This year's Speight's Coast to Coast event was very different for me. It was not without some pre-race media hype, including some criticisms of the event organisers which came from one of the race's top male athletes. I tried to steer clear of jumping on the band-wagon. Instead, I defended the event for what it is and what it's creator, visionary Robin Judkins, has done for the sport (basically invented it) as well as what he has done for the competitors at all levels, not just paving the way for elites' adventure careers.

 When I used to race the Longest Day at the pointy-end of the field, a guy named Doug who runs a bike shop in Invercargill told me that everyone in NZ should do C2C as part of a compulsory education. We sort of laughed about it then. Now that I reflect on my racing career, and what the event has done for me I couldn't agree more. And this is why...

I've had nearly 2 years off. I did all the opposite things of what an athlete "should" do. There were weeks that would pass and I could not remember the last time I had gone for a run. I ate what I wanted, drank too much beer and consequently gained a little weight. I truly enjoyed myself. I needed to "let myself go" for a bit, and felt free from the pressures of racing. However I knew that there would come a time when I would like to approach my life with some moderation and balance, including moderate exercise. This is not easy for a seasoned old race horse to grasp.

The C2C was offering the 3 person teams as a new event, so I decided I would like to race so I could get back into shape, and get involved with the event socially and for fun. Thanks to Steve Gurney, he helped hook me up with my team mates Nathan Twaddle and Sam Earl, 2 world-class ex-rowers. These boys were nearly 6'5" and were not at their race-weights of winning Olympic medals and racing at World Champs. They, like me, had taken a more sedentary approach to life over the past few years, as their lives took on different challenges, namely having 2 small children each. Our combined team-weight was 278kg!

When they first put on their Em's Power Cookies kit, they were a little shy because things were a fitting tight. But they had the biggest hearts and raced with pride. Compression gear is the way to go anyway, right? Nathan did the 140km cycling sections, Sam paddled 67km, and I did the 33km mountain run. We all supported eachother in the transitions, and raced with everything we had. I felt especially lucky to go through the run and chat with friends and fans and give everyone as much encouragement as I could. It was a stunning day and I loved the run. I can never get tired of that race course, even though I've done it nearly 40 times in training and racing.

Friday night we camped at Klondyke Corner, awaiting the 2nd day of racing. The atmosphere there was really positive and fun. We had a great time mingling with everyone else who was there doing the same thing. The camraderie that was present was really powerful. We could see that everone competing in all shapes and sizes gave their very best effort. It was very inspiring to see how this race affected peoples' lives for the better. 

The C2C firstly, makes you physically fit, whether racing individually or on a team, it is not an easy race. And here is my 10+ point list for why everyone should do it:

• It's fun
• It's safe
• It's acheiveable
• The course is stunningly beautiful
• Get closer to nature
• Tap into team work skills
• Improve mental strength
• Learn how to problem-solve
• Comraderie with other like-minded people
• Gain perspective
• Understand the true meaning of gratitude
• Meet new friends

This weekend I can say that I ticked all of the above boxes. I feel I have come full circle with the Speight's Coast to Coast. Now, I just love being healthy and fit and love to being able to help others, as I too once received help. You cannot do this race without support from family and friends. Doing the C2C is not only an incredible acheivement, it also gives a whole new set of skills that apply to life in general and other future goals. So, yes Doug you were right, and I agree that everyone should do the C2C at least once in their life!

I look forward to the race every year. I love sponsoring it and I will always either be racing in some capacity, or supporting someone who needs my help, just like the help I received when I needed it. What goes around comes around and I am eternally grateful for what the C2C has done for me.

Happy training! EM

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

Since I last raced the Speight’s Coast to Coast in 2011, I’ve taken a much needed break from the sport, partly to focus on my business but also just to have a break and let my body heal. After 8 Coast to Coast campaigns I felt a little broken. Just a few months before my last C2C in 2011, I had ankle surgery to repair a torn ligament, and that has needed more time to heal. I feel it’s now finally “coming right”.

