Bed tea - a good way to start the day

Highlights - on the way up

Children liked to see their picture on the camera.

Hinku Valley and view of Peak 39 (Helen)

Tag Nag

Nepalese Scouts

We were supported greatly during the community part of the trip by the Nepalese Scouts who let us hire their bus for the week and took us on a tour of their city. Three Scouts joined us at Kakani and helped us with the digging, teaching English and playing with the children.

Meeting the Chief Commissioner of Nepal - Mary, Margaret and Christine (our Doctor).

Scouting friends

Keshav Bahadur, Manager, Kakani International Training Centre, Nepal.

www.kakani.org

Prem Krishna Awale, Maharjan Rajendra, Naresh Awale
Rover Scouts, Lalitpur District, Kathmandu



Sowyambhunath Stupa, Kathmandu - and we saw the monkeys.

Digging - laying stepping stones

Kakani International Scout Centre - Nepal.

The strong British women in action, linking the stepping stone circle to the dinning shelter with the help of 3 Nepalese Scouts.

Ok - the bum still needs working on. Jayne, Helen and Karin showing their good side.

Digging, finding bricks, carrying concrete - mission completed.
In the monsoon, the campers will be able to get from their tent to the dinning shelter and not need to walk in the mud.

Afternoon Tea at the British Embassy - Kathmandu

After 3 weeks in the mountains, what a delight - cakes, and on the

Queen's Birthday.

Thank you Dr and Mrs Hall.

Myself, Anne (our technical leader - what a woman), Jayne and Helen in the Embassy gardens

Giving Stirling Council gifts to Mrs Hall, wife of the British Embassador.

The whole team at Kakani

The 18 strong British women became 22 when our technical leader (Anne) returned to the UK and the community team of 5, Anne, Liz, Katya, Stella and Jules met us in Kathmandu and we all went to Kakani where there was much activity.
3 classrooms painted in the local Primary School.
Children taught english, games and sport activities in 3 schools.
Teachers and Kakani Scout Centre staff taught first aid.
Orienteering Course and maps developed for Kakani Scout Centre.
Safety fence designed (by Sarah) and funds left for the Scouts to build at the Primary School.

Money donated to Shree Kaule Devi Primary School, Okhar Pauwa raise by Stirling Council which will enable the Headteacher (Shiva Lal Shrestha) to buy school uniform, there are 40 children in the area who cannot attend school because they have no uniform. The money will also help the school with items we take for granted. On the Heateacher's wishlist was toilet paper and electicity!

View it for yourself - world's highest mountains

Expedition Highlights

Helen and Everest, dawn breaking.

Makalu,Chanlang and me.

2 weeks to walk here and worth every step. I've seen dawn break over the worlds highest mountains, I've seen them with my own eyes, and will remember that view all my days. Fortunate to have this on video clip, hope I don't wear it out!

From here we saw 5 (Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho oyu) of the 6 highest mountains in the world (K2 is in Pakistan). At 6,245metres, sharing this view with friends, Jessica, Amy, Mary, Helen, Me and our Sherpa's mit!

Adventure Over

Returned home one week ago and what a busy week it has been catching up with everyone.

Arrived at Manchester Airport on Sunday morning (29th April 2007), standing in the baggage hall waiting, 20 of us (Sue and Jessica had flown home to Heathrow), nothing arrived, we waited and waited and wondered if they were still in Kathmandu or whether they were in Doha. Check-in at Kathmandu had been different - all 42 bags had been weighed and then put into a pile and then labelled but not with our own names, think Jayne's name had gone on the lot and she lives on the Isle of Man.

Eventually baggage attendant found that the lot had been sent to the Cargo Bay and had to be retreived, we waited and eventually they arrived with a big cheer from us. All I could think of was what Jayne would do if they had been late and forwarded onto her!

In the arrival hall family and friends of those who lived near Manchester were waiting, I still had a drive north to complete with Mary, Lorranie and also Suzie, Liz and Anne who were driving back together. Was nice to have a cuddle from Helen's daughters to keep me going.

Hire car was nice, Peugeot, 407, 6 gears, very comfortable and we just managed to get all the bags in without requiring Lorraine to have one on her lap the whole journey. Straight onto Tebay where Anne had also made a stop, then onto Kincardine to drop off Mary and Lorraine. Met Graeme, so nice to be together again and we drove to Edinburgh Airport to drop off the hire car.

Lovely welcome back at the house, Rona, Cameron and Hannah had made welcome home posters, had converted one of Graeme's old climbing ropes into a prayer flag - and with it went all my scraps of material. Mum, Dad, Jeanette, - Heather, Derek, Emily, Finlay, Macy - Laura, Kit and Mia - Stuart Wendy, Eilidh and Kathryn were all there. Having travelled through the night and lost 6 hours along the way, pretty shattered but managed to talk non stop of the adventure. Don't think I'll stop talking about it - sorry folks, but trip of a lifetime and what an impact such an experience has on your life, and then there is the stone I've lost in weight - yahoo!

Received a disc of Helen's pictures during the week and I'm so glad she had her camera out all the time.