Sir Ranulph Fiennes { Mt Everest exp, Marie Currie }

[darksky]

 Has anyone been following this expedition of Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Kenton Cool {great name} as i have alittle, via the news on TV and the internet and especially on the LFTO as they have a very good section about it  i,e  video clips of both men talking about things like the route their doing and Ranulphs fitness levels which is apparently excellent seeing as he's  had  heart trouble in the past  and how he needs more oxygen than the others, and his age too which is late 60's.   The charity their doing it for is Marie Currie{hope Ive spelt it right} which is a fantastic charity..,But on the LFTO forum you can keep tabs on their progress and even leave them messages, Kenton has climbed Everest 5 times i think 'wow' what a feeling it must be to get to the top of the world..,I would be exstatic to just visit the Base camp and look up at the Highest Mountain in the world.., Anyway can anyone put me straight on this - from what Ive seen of doing Everest its mainly trekking upwards with not alot of rope work, don't get me wrong  I know its not to be undertaken lightly but it is alot of walking up and up with very little rope work, its 7 times Ben Nevis more or so, I know its extremely hard and cold and dangerous and everything else,But for years i always thought it was more rope work than anything.   

[tonyk]

 Sir Ran is a very inspirational character and is most certainly made of the "right stuff".

 I think his ascent of the North Face of the Eiger was his greatest achievement,especially as he suffers from vertigo and is scared of heights.His achievements are the stuff of legend,led the first transglobe expedition which circumnavigated the globe via the South Pole,North West Passage,and North Pole;first crossing of Antartica on foot;solo sledge haul to the North Pole which nearly killed him;and I am quite sure he will add Everest to the list.

 His book,Mind over Matter,is definately worth reading.Tough aint the word.

[darksky]

You've got that right , he's the real deal alright thats for sure.., I don't know that much about him but I find him fascinating.., you say his book is called 'mind over matter' I'll have alook for that,   I'm in the middle of a good book at prescent...The Coniston Tigers, written by  A.HARRY GRIFFIN..,plus Ive just bort MOUNTAINS OF THE MIND by Robert Macfarlane  have you heard of either of them ?  Ive also got 2 new books Ive not started yet  BLIZZARD by JASPER REES, and HIGHER THAN THE EAGLE SOARS by  Stephen Venables....BLIZZARD is foreworded by Ranulph Fiennes  its about  SCOTT & AMUNDSEN's  race to the South Pole in 1911.., Only its a team recreating their epic expedition in todays world but using the same techniques and the same sort of equipment even down to the clothes they all used in 1911, whilst the Stephen Venables book is about Everest and his struggles to reach the sumitt.., I bort them from a charity shop for 50p each, not bad eh ?

[tonyk]

 Sadly Sir Ranulph didn't make it to the top of Everest.Apparently he had heart problems again and had to abandon his attempt.I think Everst is a bit too much for someone who has had a quadruple by-pass,its beaten far younger people who are in good health.Its still a great effort though,especially for a man of 64.

 I have read Venables book,he was the first British climber to climb Everst without oxygen,think it was in the mid eighties.Harry Griffin has written several books on walking,mainly about the Lake District.I recall seeing a recent documentary on TV about a South Pole expedition where guys used old kit.Was pretty rough,especially the food which made me feel sick,think it conisted mainly of blubber and offal which had to be thawed out over a stove.

 You'll find most of Fiennes books on Amazon.His training book "Fit for Life" is also worth reading as it gives some really good tips for getting yourself into shape.

[andybeck]

I hear that Sir R got to within 300m of the summit. So near yet so far.
Andy

[Mr Sam]

His friends should have carried him the rest of the way.

[darksky]

I cant beleive he was so close.., gutted for him, I bet he's kicking himself. 

[tonyk]

His friends should have carried him the rest of the way.

 I am glad he had the sense to know when to turn back,his last attempt came close to killing him.No mountain is worth dying for.

 

[Mr Sam]

It depends on how you view life. Plus and extra 300m climb probably wont kill you especially if your m,ates carry you.

[darksky]

I'm thinking maybe he was that ill that his mates wouldn't carry him them few hundred metres more as they thought he might not make it    professionals like that sort always think safety first dont they ? Anyway for getting as far as he did was remarkable to say the least, a man of his age and health.

[Mr Sam]

As he would be known as where I live. He was a proper hardnut. A marrow through and through.

Garn then I bet he lives of milk and pies.

[tonyk]

As he would be known as where I live. He was a proper hardnut. A marrow through and through.

 When he got frostbite in all his fingers he was told it would cost £6000 to put the damage right so to save money he went to the local hardware shop and purchased a fret saw and vice.Putting his little finger in the vice he proceeded to cut off the rotten bone and tissue.It took him two hours to remove the dead part of the finger gradually working his way down to the good tissue and bone.It took him six days to saw off all his fingers.Hard aint the word.

[mike knipe]

Jeez - I have trouble removing an old blister dressing....

[ogy]

I got his book mad bad and dangerous to know for xmas, has it read by new year haha the amount of stuff he has done is amazing, some people are just born to be great

[cragster]

Are you guys serious about his mates carrying him up the last 300 meters Have you heard of the death zone? Please look on the following link to learn more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_zone , Basically above 8,000 meters your body is fighting to stay alive and that's without the added strain of trying to climb. Stay above that 8,000 meter mark too long and you WILL die, so carrying your mate or anything that is going to put any more strain on your body is out of the question. Everest is littered with dead bodies in the death zone because it is impossible for anybody to bring them down.  It's not simply a case of climbing Ben Nevis 7 times by comparisson.