In the meantime I supported my husband Mitch in the Longest Day 2012, and he placed in the top 20 for the Open Men which was a great result in the ultra-tough event! Also I’ve been working on Em’s Power Cookies and have secured fantastic nationwide distribution with NZ’s biggest and best sporting goods distributor Brittain Wynyard & Co Ltd. The business is continuing to grow on a grassroots level and I look forward to continuing to be able to go to events we support, as well as some new and exciting developments right here in the Buller, namely the Old Ghost Road mountain bike and walking trail. We will be attending the official opening of the Old Ghost Road at the NBS Theatre, Sunday Feb 3. Make sure you come show your support and try some free samples of my yummy energy cookies.

So this year, I have decided to take on the C2C in a different light. Instead of the selfish training and huge hours on the bike, run and kayak that the Longest Day demands, I have decided to take on the event on a more social level. This year, for the first time in the history of the event, the Teams race has been opened up to 3 Person Teams. So I have assembled a team of myself to do the 33k mountain run, Nathan Twaddle (Olympic bronze medal rower) to do the 140k of cycling, and Sam Earl to do the 67k kayak. Sam is a mate of Nathan’s and is married to Olympic gold medallist Georgina Evers-Swindell. So our team will consist of 2 very tall men, and 1 little “Powergirl”!

Training for the run seems easy enough, however there is still a lot of discipline required, and it is definitely a shift in gears for me to only be doing the running. However this is a refreshing approach for me, and I’m finding is taking me back to my humble beginnings and my first-love sport of cross country running from way back when I was a teen and university student. I’m finding that now I train for fitness and for fun, not to smash the competition. This is what the essence of sport is all about, and it’s important that we all embrace this, no matter what your level of participation is in whatever sport. It’s OK to be competitive, but it’s also OK not to be, as long as that true essence is not forgotten.

I look at the recent media reports of Lance Armstrong the disgraced cyclist, once hero, with disappointment. These vulnerable and desperate athletes really are consumed by the dark side of competition, and have clearly lost sight of that true essence of sport: getting outside, breathing fresh air, getting “endogenous blow” or endorphins, and competing in an honest playing field. After all, isn’t that what we all learned in kindergarten? It saddens me that some athletes feel they must cheat to compete. This is the complete opposite what sport has always meant for me. However, what I have learned from sport is the best will always rise to the top, and the cheaters will ultimately succumb to defeat and even disgrace. All we can do is control ourselves and our own actions. We just need to keep trying to do our best, stick to our values and morals and keep our belief in good alive. So as I write this, I think I will head down to the beach for an invigorating barefoot beach run (must check the tides first) fuelled by nothing other than my sheer passion, some natural endorphins, good intentions and maybe a delicious Em’s Power Cookie.

This weekend will be my first run through the Mingah-Deception Coast to Coast mountain run course. It will be a 30k training run, my longest run in over a year. The plan is to go through at an easy pace, and I am helping a friend with her navigational strategies. We plan to take about 4-4.5 hours to complete this training run. I will eat 4 sports gels and 1-2 Em’s Power Cookie-Bars for energy to get through the course. Water will be drunk directly from the rivers; I love NZ for this!. I used to do the training run in about 3.5 hours so this should be an easier trip. I just hope my body co-operates along with the weather. If all goes well, I will do another quicker run through the course before the big day in February. Will keep you posted!  

Cheers

EM

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

We had a pretty good year with many changes. Namely we sold our little house in Granity and moved onto our block of land up the road in the beautiful Northern Buller region. Spending a NZ winter in a caravan/camp-like situation has been somewhat character-bulding! Hopefully this life experience will be short-lived as we are planning to build a house this summer. I was very lucky to find a local, and hospitable office space at the Granity Torea Gallery. So Em's Power Cookies operations carried on relatively smoothly.

With that, we changed over all distribution in November to our main NZ sporting goods distributor Brittain Wynyard & Co. This enables better and more consistent customer care for our retailers, and also better handling of the orders from the website. Also, now I can work more "on" the business and I am even considering a possible comeback to multisport???... We are hoping to continue to expland our market in 2013 to extend to even more stores. In the meantime, you can find Em's Power Cookies at most good Bike shops, Outdoor stores, Rebel Sport, Macpac, R&R Sport, selected Fitness centres and BP and Fix stores in the Auckland region. 

