was pretty awesome!

The next morning (yesterday) I had an hour or two in red square before flying back to Heathrow last night. Mum, Dad, Simon Lowe from Jagged Globe and Pinders my PR Manager were there to greet us, which was awesome. Went back to the hotel in London and had a few glasses of Champagne with Mum, Dad and Pinders. Stayed up chatting for a while and then got a few hours sleep.

I have really mixed feelings about being back. It still hasn’t sunk in. I don't feel any different at all but I hear that I've been all over the papers and getting a lot of coverage. I have a lot of press stuff and appearances lined up for this week, it’s going to be busy!! I am really looking forward to coming home on Tuesday to the Senedd in Cardiff to see everyone and I can’t wait to see my dog Ben. I never did this with the ambition or intention of being in the limelight but its cool that I'll get the opportunity to raise the profile further of the challenge and try and raise more funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care. I am sure I’ll be tweeting lots this week whilst I am buzzing around. I’ll be continuing my diary too here at 737challenge.com so keep on browsing and thanks for tuning in and for all your support.

See below for all the details.

Thank you to everyone who has ever followed, donated or supported me along the way.

Arriving at Moscow and getting the transfer onwards was surreal. I have visited every continent on the planet but Russia is like nothing else I have ever seen before. We got to Mineralny Vody airport and we can’t communicate and can’t read anything. Then it was as if we got abducted from the airport! We got taken by a driver who shoved us in to a car and basically drove incredibly fast around this town, engrossed in what seemed to be a very aggressive argument on his mobile phone and he then dropped us off at the hotel where we met our Russian liaison but for that hour in the car we were all just looking at ourselves thinking this might be the last car journey we ever take! Honestly it was freaking us out! We got to the hotel and met our Russian liaison Sergy who’s a really nice guy. We spent a night in the hotel and the next morning we left pretty early to drive overland to base camp, which is about 5-6 hours in a 4x4 off road. There isn’t the infrastructure like there is on the south side of the mountain so there are no roads as such at all really.

We had to go through one checkpoint on route which was blocking the 4x4 path and there were two guys with AK-47’s pointing at us so we hid the TV cameras under the bags and the guys got out and did some negotiating and some talking, it was about 5 minutes waiting but it was the longest 5 minutes I have had in a car. We had spoken about the checkpoints but the reality of someone pointing AK-47’s at you is pretty intimidating but we got through reasonably uneventfully and arrived at base camp yesterday at 2,300m.

Last night we camped at 2,300m right next to the military base, the soldiers there were really cool, actually quite the opposite of what we had heard before travelling out. There were quite a few other teams around us too. This morning we carried full loads to high camp. The early part of the day was climbing through pretty lush green rolling hills, very much like Wales, it was beautiful and the latter part of the day was through moraine and rocks and stuff and now we are just on the edge of the glacier.

Both me and the other Parksy shaved our beards off, I am quite happy to say that it has taken about 5-7 years off me, it took about 20 years off Parksy, he looked 12!! but the last few days he has got some stubble back so he now looks like a teenager!

I had pretty mixed emotions shaving, I wanted to keep my beard to the end but also wanted to get rid of it, but it was all in our best interests to attract as little attention to ourselves as possible once we were here.

Update on the toe - I had a pretty painful day today, we climbed a 1,500m vertical climb today and it was a tough day by anyone’s standard. The toe was getting pretty painful towards the end of the climb. We got to camp and I changed the dressing. The end of the toe is just flesh now, there is no dead skin or live skin on it so it’s in my best interest to get up and down as quickly as possible.

Hopefully speak to you all soon from the summit of Elbrus!

In Talkteena after returning from base camp last night. Talkteena is about 3-4 hours away from Anchorage and we are getting shuttles to Anchorage tonight before flying out from Anchorage tomorrow.

We flew off the glacier yesterday in a single otter plane. It was an amazing flight. After 3 days in base camp seeing the plane fly towards us on the glacier was just dreamy!

We had got to the point at base camp where we had run out of happy food and was on to the stuff we really didn’t want to eat!

It hadn’t stopped snowing for 2-3 days, more a less a total white out and I really didn’t think we were going to get off the glacier but luckily at one point yesterday the clouds cleared and blue skies appeared like on the Simpsons and we had a radio message to say the plane would be coming in. The runway was too sticky at first making things difficult for the plane to take off so all the teams on the glacier, that’s about 20-30 people from different teams had to stomp the runway, in other words walk on the runway lots to improve it.

Luckily we were on the first flight out and were picked up around 6pm. Everyone managed to get off the glacier too as we saw the other teams in town last night.

My toe is flat out grosse! it looks disgusting. It still looks like a toe thankfully, but maybe a little smaller. Bits of flesh from the side and the bottom have fallen off and I have lost my nail. After summiting and the descent, which was around 2 days I took off my sock after the descent and couldn’t actually find my nail and it had worked it’s way underneath my toe, it took a while to find it! The overall condition of it though is really good despite it looking grosse. I am really pleased it hasn’t re frozen on Denali and I hope I will keep most of the toe. I might lose the tip but hopefully I will get to keep most if it, will have to wait and see. It’s really painful but from a toe point of view Denali couldn’t have gone any better, everything has fallen off as planned and I was really careful about keeping it dry and clean.

This will probably be my last update from Alaska. Got some phone ins to do with the press late tonight early morning tomorrow your time. Gotta go now as time to make our way to Anchorage. Thanks for all your messages on Twitter and Facebook and please if you can donate anything to help me keep on pushing that figure up for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

After summiting we got back to 17,000ft camp and spent the best part of the next 20 hours asleep. After that the weather turned so we got a move on descending at a really good pace climbing from 17,000ft camp to 7,500ft camp picking up our cached gear at 14,000ft which was pretty heavy. It was 11 painful hours of down climbing with my toe and in a complete white out. We had about 3 hours sleep at 7,500ft camp before descending to base camp where we arrived yesterday morning.

There were quite a few teams moving though the glacier at the bottom of the mountain, it was reassuring having plenty of people around us. They led the way through 5-6 hours of the glacier which were really nerve wracking as every step I was reliving that fall. Quite a few people in other teams also had falls.

We were so relieved to get back in to base camp that we necked a whole bottle of whisky! We have also renamed the hill just as you get in to base camp. It’s called “Heartbreak Hill” but Parksy and I have renamed it “The never ending thank f*** we are alive Hill!!”

We were due to fly out from base camp yesterday but due to weather conditions the flight was cancelled. It’s snowing pretty heavily here and the weather is not great so it looks like we will be stuck here for a few days.

Richard Parks summited North America’s highest mountain – Denali, also known as Mount McKinley today at 8.08am UK time and 11.08pm, Wednesday 29th June 2011 Alaskan/local time.

He has now completed an amazing 8 legs of his world first 737 Challenge and has just one more mountain to conquer to make history as the first ever person to climb the continental summits and stand on the North and South Poles in the same calendar year.

Richard summited Denali alongside climbing partner Matt Parkes (known as the other Parksy) after a gruelling 10 and a half hour summit climb.

Click below to read about my first week on Denali and to listen to all the interviews on my first week.

Noodle curry tonight! More digging our tent out today. It was an enforced rest day as conditions are still bad. We woke with 2 and a half metres of snow and 50mph wind gusts. At 17,000 ft camp its 70mph gusts and a metre. Weather forecast has changed from yesterday, now suggests low-pressure system will last longer. The weather this afternoon was clear, it’s so unpredictable! We will cache a load at around 16,000 ft tomorrow so were are ready to take advantage of weather window to summit. We are preparing for a long wait. Patience and holding our nerve is important. We are both well and the cook off continues with Matt’s beef. The toe is kind of falling apart, all dead tissue and nail falling off as expected. Painful but in good condition.

We woke to a snowstorm. Tent buried in 2ft tent of snow and gusts up to 46mph. Forecasts suggest that the low-pressure system will stay for 4/5days! Looks like we are going to have to sit it out. We are in the best place on mountain to wait, we are acclimatising and poised. We are one camp away from the summit when the storm clears.

We’ve spent the day digging tent out. Resting in tent and had lunch with Vern Tejas, who became the first climber to complete a solo winter ascent of Denali in 1988 and survive!

He made us soup, top guy! The toe is starting to look pretty gross now but I’m looking after it well and loving my gucci lorpen socks from the mountain boot company (one of my sponsors who provide me with my Scarpa and Grivel gear). Matt and I are having daily cook offs! It’s neck and neck with my chicken pesto pasta and Matt’s chilli bean fajita!

