everest - sahara desert - betty

as i climbed through the crisp cold air, my oxygen mask allowed me to suck valuable, supplementary oxygen, from the o2 canister i carried on my back in my rucksack, allowing my brain to operate at this altitude, as we had entered the death zone.

my suunto watch confirmed that we were over magical number, 8000m high, where the pressure of the lack of oxygen or o’s as the cool kids call it, was such that humans can’t survive for very long at this height, and i knew that this beautiful mountain i was attempting to climb, had taken over 200 human lives, 200 people that had known the dangers climbing this frozen hill presented, and yet still they climbed, with the majority of deaths occurring above 8000m.

my foot crunched on the snow as my heavy, crampon laden boots forced their cold steely teeth in, biting for grip, stopping me from sliding to an icy last chapter.

i knew the dangers, i had calculated the risks.

roll the dice.

i also knew the rewards.

or so I thought.

the rewards pre climb consisted of, achieving my dream of successfully reaching the highest point on the earth, scattering my best mates ashes, like his widow had asked me to do, and showing others that you can achieve whatever you dream of if you truly believe, and give it your best shot.

but one of the many rewards i got from making this journey, that i hadn’t expected, was the sight that greeted me as night turned to day, as our planet turned on its axis around the sun, and it revealed the stunning view in the picture below, which is so special to me because of the view that the height, of nearly five miles vertical gave us.

you can clearly see the curvature of the earth, which i remember vividly wowing me, and it always evokes emotions of happiness when i see it, and probably what it represents.

the other powerful mental image i have in my cerebral hard drive, with no picture evidence unfortunately, due to my phone literally frying to death in the heat of the sahara desert, as i attempted to run across it, is one that i will try to describe for you this morning.

marathon des sables, or mds, is a seven day long footrace across the southern moroccan sahara, with each day consisting of over a marathon a day, with one long day, where we ran 84.3km, or just over a double marathon, with the cutoff time being 35 hours, which if you missed it, you were disqualified, so quite a big day.

we started running the long day at 08:15, and as we set off, the race organiser, the charismatic patrick bauer, stood on top of his land rover, dancing like a wild banshee to the unforgettable rock anthem ‘highway to hell’ the irony of which was never lost on any of the 2000 + runners a truly epic site to behold.

the story of running through sand dunes the height of buildings, scorched by the sun, carrying all our own food and supplies in our rucksacks is one for another day, but the image that lives with me forever is having been running for nearly 24 hours, the last checkpoint had told me the finish was a mere 10k away straight ahead across the flat desert basin, flanked by mountains either side, probably a mile apart, which gave me a flat sandy runway to hopefully finish the days work.

my headtorch lit the path for me, until, as the sun rose i was greeted with a view that was spellbinding.

the sun peeked over the mountains and bathed me in its warm glow, heating the chilly sahara floor, and casting long shadows of the mountain peaks, which were truly one of the best views of my life, i loved that adventure, i loved the sahara, i loved the friends i made in tent 105, i loved what the experience made me as a human, and i absolutely loved that picture of mountain shadows painted on the huge sandy canvas, mind blowing.

but these huge personal documentaries which will hopefully live with me forever, were last week beaten out of top spot.

by betty.

who is betty, i hope you are all asking in unison?

well.

nearly five months ago, my eldest daughter tiffany gave birth to me and tania’s first grandchild, betty.

and the emotions of seeing this little bundle of joy for the first time were immeasurable, so much joy.

tiffany and her partner have decided they don’t want to put pictures of betty online, which we all completely respect, and get, and i actually love that this bastion of protection is being put in place.

but it has put me in a tricky position, because i haven’t known where the protocol is, so have not mentioned betty publicly, and certainly not here on my blog, however they came to stay last week, and the subject came up, and we’ve agreed to share the joy that is betty, just not pictorially.

which is timely, as last week, mountain and sahara memories melted away, as tiffany called us, and said that betty was waking up.

this beautiful little girl, so innocent, and cuddly, and baby fragrant, was stirring from her moses basket, wriggling and stretching, until her eyes fluttered open, to welcome another day, and she focused on me and tania looking in at the new addition to our already amazing world.

and she smiled.

she looked at us both and smiled, her gummy one tooth wide smile, and we literally melted.

betty has added a new dimension to our world, and i have been reflecting on it at length.

betty represents the future, one that at some point i will no longer play a part in.

but for now, betty is my why.

why i am trying to live as sustainably as possible.

why i am trying to build an ecosystem that helps others.

why i am trying my best to leave the world better than i found it.

so, thank you betty, for adding another layer of clarity, and reason to work hard at what we do.

i love you, and hope one day you read this and it makes you smile again.

love from papa

blue skies