For the 2013 Speight's Coast to Coast you will see Powergirl lining up. But this time, instead of racing the gruelling "Longest Day" I will be doing the 3-person teams event. We are super lucky to have Nathan Twaddle as our cyclist, and Sam Earl as our kayaker, thanks to the generous support of Speight's. I will take care of the mountain run section. I've never done the teams event so I am very much looking forward to being involved with the event as both a sponsor (this is the 7th year we're sponsoring C2C) as well as mixing it up with the 2-day competitors, camping at Klondye Corner, and maybe even getting Pippa Middleton's autograph.. that's if she puts her money where her mouth is and actually shows up. And if we can get past her self-appointed coach Mr Gurney ;-)

I've been putting up a few video-blogs of my training progress and hope to get another one up soon. I'm not the greatest videographer, but it's still fun to put some real-action things up rather than just writing stories. 

We are heading down to Wanaka for a week or so for a bit of a boot-camp training  holiday, which is my idea of the perfect vacation! Hope to get some beautiful footage of this stunning place in this stunning country we are so lucky to live in.

Happy Holidays, and see you in 2013!

Powergirl, Powerboy and Darwin

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

Cheers! EM

Posted in: In the Media

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

1. Saute in iron skillet:

• 5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 T. fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 4-5 big mushrooms, sliced
• 1.5 T olive oil

Saute until nicely cooked then add 2 T. Thai Green Curry paste (I just use a standard off-the shelf type). Mix through then add 1/2 tin Lite Coconut Milk. Cook through. I added extra coriander powder and cayenne pepper because I like it HOT & SPICY!

2. While the curry mix is bubbling away, in a larger pot steam the following with just enough water to cover the bottom (don't drain it, retain the water in the curry):

• 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
• 5 asparagus spears, cut into sections
• handful of green beans, cut into sections

3. Boil some water and pour over a packet of Asian rice noodles in a smaller pot. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Drain.

4. Combine the steamed vegetables with the curry mixture and rice noodles altogether in the big pot. Continue to cook just until well-mixed, this only takes 1-2 minutes.

5. Serve with peanuts, fresh basil and coriander.

Delicious!!!!

Happy eating EM

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

Sautéed the following in 1.5T olive oil in an iron skillet:

• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 whole eggplant thinly sliced into small pieces and pre-salted
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Once the eggplant was starting to reduce down (10-15 minutes or so)  I added 1 jar of crappy “Pam's Hot Salsa” which was unfit for salsa but worked fine as a base cooking sauce.

Simmered for another 10 minutes then I added a tin of baked beans. Just good ol' baked beans!

Continue to cook until nicely heated through – another few minutes or so.

Add lot’s of fresh cracked black pepper at the end.

Serve on tortilla topped w/walnut pieces and w/side of steamed green beans and asparagus.

This meal was totally vegan, high protein, high fibre, high carb, low-fat, high iron, high vitamin/mineral, high anti-oxidant, high phytochemicals and can easily be made gluten free as well by using corn tortillas. It was one of my best dishes ever, Powerboy told me to make sure I write this one down. sorry no pictures, we ate it too quickly! ;-)

Happy Eating! EM

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

Enjoy the message, take from it what you like. EM

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

I have to admit that I tend to hibernate over winter, especially now that my racing days have been traded in for living on our lifestyle block. Winter tramps, mountain bike sessions and chilly river kayaks have been replaced with planting trees, fencing, and chasing our lovely critters around the place. Luckily running is my #1 passion and it’s an easy and efficient way to keep up fitness levels, and a good reason to keep up my intake of my favourite sports snacks too!

Winter is a quiet time for Em’s Power Cookies, but we have still been bubbling away with a few projects, and getting ready for the busy summer-season ahead. We have been really lucky to see our sales going from strength to strength with our distributor Brittain Wynyard, as well as our Australian distributor, and now even Hong Kong! We are continuing to grow and develop. Our main retailers continue to be bike and sports shops, as well as a few other types of non-sports retailers and the odd grocery store. We are striving to improve our distribution so it’s even easier for you to find Em’s Products at your favourite outlets. If you have suggestions of places to stock, then please let us know.

Our premier event we were involved with over winter was of course the 3D Winter Multisport Festival in Rotorua over Queens Birthday weekend. It was a fantastic showcase of a variety of races for all levels of abilities. They even had a kid’s under-10 2k fun run, of which “Powergirl” was the lead-out rabbit. Getting chased and taunted by a pack of under-10 year-olds was good reason for me to run FAST! What a future of champions we have here in NZ! Each boy and girl got a free Em’s Power Cookie at the end of the race to go with their huge smiles. Big congratulations to all the participants at 3D, especially to Richard and Elina Ussher who took out the featured multi-sport races once again in stunning fashion.