Conditions much better today, much colder making the route more stable. Although we did have to cross a few monster crevasses early in the day. Today was physically tough climbing over 1000m with full loads but the better conditions were a much needed boost to our spirits after our epic first day!

We’ve spent the last 3 hours building snow walls, melting snow so we are bombproof for the bad weather forecasted tomorrow. In my bag so tired, we’re off 2 sleep.

FACT: Cache is load depositing at a camp in order to split carrying all your gear at once.

Richard and Matt were travelling on a well trodden route crossing a crevasse on the Alaskan mountain some way between base camp and 11,000 ft camp. Richard fell through the crossing up to his waist. On trying to free himself he fell in to the crevasse landing on his back. He was in a cavern with a depth of 7 metres. The rope cut back through the snow so he could not climb out. Normally you would cut the roof away in these circumstances and pulley out but it was too dangerous for Matt, Richard's climbing partner to do this. A very difficult situation to get out of.

Luckily another rope team came along and were able to help get Richard out. Richard was very wet but initial reports is that he is fine. Rich and Matt climbed on around another 7 hours to camp, a very long day and have since had a rest day. More news to follow once the team speak with Richard directly.

737 Challenge Team.

See news story below.

See link below to news story.

I am feeling really positive about it but the realism is that it’s obvious it won’t be anywhere near healed by the time I would need to leave for Denali. With that in mind I’ve been in dialogue with Ace Feet in Motion (who already provide my orthotics) and Scarpa (my awesome boot sponsor) with coming up with a system to protect my toe should I continue with the challenge. I am continuing to do everything I can but I know I have some difficult decisions to make next week.

On a different note in between treatment and sleeping, I have managed to catch up with a few of my friends, which has been fantastic. We also took Ben (my dog) back to the vet – the screws they put in his leg are causing some irritation so he is going to have them out next week, we now have matching bad legs which is pretty cool!

Since I have come back I have put on 6kg, I am now 90kg – 14 Stone 2.4lb. It’s pretty bizarre but I am off to a wedding today! I am really looking forward to Kev’s wedding (my mate and training guru Kevin Morgan) and it will be great to catch up with a lot of guys that I haven’t seen in a while there. I am gonna pay my condolences to Kev, another good man bites the dust! Ha!

Beard update – ridiculously long - now people have started bidding for me to shave off my beard, I am growing quite attached to it! You can bid if you fancy it, proceeds raising funds in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, details on our facebook page.

Simon, Matt and myself had a really productive meeting about Denali. We were all on the same page with potential timings and dates, but agreed it is wise to monitor my toe and stay flexible and open-minded. Matt's been awesome and almost finished planning the group gear, which we will split next week. It was really exciting seeing everything laid out and ready to pack! I love packing for expeditions and Matt (whose surname is Parkes so I call him the other Parksy!) is just as OCD as me! We still can't guarantee I'll be able to climb yet, my toe is a long way off and I have to still process the risks, but I feel much more positive now. I'm so grateful to Simon and all the Jagged Globe team, working with them I have the best chance, but more importantly the safest chance too. Just 4 hours on a train to look forward to..and I'm back in the hyperbaric chamber at 8am tomorrow morning!

I'm still light but am slowly putting weight on from the 83kg I was last week, never the less I still look like a 10 year old boy wearing his Dad's clothes! So I decided to buy a new suit for Kevin's wedding (Kevin Morgan, former Wales fullback and good friend and also my training guru for my challenge) this Saturday. It's bizarre after wearing the same climbing gear for the last 6 months! Well technically I did wear a suit on Everest, my Rab down suit! I’m looking forward to seeing the team at Jagged Globe tomorrow in Sheffield, hopefully we will be able to at least pencil in plans for Denali. Will let you know how tomorrow goes. Thanks for all your messages of support on Facebook and Twitter.

Lazarus my toe is much the same really, the dead tissue is drying nicely and although looks pretty gross is in good shape. It is aching and throbbing at times which is really positive as it's a sign of blood flow and nerve regeneration. I'm aware though that it's a very slow process.

It's been awesome seeing my dog Ben, we’ve got matching bad feet now! And obviously it's been great to see my folks, the challenge team and some of my mates. The support is a little overwhelming to be honest, humbling in fact. I'm very proud of what we are trying to achieve and I love that I'm able to share my journey with everyone following me. I am looking forward to watching Wales take on the Baa-Baas today, the WRU have been awesome since day one supporting the challenge. My beard is doing my head in! On expedition shaving is the last of my thoughts, and I've appreciated a little facial protection, but now I'm home it's just annoying! It's gonna go soon!!

When I got home I slept for 16 hours, a mammoth sleep. Now it is all about finding out as much information as I can and getting as much advice as I can. I am seeing a vascular surgeon today about my toe and this week I will be getting more opinions off the best people. I’m seeing a various amount of experts in High Altitude medicine, frostbite and vascular surgery. Next week I will then be going to Jagged Globe in Sheffield (my expedition and logistical partner) and talking through all my options with Simon Lowe. I’m not making any decisions at present and am just doing everything I’ve been told to do to help the toe recover and taking in all the advice I am receiving from the best people. Next week I will be able to let you all know the plan but right now it’s all about rest and thinking things through.

The helicopter ride was amazing - flying down the Khumbu valley retracing my trekking path from 4 weeks ago. The valley had changed so much, much greener. On arrival in Kathmandu an ambulance picked me up at airport to take me to the NIC clinic, which felt a bit overkill ha! They doctors at the clinic confirmed what the specialist Jagged Globe had emailed over to me yesterday after looking at my toe picture (see below) Its a grade 1-2 frostbite which at first glance seems as if it will heal but with time! And not to re-expose it to high altitude or cold!!!

I'm now hoping that the Jagged Globe team back in Sheffield can change my flight home, so I can get my toe on the road to recovery asap and hopefully in time for Denali. I thought the thicker air of Kathmandu would give me more energy, but instead I'm double shattered! My toe is starting to really swell in size now as the fluid begins to flow back through the micro capillaries that have been burst by the freezing. I'm expecting it to become very painful, but not yet. Now it's another lonely couple of days resting in my hotel room. Thank you for all your get well messages on Facebook and Twitter.

THE LATEST FROM JAGGED GLOBE – THE 737 CHALLENGE EXPEDITION AND LOGISTICAL PARTNER

Prof. Chris Imray, Consultant General and Vascular Surgeon and Dr. David Hillebrandt, medical advisor to Jagged Globe have assessed Richard based on the photographs they have seen of Richard’s toe.

David Hillebrandt, Medical Advisor to Jagged Globe stated; “In terms of facts it appears that Richard Parks has Grade 1 or Grade 2 frostbite to the great toe with possibly some very mild damage to the index toe. As a general rule the treatment of frostbite in the acute phase is thawing once the person is safe and then efforts to prevent infection and to let nature take its course over several weeks or months. Normally somebody with this degree of damage would be expected to keep their toe in the long term but may have later susceptibility to future cold injury and possibly long term nerve damage with odd toe sensations. This assumes the person has conservative treatment with simple dressings and time to heal. Time is the great healer. The greatest risk to a mildly frostbitten digit is from further damage once it has thawed (which this now has) and before it has fully healed. The doctor in me has to advise him to rest until healed, which could be a couple of months but every bit of rest is potentially beneficial. The climber in me sympathises with a desire to keep climbing and go on to Denali”.

The summit push couldn't have gone more to plan, although one of the toughest days of my life, it was a genuinely enjoyable climb across the razor sharp balcony ridge, up the mixed climbing of the large rock section, the summit ridge, Hillary step and finally the feeling of stepping onto the summit was out of this world. The nature of this challenge and indeed mountaineering and sport in general is it's a bit like snakes and ladders!

I had no indication of this on summit day, in fact I thought I'd bruised my toe nail on the front of my boot on the down climb, but on arriving back in base camp and visiting the medical centre I've just found out that I have frostbite in my right big toe. I did everything right and didn’t make any mistakes, it's a case of circulation and hypoxia at 8950m. Nevertheless it's serious, at the moment I'm being helicoptered out tomorrow to get back to sea level asap. Denali is 50:50 as is losing my toe. Jagged Globe, my expedition partner have ensured I'm being looked after by the very best high altitude medics and I will do everything I can to get through it. I'm shell shocked, gutted and angry.

