Up: My Life’s Journey to the Top of Everest
My eyes lifted to the horizon and the unmistakable snowy outline of Everest.Everest, the mountain of my childhood dreams. A mountain that has haunted me my whole life. A mountain I have seen hundreds of times in photographs and films but never in real life.In April 2018, seasoned adventurer Ben Fogle and Olympic cycling gold medallist Victoria Pendleton, along with mountaineer Kenton Cool, took on their most exhausting challenge yet – climbing Everest for the British Red Cross to highlight the environmental challenges mountains face. It would be harrowing and exhilarating in equal measure as they walked the fine line between life and death 8,000 metres above sea level.For Ben, the seven-week expedition into the death zone was to become the adventure of a lifetime, as well as a humbling and enlightening journey. For his wife Marina, holding the family together at home, it was an agonising wait for news. Together, they dedicated the experience to their son, Willem Fogle, stillborn at eight months.Cradling little Willem to say goodbye, Ben and Marina made a promise to live brightly. To embrace every day. To always smile. To be positive and to inspire. And from the depths of their grief and dedication, Ben’s Everest dream was born.Up, from here the only way was Up.Part memoir, part thrilling adventure, Ben and Marina’s account of his ascent to the roof of the world is told with their signature humour and warmth, as well as with profound compassion.
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William Collins
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
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London SE1 9GF
This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2018
Copyright © Ben Fogle 2018
Ben Fogle asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
Cover images © Mark Fisher
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008319182
Ebook Edition © October 2018 ISBN: 9780008319205
Version: 2018-09-27
Contents
Marina – Am I worried? Not yet
CHAPTER NINE: DIFFERENT ENDINGS
13/4/18 – ARRIVAL KATHMANDU
14/4 – LUKLA (2,800 metres)
15/4 – NAMCHE BAZAAR (3,400 metres)
16/4 – TRAIL TO PANGBOCHE (4,100 metres)
17/4 – PUJA CEREMONY, PANGBOCHE MONASTERY (with Lama Nawang Pal)
18/4 – TRAINING CLIMB (to 5,000 metres)
19/4 – CLIMBERS’ MEMORIAL, LOBUCHE (4,950 metres)
20/4 – KHUMBU VALLEY
21/4 – BASE CAMP
26/4 – RETURN TO BASE CAMP AFTER ASCENT TO LHOTSE FACE ABOVE CAMP 2 (6,400 metres)
30/4–3/5 – ROTATION TO CAMP 3 (7,200 metres)
4/5 – VIC LEAVES
7/5 – TRAINING HIKE
8/5 – SCHOOL ASSEMBLY SATELLITE CALL
16/5 – 7.30 AM EVEREST SUMMIT (8,800 metres)
18/5 – LEAVE BASE CAMP FOR HOME
Dear Ludo and Iona,
Life is about the journey not the destination.
Live it brightly. Live it brilliantly and live it wisely. Don’t waste it. Not one single day.
Add life to your days not days to your life.
Dream.
Dare.
Do.
Live for the now, not the then.
Be spontaneous.
Smile.
Go with your heart. Instinct is often right.
Take criticism on the chin and use it usefully.
Life is there to complete, not to compete. Although it will sometimes feel like a competition, don’t get swept up by it. It’s not a race.
Be magnanimous in victory and graceful in defeat.
Be humble and try not to grumble.
Confide. Don’t divide.
Reach don’t preach.
Be caring and considerate.
Be principled but open-minded enough to be pragmatic.
Try and be the shepherd not the sheep.
Remember, you aren’t just a face in the crowd. You’re unique.
Despite a planet of seven billion. There is no one else like you.
Your personality will be shaped and moulded by the company you keep and the experiences you have.
Be comfortable with who you are. Don’t try and be what others want or expect you to be.
Listen, be curious and learn.
Wealth is all about how YOU interpret it. Money will not buy you happiness nor love.
Experiences WILL make you richer.
Travel will broaden your mind.
People will judge you, but don’t let that judgement define you.
Don’t let failure defeat you.
Insecurity will creep up on you throughout life, try not to listen to it.
Be confident, never arrogant.
Give.
Share.
People will be outrageous and provocative. Try not to be outraged or provoked.
Don’t live life through a screen. Live it for bikes and hikes, not likes and swipes.
Routine is far more dangerous than risk.
Some days you will feel a little down. The highs and lows are human nature.
Your life should be filled with light and shade, it is these ups and downs that remind us what is important in life.
Fortune really does favour the brave.
Be brave.
Take risks.
Live your life.
Smile.
And don’t forget to look UP.
Love Daddy
Ring ring … ring ring … ring ring …
It’s 4 am and I’m in a hotel room in Toronto, Canada. I’m here for my grandmother’s 100th birthday. Her 100th birthday! I still marvel at that. I cancelled everything to be here for this, including leaving my family in Austria.
I hate calls in the night. They make me nervous. They are almost always bad. No one calls with good news at 4 am. Maybe it’s a wrong number. My heart is pounding.
‘It’s Dad,’ says the voice on the line. He’s in the room next door. Why is he calling me?
‘Marina has lost the baby.’
I struggle to comprehend what he is telling me. I only left Marina yesterday, eight months pregnant and healthy, while I flew to Canada.