As we head into Spring we’ll be at the all-women’s Spring Challenge Adventure Race in Methven at the end of September. Then it will be a busy calendar with the week-long event Expo at the ITU Triathlon World Championships in Auckland in October, followed by the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge in November. There is The Goat Mountain Run, and we’ll attend the HOT Triathlon Festival in Christchurch again, as we are a main sponsor. And then wrap up summer with the Em’s Power Cookies James “Stampede” Ultra and the finale, the Speight’s Coast to Coast.

Happy training, racing, adventuring and recreating in this beautiful backyard we have to enjoy. We look forward to seeing you out there and remember: we’re here to fuel all your adventures!  

Cheers EM

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media

By Marty Schmidt from Mt Everest 2012

Hello and Namaste everyone from Mt Everest Base Camp. This is it. Our first team to the summit of Mt Everest happened on the 18^th – 19th of May. We left in the evening time of 2300 hours, leaving the tents of the South Col, 7,900 meters in height. Most of the other teams took off from the Col between 1900 hours and 2000 hours. We left 3 hours later to try and not get caught in the traffic jams that has happened in the past around the Balcony and in front of the famous Hillary Step. My team of 2 clients were AB from Australia and George from Cyprus. I had 3 other clients with me at the Col that night, Mark from South Africa, Steve from Australia and John from Canada, they were poised to come with us on the first summit push but needed to rest the next day to make the best attempt for the their summit moment. Unfortunately the winds picked up and their attempt did not look good as in the weather, so Tim, who was  down in Base Camp and getting worldwide weather reports from Becky back in Canada,  asked them to return back to camp 2 to rest a few days for their second attempt starting on the 22^nd of May from camp 2.

Now back to our first attempt with AB and George……..it was an amazing remaining hour  of the evening, we quickly caught up with the rest of the teams, feeling strong and focused. We started to wait longer then we wanted in the queue lines. Up until then, we had a good pace and we were on target to summit before 0800 hours. All was good, but then the slowness of others kicked us in the sides and we waited and waited. This is Everest in the moderns times these days, many people reaching out for the narrow opening from the weather so that we human beings can reach the highest point on the earth and get down safely. Up until reaching the back of the queue, I was climbing without 02, around 8,200 meters and feeling good, but then having to slow down our pace and with me being a professional guide and guiding my clients, I need to go onto 02 to go slower and stay warm. I know it sounds the opposite of what 02 should be used for but to deal with high altitude I have learned to move quickly to keep my feet warm. I have speed ascents of Aconcagua 6 hours and 13 minutes in 1989, Cho Oyu in 2001 with 10 hours 45 minutes and with Everest in 2008 from Base Camp to the Balcony in 11 hours and 30 minutes. From experience I know how to survive above 8000 meters and I know how to take care of my clients in this realm, so the slower one goes the more issues the human race will have above the death zone.

So on we travel towards the Balcony. The sun was rising near Makalu, bringing back great memories of 2010 when I was on a new route on the south face with my good friend Chris Warner. I ended up soloing the French route back then and on the way to the summit I rescued 3 Ukraine climbers who just completed an impressive new route between the Yugoslav route and the West Pillar. They could not get back down their route so decided to traverse the summit ridge only to get off route and seriously in trouble. They were all separated and needing help. After getting them back to safety, I went for one of the best summits of my life, Makalu, solo. I love it and felt good. This is how we are meant to feel while climbing these 8000ers……..so back to sunrise while on the Balcony……the sun felt so  good, warm and inviting. Yes, we were very slow, with so many climbers ahead of us being slow our plan was maybe not the best one to begin with. We thought these climbers ahead of us would be faster on their summit push, instead it bottled necked on the Hillary Step. From a distance we could see many climbers coming down from the summit and getting stuck, not moving at the top of the Hillary Step because there were climbers pushing their way up the Hillary Step at the same. For my team, I held us in place, not moving into this obvious jam. I asked these other climbers that were pushing their way past us not to climb and just hold up and wait until the numbers cleared themselves off the Step. But noooooooo, they kept climbing without thinking ahead and jammed the whole system. My team waited 3 HOURS at the base of the Step. We felt honored to do so and that the descending teams could continue to move. I was thanked by several other guides that I have known for years. This felt so right to do. It was cold and windy but we made it happen with no issues.