I would like to say a massive thank you to David and Andy the exped leaders, Rachel and Jen the doctors at the Everest base camp medical centre and all the team back at Jagged Globe HQ in Sheffield for being awesome and helpful. I would also like to thank the rest of my summit team - Adam, Mark and Steve (who are taking the mick out of me now!) Gavin made lamb shank tonight to celebrate our summit.
I’m being flown back to Kathmandu tomorrow in a helicopter to get back to sea level as soon as possible and to avoid any more trauma to my toe - giving me the best chance of a recovery in time for Denali. Catch you tomorrow guys!

UPDATE LATER IN THE AFTERNOON FROM JAGGED GLOBE LEADER AT BASE CAMP
Steve arrived back at Camp 4 a few hours after Rich pretty exhausted. He, Rich and the group will rest, eat, recover and refuel. Tomorrow they will move down to Camp 2.

Steve summits Everest at 10.10am local time/5.25am UK time today.

Click below to see news story and how to listen to Richard's interview from the summit of Everest.

"With the summit team poised at Camp 4 on the South Col the Base Camp staff gathered in the mess tent to follow their progress throughout the night. At 21.30 Mingma Sherpa, leader of the summit team, called Base Camp to say that conditions on the upper mountain were too windy for the team to proceed.

The climbers at Camp 4 have adequate supplies of food, fuel and oxygen. They will spend today (24th) resting in their tents and will reschedule the climb to the summit for tonight. The weather forecast for the next 48hrs predicts low wind speeds high on the mountain and this should give ideal conditions for the team to reach the summit.

The planned departure time from Camp 4 is around 21.00 / 22.00 local time, and the climb to the top should take between 8 and 10 hours given favourable conditions. As far as we are aware there is only one other team climbing Everest from the Nepalese side that is on a similar schedule and can be expected to attempt the mountain on the same day as the Jagged Globe team. This is a team from a Japanese film company that are making a documentary about young Nepali Sherpa climbers. There have been very few ascents of Everest from the Tibetan side this season, perhaps because the ropes were not fixed to the top until a few days ago. It is possible that there will be several teams attempting Everest from the North in the next few days, and our team from the South might meet some of these climbers on the summit.

WEATHER UPDATE

Wind:
Wind speeds are low for the next couple days. At summit the speeds are around 10-30 km/h. Towards the end of the month the wind speeds up again.

Weather:
The weather seems to be friendly today and tomorrow. In the afternoon of the 26th and the 27th the convection at Everest is enhanced. Showers are probable, maybe combined with a thunderstorm. In the following days, convection is reduced to lower altitudes. The diurnal change between sunny mornings and cloudy afternoon continues.

WEATHER UPDATE

Wind:
Today (Mon 23rd) the wind is blowing strong. At summit there are winds of 50 km/h, with gusts reaching 90 kmh. On Tues 24th the speeds decrease from 40 kmh (morning) to 20 kmh (evening).
Wed 25th- Fri 27th a period of weak winds follows. From SAT 28th the wind is increasing.

Weather:
Today and tomorrow (23rd/24th) the weather is rather sunny with some cumulus clouds and showers in the afternoon (today more than tomorrow). Snow can fall below 8000m.
From 25th expect more cumulus clouds and the clouds reach higher levels (beyond 11000m).

Andy Chapman (one of our leaders) climbed with us to the bergschrund at the foot of the Lhotse Face and then descended to Camp 2.

Andy helped members of the Japanese team to evacuate the body of the climber who had died high on the mountain a few days ago. A stretcher owned by Jagged Globe that had been at Camp 4 was used to lower his body to Camp 2 from where a helicopter pick up was requested.

Our team of sherpas who will be climbing to the summit with us left Base Camp in the early hours of the morning and are now resting in Camp 2. Tomorrow morning all 8 of us (Steve, Adam, Mark and me and 4 sherpas) will climb to Camp 4 (7,950m).

EVEREST WEATHER UPDATE

Here is the latest forecast for summitting Everest.

General situation:
The situation has not changed since yesterday. A branch of the subtropical jet lies south of the Himalaya and moves away and weakens. The period of weak winds continues until the 22nd. Then winds turn up, weaken on the 24th and are quite weak during the following days.

Wind:
Expect speeds between 20 to 40 km/h until the night of the 22nd.
22nd and 23rd: Speeds of 30-50 km/h are probable at summit. Gusts can reach up to 60/70 km/h.
24th: Wind decreases and stays weak in the following days.

Weather:
20th and 21st: Showers in the second half of the day. The sky should clear in the night to the 21st.
22nd-25th: Less clouds and showers. 22nd and 23rd only few clouds reaching 8000 meters. Promising weather at the 25th.
Outlook: Convective weather with showers especially in the second half of the day.

Another reason yesterday was so tough, is that after seeing the new weather forecast and heavy snow in base camp, we had to delay our summit bid. It's been really reassuring to have David Hamilton's input (he came down yesterday), between him and the experience in our sherpa team, as frustrating as it is, I'm confident it's the right thing.

We have to hold our nerve. It looks like we will be one of the last teams on the mountain, as to my knowledge all other teams are already in the higher camps, the ice doctors (Sherpas that maintain the route and ladders in the icefall) are saying that they're going to start pulling the ladders up and closing the icefall on the 27th. Both Steve and I are ready and in good shape and ready to leave tomorrow. One of the main group had retina freezing on the summit and lost his eyesight temporarily on his descent, he's fine now though. In fact I want to say thank you to him, Alan, as he's lent me his steel grivel crampons as my lighter aluminium grivel crampons have snapped. There is a lot of rock/mixed climbing on the upper mountain, which my crampons aren’t designed for. Top man. We have to react to both the good and bad days the same up here, but I felt a little flat after yesterday, but still think Sargamartha wants us to summit though and today am feeling good!

We are leaving base camp tomorrow (20th) for our summit bid, heading for camp 2. Today has been the quiet before the storm, mostly chilling, hydrating and eating! I've been packed or at least sorted for a while now waiting for my chance! Were planning on leaving at 2am to climb through the icefall when it’s coldest and most stable. This is it I guess! No excuses and no second chances. As always in the mountains, a little lady luck from mother nature would be much appreciated!

EVEREST WEATHER REPORT

General situation:
A branch of the subtropical jet lies over northeast India. For the coming days the jet moves away. Wind speeds are low to moderate at summit. Wind gains speed at the 22nd and 23rd of May. Afterwards the wind weakens.

Wind:
Today-21st: Speeds around 15 to 25 km/h at summit. The direction changes from northwest (20th) to west (21st).
22nd-23rd: West/Southwest, 30-50 km/h mean wind speed. Gusts can go up to 60/70 km/h.
24th: Decreasing wind speeds.
Outlook: Low wind speeds.

Weather:
Today-21st: Convective weather. Showers are probable especially in the second half of the day and possible in the night for tomorrow. Night to 21st should be clear.
22nd-23rd: Sunny forenoon, some cumulus clouds in the afternoon. At high altitudes the weather remains fine.
24th: Some showers in the afternoon.

It's getting close to that time! I'm feeling a mixture of nervous, apprehensive, excited and confident! I know its gonna be tough, my plan is a 4 day summit push without a rest day, but all things considered its the safest option. Mostly I just want to get on with it now. Still studying the weather charts, as they become more accurate the closer we get. Went to the Everest medical tent to get something to clear my sinuses for my summit push. The docs are awesome in there, they were quiet so we had a proper cup of Tetley's tea!

It's been a particularly cold season, with relatively high numbers of frostbite, snowblindness and because of high winds retina freezing. Also this is the earliest season since 1999 on the south side, typical when I come in late! The Sherpas came back late last night from the main Jagged Globe team summit. I just want to say congratulations to everyone who summited. It was Pasang's 7th and Mingma's 16th summit! (our lead Sherpas)

They are planning a few days rest in base camp and they're going to catch us up and meet us at camp 3 on the 21st to climb to the summit. Weather permitting.

It's like pre-game nerves, but 7 times worse and without the changing room!

Thank you to everyone following my blog and for all my messages of support on Facebook and Twitter. I am humbled by all your amazing words and best wishes. THANK YOU, RICH.

Here's an update from the Main Jagged Globe Team who made the summit…

Update from Gavin at base camp on 16th May:
The Jagged Globe team had great success with all of the six members, two guides and seven Sherpa team that left camp 4 at the South Col last night making it to the summit of the worlds highest peak. They left at 9pm on Sunday the 15th and all arrived on the summit around 6am the following morning. They battled stronger than forecast winds which were reported by the expedition leader David Hamilton to be around 30-40 miles per hour. They all arrived safely back at camp 4 by 11am, where they have been resting today. They will start the two day descent back to base camp tomorrow.

