Builder gearing up to climb 20,000ft Himalayan mountain

[Northerner]

A BRYNHOFFNANT man is set to scale a huge Himalayan peak to raise cash for a charity close to his heart.

Builder Deri Brown will climb the 20,000ft Stok Kangri mountain in the Indian Himalayas in September to raise money for Diabetes UK.

The married dad of four was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 15 and now wants to give something back to the charity that has done so much to advance the treatment and awareness of the condition.

“I have seen a lot of changes in the treatment of diabetes, and the treatments that are available now are streets ahead of what they were when I was first diagnosed,” said Deri.

http://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk...ring_up_to_climb_20_000ft_Himalayan_mountain/

 

[mikeyB]

It's not a climb it's a Trek. If you see photos of it from a different angle, you can see the route. That said, it is at 20,000 feet, so altitude sickness is a real danger that you have to acclimatise to. If he doesn't, he could die. It's pointless doing climbing practice - there isn't any.

That said, you have to admire the effort, but it is very dangerous. I rather fear for him.

 

[Copepod]

I think it's "climb" in the sense of "ascend", rather than "rock climb" using hands as well as feet. Acclimatisation is key. Medication can help, but ascending slowly is important. If symptoms of altitude sickness affecting brain or lungs occur, descent is vital.
Practice on hills is worthwhile for general cardiovascular fitness and specific eg thigh muscles to protect knees in descent. Walking poles can help greatly. I'm guessing that porters will carry main weight, so he'll only have to carry daypack.
With care, he'll be fine. It's all about a sensible approach to a route suitable to a person's ability. Personally, I've only walked to 4050m in Andes and over 2000m in Atlas Mountains, both times backpacking, carrying my own camping or gite overnight kit, with a partner.

 

[Northerner]

Highest I've been is Männlichen in the Swiss Alps, at (apparently!) 2343m/7680ft 🙂 I certainly noticed the difference in the air, even there 😱

 

[mikeyB]

Most of us have experienced the quality of air at 8,000ft. That's approximately the standard that passenger aircraft are pressurised to, but then most folk on a plane aren't exerting themselves.🙄

 

[Copepod]

I was certainly exerting myself carrying camping kit at over 4000m (approx 12,000ft) in Andes! That was maximum point on 3 day trek to Ingapirca in Ecuador. Trickiest part was crawling through a hole in a pile of boulders in a small steep valley. A partner made it easier - one of us scrambled through, then other pushed backpacks through, then followed, as hole was only just big enough for a body, not body with rucksack.