The Southeast Ridge is a beautiful ridge, a great climb, a respectful ascent and descent. Back in 1953, there were no fixed lines on this ridge, only pure alpine climbing techniques and skills, there were no lines of people, only 2 men reaching this rock gendarme, on a day that they must have known would be their summit time. Amazing to reflect back at history and know it for what it is, all good. My team at the same time were in the position to have our own history made. With Becky and Tim Ripple’s guide service, Peakfreaks, we have one of the best organized teams on the mountains. We have the great connections with the local people, the high altitude Sherpa’s, like with Tashi leading the Sherpas as Sidar from BC to the summit and back to BC and all this adds up to summit success with no issues. After the 3 hour wait, we quickly climbed through the Hillary Step to gain the final summit ridge. In the distance I saw the prayer flags of the summit of the world. Tashi was out front getting some photos, I came up next and just stood there, for several moments I just enjoyed the NOW, I knew I could not take another step higher, I just could not take another step higher even if I wanted to, anywhere on this planet. This was a very cool feeling, since I was 15 years old I was guiding people in the mountains and I always had another step to make on the earth. Now that Everest was under my own mind and body, soul and spirit, I do not have any different thoughts and feelings….I still feel the same, which means I am balanced before this powerful summit. The only thing changed is that I am dedicated to my climbing, skiing and guiding my special clients 100% more than ever, I know where I was at that very moment in time while on the summit of the world and this calling was stronger than ever before and I gave thanks and will do forever and ever. While looking down the North Face and the North Ridge I was reminded of my first expedition to Everest. See one of the photos that looks down the final steps of the North ridge. I was hired by Russell Brice back in 1994 to be his first Him Ex guide and we were given a permit for the first ascent of the NE Face of Mt Everest. This means that I was to lead 1000 meters of virgin rock, snow and ice to camp 1. And this means that our 8 clients had to ascend these 1000 meters, like jumaring up El Capitan to get to sleep for the night. Who does a new route on Everest with 8 novice clients these days??????? We ended up being threatened by avalanches and moved off this new route to the North ridge. I was with one client at 7,900 meter camp ready to leave for the summit when I got the call to rescue Michael Reimburger and Mark Whetu. My client and I forfeited our summit to help these people. Unfortunately, Michael passed away that night and we ended up helping Mark back down to ABC. So now I was on top looking down the North ridge. What great memories and experiences to have in my life. Thank you Russell.

Then the next moment was upon me, George, the first Cyprus climber to summit Mt Everest was a few meters away from me and the summit. Tears quickly appeared in his eyes and we hugged. He is to be a father in a few days as well. AB was right behind us and we all congratulated each other. AB was solid all the way from BC to the summit, determined and focused to be the Australian that summited Everest in style and grace. It was a pleasure to be with them. Our Sherpa’s of the day were beyond solid and graceful, we all gave thanks to them and especially Tashi, a great person to get to know more into the future. The time was 1420 hours when we summited, feeling good on top of the world. We spent about 10 minutes on the summit and then I mentioned it was a good idea to get moving since it was getting late in the day and we still had the whole SE Ridge to travel down, knowing that there would be several teams still moving slowly and we would catch up to them. Unfortunately, this happened sooner than we wanted. We saw several climbers hurting badly. I knew inside that some of these people were not going to make it down; from my guiding and rescue professional experiences I could see this…..I  guided and rescued many people around the world on the highest mountains and was able to help some of these people live another day. But I had the responsibility towards my own clients to make sure that AB and George would return safely back to the Col this night. Tim reconfirmed this direction and action. Yes, you all will read about the tragedies on Mt Everest from news organizations…right now there are 8 climbers on the south side of Everest and 3 climbers on the north side of Everest that have passed away. I am not here to write about these people and what happened. Mt Everest will always be a huge challenge to climb on this earth. Yes, it is like all other mountains, it is life threatening and dangerous, everyone knows this when they sign up for these 8000 meter expeditions. No one puts a gun to your head and tells you to climb the highest mountains on this planet. I will let you know that our team was solid and I was comfortable guiding my clients down the SE Ridge. Since there was not much winter snow this season, the Triangle Face above the Col had a lot of exposed stones and unfortunately some came down while we were descending. I was hit by a bowling ball size rock in the left boot area, it stopped me for a few seconds to rethink how much damage happened. Upon a quick check, it hurt but nothing more….thank goodness for La Sportiva Boots.

