Cho Oyu, located in the Himalayas just 20km west of Everest, is the sixth highest mountain in the world. On 22nd August, Phil Purdy, Jeff Crooke and Peter Bailey will set off on a six week expedition to conquer Cho Oyu, which stands at 8,201 meters high.
This climb isn’t going to be a walk in the park – a number of people have died on the mountain. Once they ascend above 8,000 meters, they will be entering what is known in mountaineer terms as ‘the death zone’. This is an altitude so high that the amount of oxygen available is one third of that at sea level. This means that acclimatising to this height is impossible, so the team needs to spend a few days acclimatising early on in the climb and then be up and back down that last 200 meters as quickly as possible!
They are undertaking this daring trip of a lifetime to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Specifically, the money they raise from their trip will go towards bladder cancer research, the fifth most common cancer. The guys have set themselves a massive £100,000 target and they are well on their way to reaching it..
We had a chat with the team to find out a bit more about this incredible challenge:
Hi guys. What made you decide to take on this challenge of a lifetime?
Jeff: About five years ago, after having a few too many beers with about 15 colleagues, we all decided that it would be rather “macho” to climb Mont Blanc together. The following morning the numbers had dwindled to about 8 and by the time we came to make final arrangements we were down to two of the original 15 (Phil and myself) and one other coerced colleague of Phil’s; Dale Foster.
So, in 2005, we took a trip to the Alps and climbed Grand Paradiso (Italy) and Mont Blanc (4800M high in France). The problem when we got back was that the “macho” bit didn’t matter; we had all had a terrific experience and, for myself having been a skier for many years, the trip further strengthened my love of snow covered mountains.
With the memory of our first trip fading and finding ourselves in a pub again, the beer seemed to be saying “it’s time to go climbing but further away and higher; and this time let’s see if we can raise a little money for charity”. So, in 2007 the three of us, Phil, Dale and myself, headed to the Cordilera Blanca in the Andes in Peru to climb Pisco, Ishinca, Toclaraju and Chopicalque (the highest at 6400M). In the process, we were able to raise £25k for Water Aid.
Without wanting to be repetitive, we then found ourselves in a pub again and… Cho Oyu, in the Himalayas, is the sixth highest mountain in the world at 8200M high and only about 650M short of Everest. And, why not target £100k for charity this time? Unfortunately, Dale couldn’t join us but there was another friend of Phil’s in the pub (!), so welcome on board Peter.
How long have you been training for this incredible climb?
Peter: I started training about 2 years ago. I’ve always kept myself pretty fit but was aware I needed to lose a few pounds around my waist and build up my stamina. The time taken training has been the main problem.
Phil: Yes, we all really began to train for the challenge about two years ago.
What have you been doing to train up for the challenge?
Jeff: For the last year I have been working in the gym for about two hours, three times a week as well as running, trekking or climbing once a week. As a group, we have followed a planned itinerary of events such as a weekend in winter conditions in Scotland, walking The Three Peaks in Yorkshire, Scar Fell Pike in the Lake District etc., often with other supportive friends and culminating in a week’s training in the Austrian Alps in late July.
How are you going to manage having to spend all that time together during the trip?
Peter: The three of us get on pretty well, however we are aware that we will be under a great deal of mental and physical pressure at times and will probably verbally snap at each other at times. It’s all about not taking it personally, and then getting on with each other later. We have put ourselves under pressure during training/long walks – i.e. one of us has been carrying a minor injury and had to struggle on to keep up with the others in the group.
Phil: We will have three separate tents though, so we should be alright! We’re all good pals so there might be a bit of tension but not really.
Jeff: Yes we all accept that we may get a little “ratty” with each other at times but we work well together as a team and have different but complimentary skills. We will be joining others, on the trip but I believe we have a strong bond and we will look out for one another.
What are you most looking forward to about the experience?
Jeff: Kathmandu and the culture of Nepal, the travel to and through Tibet, the mountains, the unknown, the challenge, the excitement, the camaraderie.
Peter: The scenery and different culture will be very interesting. As we gain the height the sense of achievement will be a great feeling. Also meeting others who are in our group will be good as they are from many different backgrounds and so conversations will be interesting and very varied.
Phil: I think I’m most looking forward to being able to test myself and the overall experience of the trip really. The different culture as Peter and Jeff said will be very interesting.
What are you dreading most (if anything) about the trip?
Jeff: Leaving my family, friends and business behind for six weeks.
Peter: We will all be ill at some time. Keeping a high standard of hygiene is very important, but in reality we will all have a dreadful stomach at some time with the usual consequences. Also, adapting to the high altitude will be a challenge and again we will all feel dreadful on occasions, but hopefully we’ll get through it. Having high altitude sickness and a bad stomach on the day you want to do the summit must be the major dread. It would be very frustrating to miss out on getting to the summit due to ill health, but unfortunately it is a real possibility.
Phil: It would be silly to say there is no apprehension about the trip. On the one level is it realistic to undertake such a big challenge, and then there is the feeling that you don’t want to disappoint people. We’ve set a goal we want to reach it. We want to deliver against our promise.
What will you be eating and drinking at 8,000 meters up?
Phil: 15 pints of Stella and a burger! No, the main problem in terms of eating and drinking will be the altitude. At that height the body can’t process food and we are expecting to lose at least a stone in weight as the body is burning off too many calories and can’t store the energy. On the lower mountain we will probably be eating local foods combined with food we take out with us, but on the upper levels of the mountain it will mainly be high nutrient pre-packed food.
