Adventure Eyes Interview with Tim Mosedale following the BigE 2011

Adventure Eyes Interview with Tim Mosedale following the BigE 2011

Introducing Adventure Eyes Member Tim Mosedale

Having started out as a climbing instructor in the UK Tim spread his wings to include working abroad and now has over 10 years’ experience in Nepal. As well as various summits of Lobuche East (5 times), Island Peak (7 times) and Mera Peak (twice) Tim has now become synonymous with Ama Dablam with November 2011 being his 9th expedition there. Tim added over 50 unclimbed peaks in Greenland to his CV and then went on to summit Cho Oyu in 2006. But it’s not only Ama Dablam where Tim comes in to his own – he is now only the 10th Brit to have summited Everest from both sides. In 2005 he summited on an expedition where he was with a bunch of mates, but in 2011 he put all his logistical expertise and high altitude experience in to helping to get 4 clients to the summit from the South Side (The BigE 2011). When he’s not on expedition he’s at home with his wife and 2 children running their 4* B&B in Keswick.

Many of you will have followed the progress of the BigE2011 earlier this year as we avidly tracked the progress of the expedition on the Adventure Eyes Main Site and Blog. Last week we caught up with Tim to put your questions, and a few of our own to him before he heads out once again to Ama Dablam.

BigE 2011 Interview; Tim Mosedale; Adventure Eyes 2011

© Adventure Eyes 2011 1

Tim Mosedale on the Summit of Everest 2011

Louise: Your feedback from the BigE 2011 expedition team has been absolutely glowing. Other than one member of the party who left the expedition early on due to health reasons, every team member successfully summited and returned safely. On top of that you successfully became the 10th Britʼ to summit from both sides! What strategies/approach did you use both in terms of attempting the mountain herself and leading the expedition?

Tim: Well there were various strategies.

Firstly I cherry picked from my database and only invited people who I thought had the right mountaineering background, demeanor and aspiration (and who would hopefully get along with each other). Next we had a week in Scotland in January to fine tune and concentrate the mind on a few issues. Thirdly I took the group on a 3 week trek away from The Khumbu, over 3 high passes and incorporating a 5,800m peak which meant that we were all tremendously well acclimatized when we arrived at Base Camp (it also meant that we hadnʼt had the pressure of ʻEverestʼ at the forefront of our minds and everyone had developed a fantastic rapport which, in turn meant that they were all very supportive of each other rather than being ruthlessly competitive). This also meant that we only had 2 forays through the Khumbu Icefall on our rotations before going for it (1 as a small recce and the other as a visit to sleep at C1 and C2). In turn this meant that we spent less time high on the hill and more time conserving energy and enjoying each otherʼs company as well as the whole experience.

On a personal note, I ate pies.

Louise: It was clear from your photos and the film footage that there were a lot of people on the mountain at the same time as the BigE 2011. This not only created a ʻtraffic jamʼ on your summit bid, it must undoubtedly place additional pressures on the mountain environment. The Director of the Environmental Group, Eco Himal has suggested that a waste management plan needs to be carefully considered and implemented. Portable toilets at Base Camp is one suggestion that captured the attention of the outdoor press recently! What thoughts and observations do you have in terms of actions that could be taken to preserve Everest?

Tim: Well funnily enough it wasnʼt actually as busy as Iʼd expected. Having said that, the traffic jams on summit day were partly due to us deciding to delay by a day when we arrived at The South Col because the forecast was for the winds to spike that night (they did). This meant that there was everyone else whoʼd arrived the same day as we had as well as the next tranche of people arriving the following day for their go. So summit day was twice as busy, I guess, as it should have been.

And our team already had a system for waste disposal at Base Camp which involved heavy duty black bin liners, a blue barrel, a red tent and a chap who you didnʼt shake hands with who visited every week.



Louise: Everest poses numerous challenges both physical, psychological and potentially financial! What do you consider to be the greatest challenges to be overcome?

Tim: Nowadays, the financial outlay is probably the biggest obstacle. But if this is something that you can overcome then there are the usual problems associated with high altitude peaks (extreme cold, excessive fatigue, the ability to remain focused and motivated whilst severely hypoxic, intense solar radiation, dehydration, sleep apnoea, potential frostbite, High Altitude Cerebral Oedema, High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema etc etc) as well as the emotional issues of having friends and family at home who may not fully understand what it is you are doing and why you are doing it. You canʼt make much progress upwards if there is too much emotional baggage mentally and emotionally draining you.

Louise: For those who dream of one day standing on top of the world - what advice would you give?

Tim:No 1 - start saving.

No 2 – at the same time start building up your mountaineering cv.

I had a chat with a chap recently who said that Everest had been his lifelong ambition for the last 5 years. Clearly, unless he was 5 years old, this is not a lifelong ambition. Combine with this the fact that, by his own admission, he hadnʼt ever rock climbed or been up a mountain (but is good in the gym) and you have to wonder what his chances of success are. Heʼs thinking of having a 3 day climbing course in November to then go to Everest next April.

Why, I had to ask, hadnʼt he started climbing and mountaineering 5 years ago? This guy is going to be a complete liability to himself and therefore to those around him (and in particular to the Climbing Sherpas who are the guys who will be assigned to be with him or to rescue him). For some reason – I know not why – he took umbridge that I wasnʼt going to accept him on my team.