We got back to our tents by 1930 hours and just crashed into our sleeping bags. What a day, what a journey in life and what a life to live. We all gave thanks for these experiences.  The next day we were off to Camp 3 and then to camp  2. With a great sleep at camp 2 and having a good time with the others of the team during the next morning, AB, George and I took off for Base Camp, encouraging the next team of 6; 5 clients and one guide, Joshua, all the best for their summit push on the 25^th May.

So right now as I write these words, the 5 clients, Ben, Steve, Mark, John and Crunchy and Joshua with their Sherpa’s are all heading to the South Col. They will rest there through tomorrow the 24^th May and leave for the summit of Mt Everest at 2000 hours on the 24^th May. Please, no later gang. They will ascend the SE ridge and attempt the summit by the morning of the 25^th May. So please be thinking of them as they climb this historic and beautiful ridge to the summit of this planet. Hope this dispatch was not too long. My next one will be in a few days from now letting you know how the second team went and then one more dispatch from our trek out to Lukla and our flights back to the horizontal world of Kathmandu, Nepal, before our flights out of there.

Thanks for following us on this journey upon Mt Everest. If interested, please write to me at msigk2@gmail.com and see if you want to join me on another great adventure somewhere on this earth. Also, please keep following www.peakfreaks.com for I will be joining Tim and Becky again next year for Everest as well as for Lhotse, next to Everest and being the 4^th highest mountain in the world. All my best, Cheers, Marty.  PS, Many , many thanks to Becky and Tim and Peakfreaks for allowing me to  be a part of this wonderful family.

Posted in: In the Media

Hi All,

I have been away from my computer till right now but I wanted to let everyone know as soon as possible that Dad summited on Friday. He called me and a few others from high camp sounding elated and tired. He said, which I am sure will be detailed in a dispatch as soon as he is within typing range, that there were very high winds on the summit but that he and two other clients pushed through it and summited. They completed the trip from high camp to the summit and back to high camp in roughly 23 hours. He sends everyone his best!

Denali

I am sure once they get back to Everest Base Camp safely, we'll see some great photos! We will keep you posted. EM

Posted in: In the Media

Hello again, our team went for a good trek up the Khumbu Ice Fall glacier today, feeling good and ready for our summit climb. When we came back to our BC, Tim mentioned to us that the weather and wind reports were looking good for the 20^th of May. The whole team got very excited about this news and we are now preparing our loads and gear for an earlier start to camp 2, possibly leaving tomorrow or the next day. Once we leave BC, we are heading for the summit. The weather window only opens for a few moments and we need to be in position. What this means is that when the Jetstream winds pick up and the monsoon weather starts to push onto the mainlands, right in between these two major forces sits a window of no wind and no storms…..this is what we are after when we attempt the summit of Everest

So for now, please know that we have done our work to prepare for the summit, we are now sitting in BC for one more day and heading out for this amazing adventure to begin. We all send our very best to everyone following us upon Everest this season, this include all my clients around the world and with the www.peakfreaks.com web site.  While climbing towards the summit I will be on radio with Tim who is down in BC and he will send all the information onward so that you know what we are up to, OK, promise.

All our best from the Hiamalayas. Cheers, Marty.

Posted in: In the Media

By Marty Schmidt, Em's Power Cookies fan

Hello Everyone, Namaste from Everest Base Camp. It is the 2^nd of May, 2012 and I am sitting in our comfortable home away from home of Peak Freaks standards where we have green carpet, great dining tables, hot showers, the ability to washing clothes…….all the conveniences of any home on this earth. For our place at this moment, we have one of the most beautiful views in the world…..looking up the Khumbu Ice Fall towards Mt Everest, flanked by Pumori and Nuptse, a stunning 360 degree view.

For the past week our team have been working hard up the ice fall to camp 1, then slept 4 nights at camp 2 while pushing our minds and bodies towards camp 3 at 7,200 meters. This was the test that we needed to accomplish before coming back to BC to get a complete rest before making our final ascent to the summit of Mt Everest, Sargamatha, “ The Goddess Mother of this Earth”.