Update from Jagged Globe on 16th May:
We have word that all six members who left the South Col last night summited at 0600 with eight of our Sherpas, plus leaders David Hamilton and Andy Chapman. That's 16 on the top of the world. We will update more when they are safely back at the South Col. Congratulations Team Jagged Globe and best wishes for a safe and speedy descent! Don't forget, we have Rich Parks, Steve Williams, Adam (and possibly Mark) still to go in the next few days... stay tuned.

I’ve been looking at the weather forecasts, and it looks like the 21st will be our best chance of summiting. 20-25 knot winds, -38c and no snowfall. The forecasts are only accurate for 4-5 days so we still have to wait and see. Patience is such a massive part of this climb, it's mentally tough, especially seeing people summiting, but I have the upmost confidence in my strategy. It was very cold in base camp yesterday, so I spent most of the day in my Rab sleeping bag, which I love! It's like getting back into the womb!! Adam and I have been sharing dog stories, I miss Ben my dog so much! Yesterday we also watched Quantum of Solace! With popcorn! On Everest Base Camp! My favourite bonds in order; Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton! I love bond! Speak soon guys.

When I got back I had a chorizo, Spanish onion & gruyere cheese omelette and a hot shower!

I'm ready! I believe I could have gone with the main group. Never the less I have 4 days at base camp to recover before my summit bid, which I'll use wisely. It's bizarre how your body shuts down at that altitude, as nobody on the planet lives above 6000m, the contrary is how my body has started working again at base camp today. I've needed the toilet 3 times as my digestive system kicks in. The thicker air almost makes you feel sleepy! Steve is on his 3rd rotation in his acclimatisation schedule. He's sleeping at camp 3 today with the main Jagged Globe group who are also at camp 3 on their summit bid. I haven’t seen much of him but I heard he was strong to camp 3 today and was feeling good up there. I've also been sleeping in the communal dome tent at camp 2 for the last 5 nights, as my tent up there was too short, so it's great to have my own tent back at base camp!

I carried a small load up to camp 3 and felt strong. It’s a real honour to climb with Passang Tenzin Sherpa. He’s one of 7 brothers who have summited Everest 43 times collectively! He’s 27 and this will be his 7th summit. He’s summited Ama Dablam 3 times as well. A top guy. Feeling confident about my summit strategy today was a big step so it was a good day.

NEWS
from Associated Press confirms 82-year-old death:

An 82-year-old former Nepalese foreign minister has died on the slopes of Mount Everest while attempting to become the oldest person to climb the world's highest mountain, an official said Tuesday.

Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay was returning from the first camp set on the slopes of Everest back down to the base camp when he collapsed Monday evening, Mountaineering Department official Tilak Pandey told The Associated Press by telephone. He was going back to the base camp to get medical attention because he was not feeling well.

Upadhyay's climbing companions gave him some water and oxygen after he collapsed on the icy trails, but he died, likely from high-altitude sickness, a common cause of death among mountain climbers, Pandey said. His body was expected to be airlifted to the capital, Katmandu, later Tuesday. Upadhyay served as Nepal's foreign minister from 1986-90 and was the country's representative to the United Nations from 1972-78. He was trying to break the record set by a Nepalese climber who scaled Everest at the age of 76.

EVEREST WEATHER UPDATE:

General situation: The subtropical jet over the Himalaya is weakening.
In the next days Richard and Steve will experience a phase with low to moderate winds and rising temperatures.

Weather forecast: Today and tomorrow: Expect deep convection. This means big cumulus clouds in the afternoon after quite sunny forenoons. In the afternoon some showers of snow. This effects also the high camps. Amounts of fresh snow are similar to the last days. The wind in the summit area is weak with around 10 to 20 km/h. Strong thermals close to showers lead to locally stronger winds. Temperature on the summit: Around -25c.

Thursday to Sunday: Diurnal cycle of convection. Sunny in the forenoon and cumulus clouds in the afternoon with local showers. The cumulus clouds won't reach higher altitudes, so in the high camps and in the summit area it stays mostly dry or only small amounts of snowfall. The wind is still weak to moderate with around 20 km/h in the summit area. Towards the weekend the wind is getting a bit stronger to about 30 km/h (maybe 40 km/h in gusts). The temperature is rising to about -22c.

General situation:

The subtropical jet over the Himalaya is weakening on the 9th of May. The wind direction does not change. The summit remains in a southwestern flow. Cyclonic conditions will bring more convection and therefore also more snowfall. The temperature at summit: is around -28 degrees Celsius.

This feels like -40 degrees with a wind of 20 km/h.

9th May
Strong wind at summit. Mean wind speeds: 50-80 km/h. Ceasing in the evening. Friendly morning. Towering cumlus in the afternoon. Showers are probable. They can last during the night to the 10th of May.

10th-11th May
Deep convection. Snowfall especially at the south side of Everest.
But also at the north side expect some snow. Weak winds.

12th-15th May
Diurnal cycle with good climbing conditions in the mornings.
Increasingly cloudy in the afternoon with fog at the mountain.
Showers are probable in the second half of the day at the south side of Everest. Moderate wind speed at summit (20-40 km/h).

FACT: A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial, which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past ice age. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have fallen off the valley walls as a result of frost wedging or landslide.

Which brings me on to the main part of the update; today Steve and I had another long meeting with David Hamilton (our team leader), Andy Chapman (our assistant leader), mingma sherpa, and nima sherpa the climbing sirdar (Sirdar is a Nepali trek leader) and camp sirdar respectively. Steve and I have climbed to camp 1 - we climbed through the icefall in good time and slept/ate well in camp 1. Based on the llama (holy Nepalese) calendar - which suggests that after the 23rd there will be no weather window, we have revised our summit strategy to make it even more ambitiously short. Weather permitting we're hoping to be ready to summit on the 22nd May.

After discussing ideas between all 6 of us, Steve and I have decided to run two different summit strategies, but join together for the final summit bid.

Having come into this off the back of 5 months of expeditions, and having 2 more mountains after, my concern with a traditional acclimatisation programme is climbing up and down the mountain expending energy. For me the climb through the icefall is the biggest energy sapper, which is only going to get worse as it melts making the route more complicated. With this in mind, knowing my own body at altitude and having discussed it through thoroughly with the leaders, I've decided on less acclimatisation rotations up the mountain but to spend longer up there before my summit bid.

Steve on the other hand is following a more traditional acclimatisation strategy by returning back to base camp in between time at higher camps.

Tomorrow, the 8th, both Steve and myself will climb to camp 1 for 1 night.
9th - we both go to camp 2, 6400m
10th - rest day in camp 2 together
11th - Steve climbs down to base camp. I stay at camp 2 and climb to the foot of the Lhotse face and back to sleep at camp 2
12th - I rest at camp 2. Steve rests at base camp
13th - Steve climbs direct from base camp to camp 2. I climb from camp 2 to above camp 3 up the Lhotse face taking me to 7300m without using supplementary o2 and back to sleep at camp 2.

This is controversial as most people sleep at camp 3. I am against that as nobody actually sleeps there as it’s too high, so I would rather climb there and a little higher (camp 3 is 7100m) but descend to sleep at camp 2. On the summit bid when we do have to sleep there I will sleep with a low flow of o2. I will meet up with Steve in the evening at camp 2.

14th - Steve will climb from camp 2 to camp 3 and stay the night there. I will have a rest day in camp 2.
15th - Steve will climb down from camp 3 and rest in camp 2. I’ll climb down from camp 2 direct to base camp.
16th – I will rest in base camp, Steve will climb down from camp 2 to base camp.
17th - both of us will rest in base camp
18th - both will rest in base camp
19th - both of us together will leave base camp for our summit bid.

The pros with me are obviously less climbing up and down the mountain saving energy in the legs, but the potential cons are the possibility of getting weaker living at the higher altitude above 6400m for 6 days. Secondly I don't get a trial run of sleeping at camp 3. I'm confident that this is the best strategy for me right now in the physical condition that I am in and in the context of the full 7 months.

We've been given radios each so we are always in contact with Gavin or nima sherpa at base camp.

FACT: The western flank of Lhotse, a peak which is connected to Everest via the South Col is known as the Lhotse Face. Any climber bound for the South Col on Everest, including Richard and Steve must climb this 1,125m (3,700 ft) wall of glacial blue ice. This face rises at 40 and 50 degree pitches with the occasional 80 degree bulges. Two rocky sections called the Yellow Band and the Geneva Spur interrupt the icy ascent on the upper part of the face.