Jeff: Like Phil said, at base camp, we will be eating relatively normally as supplies will be carried in by yak. However, at 8,000 meters where we have to carry our own food, we will be reliant upon the reconstituted meals; those where you just add boiling water. We will only drink water produced by boiling snow.
Peter: Keeping warm water in a flask to stop it freezing is the usual way of being able to drink. So it will just be water straight from the flask.
Why did you decide to fundraise for Cancer Research UK? Can you tell us a little bit more about why you chose to specifically raise money for bladder cancer research and how the funds will help?
Peter: We chose to raise money for Cancer Research UK because (like most people) we have all been touched by someone in our families or someone we know well who has suffered badly from cancer. There are more details on our web site about this.
We chose bladder cancer because it is a cancer that kills a lot of people but does not get a huge amount of publicity. Also we could see what the funds would be used for and the research laboratory is based fairly locally for two of us.
Phil: We are all passionate about supporting Cancer Research, and like Peter said, it’s a disease that’s touched many lives – my father died of lung cancer. When we first approached Cancer Research with our fundraising they gave us the option of using the money raised, to put towards buying equipment or giving it to support research. As Peter mentioned we had the opportunity to look round a local bladder cancer research facility in Leeds and that really brought home the impact of the disease to us.
Jeff: Having chosen the charity, we wanted to specifically focus on a project that we could identify with and inspire people to support. Professor Margaret Knowles explained the research she and her team were undertaking and we believe that she will advance the knowledge relating to the early detection of bladder cancers and the tailoring of specialist individual treatments to patients.
You’ve managed to raise an incredible amount. How have you managed to get so many people to donate?
Phil: It’s seriously been a massive effort of team work from lots of people. We’ve had people doing individual fundraising events, we managed to get some corporate sponsorship, Wetherspoons are selling a special blue beer for us, and we’ve even had people standing outside B&Q with collecting buckets. It’s been a massive commitment by lots of people and we couldn’t have done it without them.
Jeff: We are in the very fortunate position of being able to secure donations from corporate associates who we have worked with for many years. We have also been able to inspire friends and colleagues who have themselves undertaken fundraising in our support. For instance, a number of schools have supported us as their charity of the year only asking that one of us visit them to talk to the children about our past and forthcoming adventures. The children themselves are an inspiration. We have also had support from groups of individuals running events such as the Blackpool Marathon, bucket collections at Morrison’s, an abseil in Leeds and the selling of our Cho Oyu 2009 Polo Shirts.
Peter: We have been lucky to have contacts in many different areas of business and life generally. This has enabled people to get involved and be incredible generous. Various people have been very generous with their time and donating facilities and items for auction etc.
How are you hoping to raise that last 10% of your target amount?
Peter: We have a few events still to do. For example we have some items that have been donated to us and we will hopefully auction them on eBay.
Jeff: We also have support from Hainford Primary School who are holding a “Base Camp BBQ” on the evening of the day we hope to summit as well as ‘Blue Weekend’ at the Stick or Twist, a J. D. Wetherspoons pub in Leeds on the 29th and 30th August. They will be serving Cho O Brew, a blue beer, brewed specially by the Leeds Brewery. There will be a BBQ and raffle in aid of Cancer Research UK.
Phil: I’m running the Blackpool marathon next year, and we’ve also had the offer of doing more bucket collections at Morrison’s. We are pretty confident we will reach the target, but we can’t afford to be complacent about it.
What’s your top fundraising tip for others looking to boost their total?
Phil: I think it’s really about getting together a small highly motivated team, and then it’s about working within that team to bring people together. About 60% of our fundraising came from corporate sponsorship, so it is really about engaging with people. Often, people get weary with constantly being asked to donate so you have to create something different and something they want to get involved with, to keep getting them to give. You’ve got to be prepared to put in lots of hard work.
Peter: Make use of contacts that people have. It’s surprising who can come up with various ideas etc. after attending one of our events.
Jeff: People are extremely generous and supportive of a good cause. Ask for the moon, someone might be kind enough to give it to you.
How has JustGiving been useful to you?
Peter: It has been very useful as it has enabled people to see how we are doing and also donate a variety of amounts. Sometimes this has been based on fun bets etc. The tax advantage has also been useful.
Phil: Yes, we have benefited a lot in reaching our target through the option of being able to use Gift Aid. It’s been a real help and a bit of a learning curve as we only came to it quite late on. But it’s been really good.
Jeff: It is a secure way of supporting our charity without the need to handle cash and people can see that their money has been received by the charity.
How will you celebrate when you get back home to the UK? What will be your first luxuries?
Peter: Go out with my wife, Margaret for a meal etc. A hot bath and clean clothes, as we will be very limited with regard to laundry and clean clothes while on the trip.
Jeff: After cuddles with loved ones – refer to question one and guess!!!
Phil: Seeing family, having a beer, relaxing and chilling. I think the three of us will probably also have a get together to look through our photographs and reflect on our memories, as it will be too tiring during the trip.
We wish the team the very best of luck with this incredible expedition. You can visit their JustGiving page here, and check out their website here.
Tags: Cancer Research UK, Cho Oyu, Mountain Climb