The ice fall to camp 1 has been challenging, more this year than other years. At the very height of coming into camp 1, on the left hand side which comprises the West Ridge, lays large Seracs which have been calving off ever since we arrived in early April. This section is forever changing every time we climb through it.  Our team has been hitting the timing just right and making it through with no one getting caught. We all know that we have to get through this part two more times, once up and one more time down. The next section of the climb is through the beautiful Western Cwm, the Valley of Silence, from camp 1 to camp 2 at 6400 meters. A few days ago there was one of the largest avalanches that has happened  in this area since Western climbers have been coming here, from the early 1950’s. It launched off the huge North Face of Nuptse, from it’s summit area and came thundering down to the Cwm, washing across the whole valley and up the other side. Amazingly only 2 people were affected by this natural disaster. One person was knocked down but was able to continue climbing to camp 2 and the other person was blown multiple meters by the blast into a crevasse, landing 20 meters into this deep cave. I was on my way to camp 1 to get some gear and with several other climbers we were able to help rescue this person, taking about 1.5 hours to extract him and Sked him to where a chopper could pick him up and fly him to Kathmandu. We hear that his is doing alright now.

Next, we climbed to  7,200 meter to camp 3 on the Lhotse headwall. This climbing is straight forward in many ways at a consistent angle for close to 700 meters. Unfortunately , this year, we did not get the winter snows that should have come and made this entire wall solid with blue ice and many stones exposed. These stones are the issue right now, already hurting several people from other teams. We made it to this high point and returned back to camp 2 safely. What we are discussing now around all the camps is the safety for climbers heading to the upper slopes. One hand, this is mountaineering, we have always had these situations while heading towards the summits of this planet. On the other head, there are a lot of commercial expeditions with climbers that may feel that they are way out of the comfort zone and may wish to return home safely without heading to the summit. We are just past the midpoint of our expedition and our Peak Freak team is looking good for our summit bid around the 15^th of May. Unfortunately we have lost a few clients due to sickness and not acclimatizing well and we all send our very best to them and sad to see them go. This is also the big 8000 meter realm and not everyone on this earth is meant to stand on these summits. They gave their very best shot and they took the step forward and tried to understand this realm, this is what counts in the long run of life…..get out there and take a step into the unknown……do your best whatever you wish to do and you will know that you are truly living.

Living at 5,300 meters is magical and peaceful. Most of the team went down to Pheriche, 4,200 meters,  to rest for a week or so until we give them a call to come up for the summit bid when the weather is right and the fixed lines are in. I will head down valley tomorrow to deliver this email to Denali so he can send it out to you all. Just wanted to say thanks for following this great adventure upon the world’s highest mountain. Looking forward to sending more words to you all with this adventure and many more that follow this one. Like with Kilimanjaro with the Katz family in June and my wonderful West Rib of Denali expedition following Kilimanjaro. I also wanted to send my very best to my sister Doris from NYC for a wonderful Birthday on the 4^th of May, thinking of you sis. And one more thought, to my Dad, who is stuck in bed for 8 weeks with a busted up knee, he is 86 years old and retired only last year and never took a day off work for sickness……..incredible. Heal well Dad, thinking of you and sending all my best from the slopes of Mt Everest.

Thanks again everyone, cheers, Marty.

PS, thanks again to my sponsors…..Macpac, Oasis Sun, La Sportiva, Intel, San Disk, Black Diamond, Annies, Em’s Bars and Cookies, MSR, Life Force.

Posted in: In the Media

All web orders received by noon on Friday May 18 will be included in the draw, and the winner announced on our Facebook Fan Page by 3:00pm that day. You must add the coupon code: 3D when you check out so we know you want to go into the draw. You can order as many times as you like, and each order will go into the draw under your name.

The lucky winner can use the prize to enter any one of the ten events that are on offer on event day – June 3^rd 2012. entry cut-off is Thursday May 31.

The event includes $10,000 cash and $75,000 in spot prizes to giveaway. There are free colour 20 week generic training programmes are available on the event website www.3drotorua.co.nz  to assist those who are interested to get fit and successfully complete the event they chose to enter.

Remember all web orders received by noon Friday May 18 will go into the draw.

Good luck!

EM

Posted in: Em's Blogs, In the Media