NOTE FROM 2011 JAGGED GLOBE TEAM’S DISPATCHES:

(Who are a couple of weeks ahead of Rich and Steve)

Our Sherpa team have been working hard and have placed most of the equipment needed for the summit push at Camp 4 (7,950m). The sherpas are returning to Base Camp today and will rest for several days before making their next trip onto the mountain. Following the example set in recent years the sherpas from the leading expeditions have worked together in recent weeks to place fixed ropes from Camp 2 to the summit. Several of our sherpas have contributed to this effort, carrying ropes and equipment from BC to Camp 2 and also from Camp 2 to Camp 4. Yesterday (May 5th) an 8 person fixing team reached the summit of Everest making the first ascent of the mountain in the 2011 season and opening the way for other teams to climb to the top in the weeks ahead.

FACT: Nuptse is a mountain which lies two kilometres WSW of Mount Everest. Nuptse is Tibetan for “west peak”, as it is the western segment of the Lhotse-Nuptse massif.

FACT: Often called the Valley of Silence, the Western Cwm (cwm, pronounced coom, is Welsh for a bowl shaped valley/cirque!) is
is a broad, flat, gently undulating glacial valley basin terminating at the foot of the Lhotse face of Mount Everest.

It is traversed by climbers using the southeast route to the summit of Everest. The central section is cut by massive lateral crevasses which bar entrance into the upper Western Cwm. In this section, climbers must cross to the far right, over to the base of Nuptse to a narrow passageway known as the Nuptse corner. From here, climbers have a stupendous view of the upper 8,000 feet of Everest - the first glimpse of Everest's upper slopes since arriving at Base Camp. The last 5,000 feet on Everest, including its distinct black pyramid summit, are not visible from Base Camp. The snow covered, bowl shaped slopes surrounding the Western Cwm, reflect and amplify the solar radiation, warming the valley basin despite its high elevation of 6000 to 6800 meters (19,600-22,300 feet). Some of the most difficult days on Everest are in the Western Cwm, when on a sunny windless day it is desperately hot, up to 35c (80-95 degrees Fahrenheit).

This morning I washed my clothes, but it started snowing so now they’re frozen on my line! Typical!

We heard news this morning that sadly somebody died between camp3 and 4 yesterday. A heart attack we heard, we also heard that some amazing person did CPR on him for over 1.5hrs above 7400m, with all the teams in the area helping out. Everest gets a bad rap for people not helping each other, but that was amazing. It’s a sobering reminder of what’s ahead of us.

Steve and his dad are arguing over who's cheating at scrabble, which is funny! It's Dai's last night in camp tonight. I'm going to miss him! Tomorrow Steve and I make our first trip into the Khumbu Ice fall. Leaving at 4am when it's coldest and most stable. Were planning on climbing half way and back for acclimatisation and practice on the ladders without loads.

FACT: The Khumbu Icefall is an icefall at the head of the Khumbu Glacier. The icefall is found at 5,486m (that's 18,000 feet and only about 400m shy of the same height as Mount Kilimanjaro) on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest, not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit. The icefall is regarded as one of the most dangerous stages of the South Col route to Everest's summit. The Khumbu glacier that forms the icefall moves at such speed that large crevasses open with little warning. The large towers of ice or seracs found at the icefall have been known to collapse suddenly. Huge blocks of ice tumble down the glacier from time to time; they range in size from cars to large houses. It is estimated that the glacier advances three to four feet down the mountain every day.

FACT: Jumaring, also referred to as jugging, is where the second climber (the one who belays the lead climber on the route) uses ascenders to climb the rope instead of climbing directly on the rock.

It was great to speak with David, I feel very confident that we have the very best advice. He’s incredibly experienced. David is leading Jagged Globe’s 15th Everest expedition and this will be his 6th expedition to Everest, having previously summited in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009.

We have come up with a strategy that we all agree on and that we have all bought in to and I do feel really confident being part of team Jagged Globe. Having great logistics on the mountain means we have got the very best chance of making the summit, however the realisation of talking through the attempt yesterday made me pretty nervous to be honest. We always knew we would be cutting it fine and that it was going to be difficult to get from the North Pole back over here but the reality is something quite different.

The main team are leaving tomorrow morning for a final trip up to camp 3 and when they get back down for that they are ready to rock and roll. They have been here for 3 weeks so we are a long way behind from all the teams on the mountain.

It looks like we are going to run a similar schedule to what the Jagged Globe team have been running on the mountain, except we are going to do it over half the timeframe which is obviously putting ourselves under a lot of pressure.

We had 2 options really – We could either really cane it and try and be ready at the same time as them but risk burning ourselves out and becoming ill with altitude.

The second option is a more conservative approach aiming for a window end of the season but the problem with that is that we are putting all our eggs into one basket and should anything happen from food poisoning to bad weather, we have missed the opportunity, so we came to the conclusion to run a similar programme to what the team have done except we will half the rest days and do it over half the timeframe.

Steve and I will be running a completely separate itinerary to the rest of the team. We will be moving up the mountain independently with one of the head Sherpas. We hope that when we are ready to summit we will do so with David Hamilton as well but we will be moving completely separate to the rest of the team but using the same logistics throughout the mountain.

The news from the mountain is that the Khumbu Icefall, which is a notoriously dangerous part of the climb (The icefall is at the head of the Khumbu Glacier at 5,486 metres and is one of the most dangerous stages of the South Col route to Everest's summit) is pretty compressed this year which means there are not as many crevasses and ladder crossings which is good for us.

The bad news is that the temperatures are warming drastically so we should see a fair amount of movement in the next few weeks. Just walking up from Gorak Shep you can hear avalanches cracking all the time all around, none dangerous towards us though, in fact just as I am talking to you now a massive one has gone off somewhere, not near though!

It’s gonna be really tough. I am confident that we have the very best chance of making the summit being part of Team Jagged Globe. The realisation of the task ahead though is pretty sobering having such a short time to acclimatise to be ready for a potential summit window at the end of May but it’s great to have the support of David Hamilton and Andy Chapman (our assistant leader) and our amazing Sherpa team.

Steve is in good spirits he’s looking really strong. Both of us are acclimatising well. We have had a few long days now so we will be making the most of the next few days at base camp just resting, eating, allowing our bodies to catch up.

Dai camera is also in good spirits. We were joking that Dai has aged about 20 years in the last 4 days! but nevertheless he arrived in base camp in good spirits and got some good footage too.

Wow that was a long one! Speak to you all soon from Everest Base Camp. Rich.

We left Lobuche this morning for the 3hr trek to Gorak Shep. Gorak Shep (5,220m/17,126ft) is the site of the 1953 expedition's base camp. It is the last stop before base camp tomorrow. We trekked along the Khumbu Glacier and got our first sight of the Khumbu Icefall and base camp, which was awesome. I'm excited to get there tomorrow. We've met a few of the Jagged Globe team in our lodge, who have come down from base camp to recover in the relatively thicker air. I'm spending the afternoon sleeping and will meet David Hamilton our leader tonight.

The weather has got considerably colder, when we came back down it was snowing today, again a real eye opener in to how quickly things can change in this environment. My kit is holding out really well. My Scarpa boots are fantastic and as per normal all my Rab kit is brilliant. Feeling really good and acclimatisation going really well.

Apologies no update for the past few days, sat phone and mob reception is not great here in the Valley but today I found an internet café so I was able to send you all my updates I had written for the past few days so check out below as well.

Myself, Dai and Rakesh were planning on dropping down to Pheriche this morning to visit the medical centre there as Rakesh hasn't been feeling well, however after a few days of medication from the first aid kit he's feeling much better and didn't want to go. So instead Dai Camera and I went for a wander and found this place - the internet cafe! I've been in contact with the 2011 Jagged Globe Everest team, which is great. I've received an email from David Hamilton and it's great to start discussing thoughts for how best for us to acclimatise and devise a summit strategy. The banter has already started, the group are made up of English, Scots and Irish and they're all running out of mick taking between them so I am looking forward to 2 Welshy's to add to the mix! I have my game head on though! Ha! I'm really looking forward to getting on the mountain now, the trekking is beautiful, but patience is a massive part of Himalayan climbing! This after noon we're trekking to Chukung at 4730m where we'll spend the afternoon and night.

Dai Camera and I are sharing toilet paper as we are sharing a room and we ran out today so it was Dai’s turns to go and buy the toilet paper in Namche. He got confused between a 500 rupee note and a 50 rupee note so instead of paying 50p for a toilet roll, he paid £5 for one roll, which was very funny! It’s been a chilled day to get some rest. Tomorrow we are trekking up to Dingboche, which is a 5-7 hour day. We drop down in altitude in the morning and then it’s quite a challenging afternoon. On the whole everyone is acclimatising well and in good spirits.