I had to ask him what he would do if his Climbing Sherpa had a heart attack on summit day and he just couldnʼt see what a serious situation that would be and that he would have to help himself, or sit down and fall asleep forever. He also couldnʼt appreciate that losing a glove is a mega BIG deal up there. In The Lakes, if you lose a glove you put your hand in your pocket, in Scotland you take your pack off and get out a spare glove, but on Everest you donʼt - you mustnʼt - lose the glove in the first place. By the time you have delved into your sack your hand will be a completely useless piece of meat and you wonʼt be able to rewarm it by putting on a mitt. And you canʼt abseil and negotiate the rebelays with only one hand … so you may as well get out your rosary beads (which in itself is a difficult one handed task).



No 3 – question why you want to do it.

I never wanted to do it. But when I heard about a group of my fellow expedition leader mates putting together a team in 2005 I thought that if I was going to do it (which I wasnʼt) then that would be the style of expedition Iʼd like to be on. So I joined them and was lucky enough to be with the smallest, cheapest trip on the North side. We had an absolutely fantastic time and I was lucky enough to summit.

After that I knew that Iʼd love to go back but I definitely wouldnʼt go north with a team of clients. Summit day, in particular, is a very very serious undertaking and when you look at the figures then you are far far more likely to summit from The South and far far far more likely to die on The North side (so why did we go north in 2005? It was cheaper!).

The chance then arose for me to put a team together and go South. So there was clearly something in it for the team but also something in it for me.

No 4 – when you decide you are definitely going to do it, clear your in tray and put your life on hold.

Louise: So youʼve now summited Everest from both sides - whatʼs the next challenge?

Tim: That would be telling. Suffice to say that Iʼm planning on going back in 2012 and every year thereafter.

Louise: Finally when asked why he wanted to climb Everest, George Mallory famously replied, “because itʼs there”. What is your reason?

Tim: Because itʼs still there.



Adventure Eyes Memberʼs Questions Via Email and the Memberʼs Forum

Kate: Can you compare standing on top of the world with anything else youʼve experienced?

Tim: Itʼs bizarre because for me there isnʼt the ʻYES!ʼ factor when you get to the top. Thereʼs a definite sense of satisfaction, but also a distinct feeling of vulnerability. Youʼre not sure what you may encounter on the way down and itʼs definitely not over until the fat lady sings. So itʼs not really comparable to other expeditions Iʼve been on or experiences Iʼve had.

Kate: White snow, freezing temperatures...Where do you poo?

Tim:At Base Camp – in a black bin liner in a blue barrel in a red tent.At Camp 1 – in the snow and then flicked in to a crevasseAt Camp 2 – down a small crevasse in a toilet tentAt Camp 3 – didnʼt goAt The South Col – you really donʼt want to have to go and, indeed, I recommend an antimotility drug to prevent it. Better to avoid a problem than have to deal with it.

Kate: Does it bother you that people leave oxygen cylinders and bits of old tents around? dead bodies? or is it not like that?

Tim: Yes it does bother me. Unfortunately there is always going to be rubbish and evidence of our impact on the environment wherever we go.

My team (clients and Sherpas) brought all our rubbish down with us. Most teams are the same. Unfortunately there are some less scrupulous teams on the hill who arenʼt quite as conscientious.

Having said that, there are also times when teams get caught out having stocked the high camps with enough supplies and oxygen for, say 8 clients, when only 3 end up getting to the summit.

Then there are the times when Climbing Sherpas have to be assigned to escorting very ill members down rather than clearing the camps.

So I can see that there are times when teams get caught out by circumstances beyond their control and clearly a life is worth more.

Itʼs really difficult in such circumstances to then send the Climbing Sherpas back up the hill again to fetch what has been left behind – youʼre putting their lives at risk



Dan: Whatʼs the atmosphere like at Everest Base Camp? Serious and competitive or is there a friendly excited atmosphere?

Tim: Well in 2005 I visited a few other camps and found the atmosphere within each mess tent to be quite depressing. You could sense that people were eyeing each other up and wondering who was going to be in ʻTeam Aʼ and who was going to be ʻTeam B.ʼ It created an atmosphere where clients didnʼt really care for the health and wellbeing of each other and certainly werenʼt going to lift a finger for each other on the hill (why should I jeopardise myself brewing up for you when you didnʼt do anything for me yesterday?)

In 2011 I didnʼt go and visit any other teams (and neither did my group – although they were free to do so if they wished). I purposefully took my team away from all the psychological pressure by trekking elsewhere and when we arrived at Base Camp my team actually enjoyed each otherʼs company! A rarity on Everest. So why go and meet a bunch of folk who hate each other and are vying for the best positions on the start grid when you can have a laugh and relax (in what is actually a very stressful environment) with your mates?

Kat: What food/creature comfort did Tim miss the most while he was away?

Tim:Food – a large doner kebab and a tin of BoddiesCreature comfort – a double bed.

Kat: What was the FIRST thing he did when he got back?

Tim:Picked up my kids from school.

Had a doner kebab.

And then 5 bowls of cereal.

And then went to bed.

A BIG thank you to those of you that sent in questions for Tim, and a BIG thank you to the man himself for taking the the time out of a busy schedule to complete this interview.



If you would like to find out more about Tim, his expeditions or his B&B in Keswick then get in touch with him:

Landline Number: 017687 71050Mobile Number: 07980 521 079

Email: [email protected]

www.elmtreelodge-keswick.co.uk

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Interview and Compilation: Louise Ansell (MIA, APIOL), Adventure EyesInterview published on Adventure Eyes: 22.10.11



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Documents

Adventure Eyes Interview with Tim Mosedale following the BigE 2011