We also met Steve's dad David today, which was cool. He's a very nice man. On the trail, Steve got trapped in the middle of a herd of mules which was funny. I'm loving the Dal Bhat, which is the most common recipe you get here in Nepal and I really like all the Nepalese food. Our Sirdar Rakesh (Sirdar is a Nepali trekking leader by the way) has been fantastic and we've stayed in really nice tea houses. Steve even had a shower today, me, no chance! Ha!

We then flew in to Tenzing-Hillary Airport, also known as Lukla airport in the town of Khumbu, Solukhumbu district in Eastern Nepal.

We got 4 out of 5 bags and had to wait for the last one, which was on a different flight. The runway and landing was genuinely scary! Lukla airport is one of the most dangerous airports in the world and I can see why! We met our sirdar (local head of porters) and were due to have a 5-hour trek up to Monjo where we would sleep. Monjo is at 2835m. As we had to wait for our bags and started late we’ve stopped in Phakding overnight at 2670m. We have eaten well, local dishes. Tomorrow we trek to Namche.

We are hoping to bump into the guys who all signed up for the 737 Challenge Everest expedition. Due to our delays on the North Pole most had to start their trek to Everest Base Camp ahead of us but we are hoping to meet up with them at some point. We have their itinerary and we are trying to work out ours so we bump in to them on the trek up to base camp.

Steve and I have enlisted Dai Camera to our Top 5 club which is already causing a few disagreements on what should be in each Top 5 ha ha!

Speak soon guys.

We did top 5 meats and why, top 5 pub meals, top 5 seafoods, top 5 bread-based snacks…we were hungry as you can tell! ha! Also did top 5 favourite bits of kit out here, top 5 board games and Steve’s mum’s top 5 she posted on facebook!

A tough day in the wind and constant ridges, we made good progress though. Steve and I used our luxury food item of bacon, so last night we had a bacon feast in our sleeping bags whilst playing Top 5! top 5 is a game some of my friends know about but it’s great for passing time. Steve and I played it a lot on Cho Oyu, top 5 afternoon snacks, top 5 soft drinks, top 5 anything, mostly in the tent they end up food related!! Any suggestions for top 5 welcome via Twitter and Facebook!

We went to bed last night and when woke up this morning we had drifted 6.6km east and a little bit north but it didn’t make a big difference in terms of the pole and we’ve not drifted backwards which is a positive thing.

Today has been a really cool day, a tough day. It started off really great visibility, clear, about -20c and about half way through the day the clouds came in and the visibility dropped so we had really flat light which was difficult to navigate and even see what obstacles were in front of us. We had the full bag of tricks thrown at us, we had pressure ridges, which were 2 metres high, which we had to pull our pulks over and clamber over. We had to cross an open lead so we clipped together our pulks to make a raft to get over quite a short lead and we also had a big lead which was pretty new ice which we had to cross gingerly as it was moving underneath us but we have an awesome guide and a really strong team and we are making really good progress. Fingers crossed we keep this up as we will make good time.

Also I put my foot through some ice today, nothing serious and all is well, it got my heart racing. A lapse in concentration and just goes to show we have to be totally on it at all times, it’s unforgiving out here.

Steve spilled his noodles all over the tent! We are getting on great, working really well together and have adapted to tent life together again pretty well.

There’s just no let up, its really cold and just keeping warm around the stove in our tent is about all we can do.

Speak tomorrow, Rich and Steve.

The gear we've rented is top class. The pulks are state of the art - floatable pulks designed by Alan Hubert who's leading our trip. We spent a while yesterday packing them as weight distribution, and the ability to easily and quickly get to certain items is crucial for negotiating through/over the ice and in the changeable weather conditions.

Also I spent a lot of time adapting my gear for the cold conditions again; putting extra long and big pull toggles on all my zips so I can use them without taking my mitts off. Sticking matches with duct tape to my flasks, so I have more grip with my mitts on opening them as the lids are prone to freezing tight. Insulating all my electrical equipment with foam. Taping our tent poles so we only have one break in it so we can collapse and erect it super fast should the conditions be bad etc.

The feedback from the pilots - as nobody has been on the ice yet this year, is that it looks in good condition, with lots of single year ice frozen by a cold winter. This means that hopefully it's well frozen but without lots of pressure ridges and sastrugi. Only when we get on the ice though will we find out.

Last night Steve and I had our last meal - so to speak. We had a pizza off! We both designed our own pizza by adding toppings and tried to figure out whose was best! I had beef, pepperoni, jalapenos, mushrooms, onions and garlic dip. Steve went for bacon, mushrooms, beef and pineapple with garlic dip! We concluded that it was a draw!

Today;
We have sorted our personal gear for the flight in our rucksacks as the conditions on the ice are about -30c with a mild wind.

I've opted to use my podsac rucksack as my harness, rigging it with climbing cord to my pulk's trace (The rope from the pulk to the harness). The reason is that as I'm lighter than I used to be, the extra weight on me will allow me to pull my pulk (generally and over obstacles) easier when I lean forward. And more importantly, I can keep survival gear - insulating jacket, trousers, throw line, sat phone etc on me should I loose my pulk through the ice.

It's a little like pre-game feelings today! Everything that we can control is dialled and we're ready (The rest here has made a new man out of me!), but this leg more than the others is in the hands of Mother Nature, so I'm a little apprehensive about what we're going to find out there! The drift is my main concern but fingers crossed!

Thank you to everyone for your support so far. Please donate anything you can to help me raise funds in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care and thank you to everyone who has donated so far. I’ll be in touch every day but updates will be shorter now as I don't have the ability to charge my sat phone and I’ll have to watch the battery life but we’ll be in touch. Rich and Steve.

Then they send the big plane in with suppliers to build the Barneo camp, which will be the exped hub to launch all expeditions from.

It’s an amazing set up, they need an ice thickness of 1 metre 30 to build a runway, that’s not actually that thick but that is apparently what they need! That’s pretty phenomenal!

Today there is a storm system coming in to Longyearbyen and it has been skirting around -30c. Today we are using Russian tents and stoves and taking them out in the cold testing all our kit thoroughly.

Because there is a lot of moisture around, a lot of people do not use down kit. I have the choice to use a synthetic sleeping bag, a Russian brand but I am still choosing to my Rab Andes 800 sleeping bag which is down but made using a fabric called pertex endurance which is light, breathable and water resistant. I have chosen to use that still above the recommendations of the Russian crew as I have so much confidence in my Rab gear. It’s equally as warm, a third of the size and a third of the weight. I will protect it against moisture with my Rab pertex bivi bag as a vapour barrier. That is a system I used in Greenland and I have spoke at length with team and designers at Rab and that’s what I am sticking with.

Steve is excited and looking forward to getting started too. Leading in to this leg I was starting to feel the effects and a little jaded and run down and it’s been a real boost to my morale to be joined by Steve and we are bouncing ideas, systems and energy off each other and it is really cool to have him here with me.

We have also had a chance to trial our rented gear (stoves, tent, skis etc) and teamwork with Steve. We will be moving as a group of about 8 but made up of smaller totally self-sufficient groups. Us as a team of 2. No group gear. Seen loads of guys from Antarctica here already, which is cool. Feeling confident having spent time in Greenland preparing for this and obviously I'm pretty comfortable in these environments, but having spent time with the Russian crew last night I was reminded just how hostile and unpredictable this leg is and will be, which raises the stakes.

We've just bumped into Ben Fogle in a cafe, he's reporting for an American channel here. What a really nice guy! He knew who I was and all about the challenge and he took a photo of Steve, him and I, which you can see on Facebook and Twitter.

Oh, we are using specially made buoyant pulks to use as rafts to cross the open leads. The immersion suits were too expensive and heavy to use. On this leg I won’t have my dog Super Ben picture on the side like I did on the South Pole! We haven't packed everything yet so don't know weight but will keep you updated.

The initial forecast having met with the Vicaar team (our team leading this expedition) is that there is a storm and bad weather on the ice clearing at the moment, which might delay us 2 days as we wait for it to pass. We have no ice update as nobody has been on the ice by the pole yet. Very early season. In fact the expeds leaving from the Canadian side have also had to cancel and wait the weather out. Also, in the Spitsbergen area, where we are, there are more polar bears than humans!

Just bumped in to Christian Eide who I met in Antarctica (Norwegian Christian broke the South Pole solo and unsupported speed record which was previously set by American Todd Carmichael in 1998. His solo, unsupported time was 24 days, 1 hour, 13 minutes and he set off in December like me!)

I was at union glacier base camp when he set the solo unsupported and unaided speed record to the pole so it was awesome to see him again. I also bumped in to a guy called Ivan who Steve and I trained with in Greenland.

It's -22c in Longyearbyen! That's over 50 degrees difference from West Papua! Ha! Rich.

The truth is after all that I am now not taking any luxury item to the North Pole as I have more camera equipment to carry on this leg so I don’t have any spare room or weight for anything else!

I have spent the last couple of days sorting my gear for the North Pole, Everest and Denali as they are all back-to-back and I am all packed. Now it’s time to head to Heathrow Airport to set off, I am looking forward to meeting up with Steve and getting underway.

Speak to you all from Norway!

One of the guys went for a wee last night in the chief’s house and walked in on a group of Papuans around a big pot downstairs with some sort of animal in it! Seriously! After hearing that, I was happy to have my pee bottle! Ha! oh yeah, I had my clothes and boots stolen last night! Trousers, top, pants, socks (my last good pair!) and boots. All my wet gear from the trek back! Luckily I had another pair of trousers and my Scarpa approach shoes! The Indonesian people are really lush and it was a privilege to get a small insight into their culture. What an awesome leg of my challenge. I am really excited about the North Pole next as well.

Richard reaches the summit of 4,884m/16,023ft Carstensz Pyramid at 8.28am local time on Wednesday 16th March, 11.28pm on Tuesday 15th March UK time, completing his trek and climb in 7 days. Read our news article for more info.

We had another Porters strike, a pretty serious one. In the end we had to negotiate another pay rise in order for the Porters to continue.

We are now at the base of the mountain range. From now on we start to scramble and climb up to base camp tonight.

Yesterday on route one of the local Papuan kids had a slingshot, I wondered what he was going to do with it and then we saw him put a little rock in it and kill a bird. Then he ripped the wings off the bird and they had it for tea last night, which was pretty wild. We have also got a dog which has been following us all the way from Ilaga, its mad that it’s got this far, it’s a little black mix, not sure how high he’s gonna get! Will be pretty interesting! Speak to you all soon from base camp.

The weather has not been too bad at all but the problem of wet clothes is still pretty savage. The problem is we are climbing and trekking for such long days we are in camp when there is little sun so we don’t have enough time to dry our gear. After yesterday’s walk my stuff was absolutely buzzing and soaking wet so I decided to try and dry my boots by the campfire except I have melted a hole in them! So that’s one down jacket, one pair of gloves and now my boots I have burned in recent months! I have now been banned from getting too near the fire!! I have plugged the hole with glue and duct tape so today will be interesting to see if they remain waterproof, seriously I am miffed, can’t believe I have a hole in my boots!

We trekked to 3705m yesterday. Another hard 8/9 hour day today, setting off shortly and then tomorrow we should be at base camp. We could potentially summit the day after.

Last night we set up camp next to a stream, which was great so we could wash. Our porters slept in a cave where they normally bury the dead about 100m above us.

Got about another 3 days of similar terrain across the plateau until base camp. Feeling good today. Crazy to hear about the earthquake and Tsunami. So far the news is good and no signs of West Papua being affected despite a Tsunami warning.

Sorry for the delay. Getting reception on my sat phone here has been tricky as we have so much cover with the jungle.

It’s been a pretty tough few days. After my day resting in the hotel we got a flight to Ilaga on the 9th (We are 9 hours ahead of you so it is currently Friday 11th here now) which was basically a concrete landing strip on the side of the jungle. We then had a few hours trek and then stayed at a Papua Family’s home for the evening. We had a warm welcome and stayed with the chief of the village and his family in their home which is like a basic wooden house and had rice and chicken for dinner.

We also saw some of the villages preparing fires for a traditional Papua burial ceremony for someone who had passed away, which was interesting.

The next morning after sweet potatoes for breakfast the chief of the village hosted a big discussion where our porters were selected for our climb. He chose porters from each of the tribes for the mountain so we can cross tribal boundaries easily. There was a big debate about who would go from what tribe, which was fascinating to watch.

That took about an hour and then we had a full 8-hour trek in really tough conditions. Physically it was one of the toughest days I have had so far on the challenge.

The terrain is a mixture of beaten tracks and areas where you have to force your way through but it’s pretty uncomfortable all day…hot, humid and uncontrollable sweating. There’s lots of bugs and because of the rain we are climbing through well, mud really, which is shin deep so physically every step has added resistance. We climbed 1300m so it was a tough day. Then there’s the rain! Everything is soaking wet. We arrived in camp before 4pm with about an hour of sun left, washed ourselves and all of our clothes in the stream as everything is wet and soaked in mud. So by the time morning comes around our gear isn’t dry in time so we are all putting on damp and wet clothes. It’s path of the course really here and we’ll have this pretty much until we get home!

Of course it is awesome just being in a place like this, it’s amazing but so far really uncomfortable and pretty grim! This is nothing like Welsh rain, not even Manchester rain, it’s next level!!

We are at camp 1 now which is 3470m, the guys are just getting ready after breakfast and then we set off again soon.

Speak soon guys!

I am in West Papua! The tiny airport of Timika was mega busy today as all the mine employees that would have been transported to the mine by vehicle can’t because all the roads have been washed out by rain! It’s mega hot, about 20 degrees, 90% humidity and it’s only 7.30am!

Thanks for all your suggestions of luxury items, once again the Pickled Onion Monster Munch nearly made it and I loved reading all the suggestions on Twitter and Facebook!

My luxury item this leg is my Lifeventure collapsible umbrella, seriously, it can rain over here! Insect repellent is a must not a luxury! My sleeping mat can double as a yoga mat!

Still not much sleep for me. I was thinking, how many flights have I been on so far on the expedition? Might work that out. We had dinner on the beach last night, amazing…would have been better with a bird, ha ha!

Speak to you tomorrow, a day of sleeping ahead now after breakfast.

Its mega hot here, humid and about 32 degrees! I met some of the team, from all over the world - Canada, New Zealand, Germany and France, there's 5 of us in total. My roommate lost his wife to breast cancer 3 years ago and is climbing Everest in support next year.

I have had little rest this week. I haven't had a proper nights sleep since before summit day on Kili. Packing before I left was mega tough too, I had to pack a drum to send on to Everest base camp, a bag for the North Pole for my folks to meet me with in the hotel and another for my trek in to Everest base camp! My head hurts!!

We leave at midnight today to fly Timika in Papua and maybe on to Sugapa where we should start the trek in to base camp from. We might have an overnight in a hotel before, will have wait and see!

I am excited about climbing Carstensz though and the adventure that lies ahead.

Here is my schedule so you know what is planned, subject to change as always!

Day 1 - Arrive Denpasar (Bali) Exped briefing, gear checks etc and meet the team
Day 2 – Fly to Timika in Papua. Onward flight to Sugapa or overnight in hotel
Day 3 – Fixed wing flight to Sugapa (2100m)
Day 4 – Meet Porters and prepare for trek
Day 5 – Short day trekking down to river through villages to Suwamggwa (5 hrs)
Day 6 – Trek through jungle, camp at 2200m (7 hrs)
Day 7 – Trek through jungle, camp at 3200m (9 hrs)
Day 8 – Trek through open meadows, camp at 3600m (6 hrs)
Day 9 – Trek through open meadows, camp at foot of New Zealand Pass, 3700m (5 hrs)
Day 10 – Climb up to Larson Lake and over New Zealand Pass (4400m) to Base Camp, 4250m (4 hrs). Rest afternoon and prepare for the climb to summit.
Day 11 – Summit day, return to base camp
Day 12 – Spare summit day or hike to Glacier near East Carstensz Peak
Day 13 – Short day trekking out over New Zealand Pass, 3700m
Day 14 – Trek through open meadows to camp near the jungle, 3200m (9 hrs)
Day 15 – Trek through jungle (8 hrs)
Day 16 – Trek to Sugapa (8 hrs)
Day 17 – Fly to Timika
Day 18 – Flight back to Bali.

It was a long climb and the team are pretty battered. It was a 12-14hour round trip. Awesome though that we all got onto the summit. We then climbed back down to high camp to have a rest before a four hour trek back to lower camp. We are staying here tonight, and then tomorrow have a 4-6hour trek to get out of the National Park. Then its back to the hotel and straight to the airport for our flight home. No time for resting tomorrow.

I have to say this was a really good trip. It was a far tougher mountain than I expected. Definitely tougher than I thought but also far more beautiful! Awesome to summit with friends, family and the team. 4 down! Woop woop!

All time British Lions Team
1 Gethin Jenkins 13 Brian O’Driscoll
2 Keith Wood 14 Shane Williams
3 Jason Leonard 15 JPR Williams
4 Willy John McBride Captain 16 Graham Price
5 Martin Johnson 17 Brian Moore
6 Lawrence Dallaglio 18 Dean Richards
7 Richard Hill 19 Neil Back
8 Mervin Davies 20 Rob Howley
9 Gareth Edwards 21 Neil Jenkins
10 Jonathan Davies 22 Jason Robinson
11 Gerald Davies
12 Scott Gibbs

I can fill you in a bit more about the final moments today. When we reached Canaleta, a large gully leading to the summit ridge, and the most strenuous part of the climb, the weather turned on us quickly. This part of the climb is about 500m of rock scrambling before the summit. Diego and I had to split from the group and push on to ensure we made the summit due to the concern about the weather. Our leader Gianni confirmed we might not have the chance to summit unless we moved on so we made the decision to push on ahead quickly. The others arrived at the summit about half an hour after us and I was really pleased that we were all able to make the descent together, it was nice to start and finish the climb as a group.

Not all the group were aware but there were rumours going around that a German climber had slipped off the Canaleta and died a few days before so our minds were extra focused on those last 500m and it was pretty tough. Before that I had been feeling really comfortable and overall I am really pleased that the climb was a success and I have plenty of gas left in the tank, I feel great proving my training has prepared me really well.

Tonight we will pack more gear up and in the morning load it on to mules. Tomorrow it’s about a 27km trek to the ranger’s station to check out of the park and after that it’s back to Mendoza by bus, which is about 4 hours. Then I’ll get a welcome rest by the side of the pool!

Thanks for all your messages on Facebook and Twitter guys, it’s awesome you are all keeping up to date and to know you are all following my progress every day really does spur me on.

I had a long chat with our two team leaders; Gianni from Argentina and Tore from Norway about the situation. I also talked at length with my cameraman Diego.

After a long chat Diego and I made the decision that we would attempt the summit tomorrow from camp 2, instead of moving on to camp 3 or waiting further for a weather window once the bad weather comes in. This means a longer summit day but a better weather window will give us a higher chance of success. We talked it through at length with Gianni and Tore and myself and Diego were planning to leave the group and attempt the summit ourselves. It took a while to come to this decision, but that is the reason why I have spent almost the last 2 years training for difficult moments like this. Diego and I are fully prepared to carry on.

We then had a big group meeting and all discussed the situation further and Gianni, Tore and the group talked through all the options. The outcome now is that the whole group are also going to do the same thing meaning we will all climb together, making the most of our weather window. We plan to leave camp 2 at 3am Chilean time, 6am UK time to attempt the summit. It will be a long day, possibly 14-18 hours up and down at a guess at the rate we’ve been moving, it will be tough.

These kind of decisions are always tricky and need to be talked through at length. I am lucky to have the expert guidance of our experienced leaders as well as a good team. This is what it’s all about, you can never predict what is going to happen on the mountain. Tomorrow I hope my next update is from the summit of Aconcagua. Goodnight guys!

Had some funny tent issues last night. Finding a spot to pitch our tent was really tough as there isn’t much level ground, trying not to pitch on a slope was near enough impossible! We moved our tent once and even spent ages lying down in different positions to ensure we had the best spot before re pitching again. This morning when Diego and I woke in the tent we were in stitches as we had slipped to the corner of the tent, very funny.

Everyone is in good spirits. It’s getting tougher now though, altitude is playing a factor and things are becoming a lot more difficult. Just working out how to approach summit, whether we go from camp 2 and have a savage summit day or move on to camp 3 and make the ascent from there. Obviously it’s a shorter day but sleeping that high is much tougher. We will discuss plans together and the leader will make the decision, will wait and see. Weather good for summiting at the moment but can change anytime as always. Hopefully things will go according to plan and we will summit in the next few days.

Good luck Wales tonight v England and if you are going or watching have a top night! Rich.

We are moving slow. Good group, easy climbing and I’m acclimatising well. Still very grateful to be here, it’s a beautiful place but I am missing home a little at the moment. Probably because we are going slower than on Antarctica, gives you more time to think. My cameraman Diego is good fun and my ipod is keeping me entertained as always. The wind is brutal, 80km on the summit yesterday and the altitude is serious, makes everything tough. Altitude is probably the toughest thing, I have been drinking 5+ litres a day and eating and resting at altitude always a challenge. I am sleeping like a baby though!

I’ve been to the department of tourism this afternoon to pay the 750 dollars fee to enter the Aconcagua National Park. So I have my park permit and have met up with my new cameraman Diego and we are all good to go.

Going to spend the rest of the afternoon chilling and sending some photos back for you all. Then tonight Diego and I start the journey overland to Los Penitentes (2,599m/8,530ft). From there we sign in to the National Park and start the 3-4 day trek in to base camp where we will do some acclimatisation along the way.

My tent and lots of things have already gone ahead on mules with the group I will be joining in a few days so for the next few days Diego and I will be sleeping in mess tents along the way, which are dining tents, cool! I am really excited about joining all the guys and climbing Aconcagua. Weather is hot here I am seriously baking! Missing the Antarctic weather a little, but I am starting to get used to it now and I’m raring to go!

I lost the will to live a bit today sat in that queue, I missed the 1pm bus to Mendoza so I am now catching the overnight bus, double brutal! I am a little tired as still having trouble sleeping in a bed so I guess the overnight bus won’t make much difference! It’s boiling here, I miss the cold (I know, I did say I wanted to be above 0 degrees!). Will be in touch when I arrive at Mendoza.

I have to keep moving my fingers and toes as often as possible in the tent. I’ve just been speaking to my PR manager who informed me that I told ITV Wales news I reached the pole on Boxing day which is completely wrong it was the 27th!! To be honest I have no idea what day it is or even any concept of time. It’s such a bizarre environment, being in 24 hours sunlight. We keep in contact with the pole station, which is on local time, GMT +13 hours and then all our reports back about flights back to the glacier are GMT -4 (Chilean time) so I haven’t got a clue what time of the day it is! I just had to ask what day it is too, apparently it is Thursday! Just did a phone interview with the Wales on Sunday newspaper. I am hoping that there will be a flight back to union glacier base camp on the 1st sometime but it might be later, all depends on weather and what crews are coming back and forth. I’ll be waking up on the Pole on New Years Day no matter what. Have a great new years eve everyone and have a beer for me!

Richard arrived at the pole at 6.10am UK time, 3.10am Chile time and 7.10pm local time.

Visit the 737 Challenge news section to listen to an exclusive interview with Richard, recorded just moments after reaching The South Pole on day 16 of his 737 Challenge and after skiing with his team for 60 nautical miles.

One of my team broke his pole falling over the sastrugi. Run out of ipod but loving my solar charger which is topping it up! Tomorrow I am having an hour lie in and my favourite breakfast; oats and blueberries. My luxury item for this trip was xmas cards and a present. I hope Ben, my dog likes his bone that I left him too!

Other than that I have 8 hours of nothing other than skiing to look forward to. Tomorrow I am skiing with Chris Nance, from the USA and a fellow RAB sponsored climber, he’s a legend.

Have a great Christmas everyone and will report back tomorrow!

Rich x

INFO: Sastrugi are sharp irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface by wind erosion and deposition, and found in polar and temperate snow regions. They differ from sand dunes in that the ridges are parallel to the prevailing winds.

I'm in a team of 4 to ski to the pole. Facts - the pole is on NZ time, GMT +13 and Union Glacier is Chile time gmt-4! The average temp in the last degree over the last week ahs been -26 degrees C and at Union Glacier it's been between -15 and -5c air temp. The pole is at around 3000m so we have to battle altitude acclimatisation when we get dropped at 89 degrees. Frostbite of the face is the highest risk as we're skiing into a head wind, which can reduce the wind chill considerably, down to the -40 region! That combined with the sticky dry snow and heavy loads is why physically it's so tough - a marathon a day!

I've met 2 of my 3 other team mates for the last degree, the fourth is still stuck in Santiago waiting for his lost gear! They're cool.

I had my de-brief today which was awesome and has sharpened my mind somewhat. To be sat in a room with so many great explorers, mountaineers and scientists was really cool. I've met some old and new faces already.

All my gear is sweet, in fact I'm 6kgs UNDER my allowed limit on to Antarctica which is refreshing in light of my lucky escape at Heathrow!