Our Newsletter Gets A Facelift!!

We’ve been busy here at HQ changing our newsletter in the hope that it is a friendlier and more interesting read for our Clients. Please take a look and do let us know what you think – and of course, come along and join us on one of our challenges; either as a group or an individual. We can tailor make any of our trips to suit your particular requirements, so please do give us a call to discuss your ideas! Click on the link below to view.

Check out our new E-Zine!

Being Wise on Expedition.........The first 18 months....

One of our hard working freelancers read this poem out at our Christmas *Doo* in December - it is a great explanation of what it is to work for Expedition Wise!

It started by chance in 2011

One Caledonian Challenge was the event

My baptism of fire in the Highlands

The first experience with Expedition Wise was Heaven sent

Treating blisters by the dozen int' Ice Factor

Racer’s feet weren’t always in good shape

Teams of 4 in theory, sometimes 3,2 ,1

Not everyone abided by the red tape

Out of Kinlochleven on the staircase

Riding on a quad was brilliant fun

Walking through the night over Rannoch

And dancing at the finish at Tyndrum

Brian's 2011 party was a great one

Rocking on up to Rock House in Rock Place

There's also lots of rocks sculpted in the garden

And fab views to other crags with a rock face!

Steph had made vatt loads of piping chilli

Ang introduced me to alcoholic ginger beer

Wine and laughter flowed there all evening

And the video of the year was full of cheer

In 2012 the season was first about the 3 peaks

Ben Nevis, Sca Fell Pike and Snowdon in a line

Up and down we went in all the weathers

Slow, fast, snowy, midgy and sunny fine

With KPG's event we had a biblical deluge

Wasdale was evacuated from the valley not least

We slept in Tescos car park with croissants

The Llanberis Royal Victoria provided a feast

Then came Brave the Beacons in September

Based at Dolygaer in the trees

Alcohol arrived there by the carload

We all thought the challengers would be on their knees..

But no, the vino just spurred them on to do more

To kayak, bike and navigate with much glee

The weather and team spirit was fantastic

And they raised an amazing 50 grand for TCT

And so to the Brutal in Llanberis

A new event organised this year

3 levels of triathlon for competitors

The extreme filled the rest of us with fear

Ann and I ‘womaned’ a bike medic station

Brian said it was like the WI

Yet several mugs of tea later.....he left

And a cyclist emerged for a rubbing on his thigh

All through the night they whizzed past us

The extreme cyclists with their support crews in tow

Asking us how we were seemed the wrong way around

Some amazing professionalism they did show

And then the finish at 1am on Monday morning

Strong winds and driving rain for the finale

11 guys with stamina to die for

Who had all in 40 hours climbed their own Dinali

We have to don coordinated camouflage

Black, grey and orange with some high viz gear

The baseball caps are a perpetual challenge

My Masaai dangly earrings have become corporate wear

So being wise on expedition is essential

To keep healthy and stay safe on this journey

We look forward to 2013 with hope and optimism

For excitement and adventure are a successful life's key.

Mount Elbrus - Part Twelve and Final

Going Home

BJ's obviously been awake and pulled the balcony door to, it's about 6am and I just have to open it as I'm starting to melt again. Pytaigorsk starts to wake up beneath us, but the cockrel is a bit on the slow side, it's well after dawn and the stupid bird has only just started crowing. We start slowly as it's going to be a very long day. At breakfast we ponder who ever would put cabbage in a brioche? Or for that matter potato? Unfortunately they only have green tea, oh for a proper cup of tea, starting the longing just to be home now, to put it all back as it was. After a couple of visits to the buffet we give up and collect our bags from our timber clad box, look finally out across the city to the mountain that brought us here, below us is Andrei and his dodgy jeep that'll be taking us to the airport.

The weirdness that is Russia begins again. At the airport check-in desk is a group of Russian school kids who are either completely intrigued by us or are busy ripping the piss out of us without us realising. The best we can come up with is to return the compliment, we take the piss out of the children, ah! the joy of innocence due to the lack of an understanding of each others’ language. We step up next. BJ's bag just makes 20kg, then a guy steps across and demands that he put his day sack on as well!!! Muzafuka! It now goes 24kgs, "You pay excess for 4kgs - 60R/kg" we argue the toss that it's only what we arrived with, but he won't budge. He hands BJ a coupon and sends him to a desk in the front corner of the hall to pay. Then it's my turn, big bag on, 18kgs!! Wooohooo! Noooo, I have to put my pack on too! Shit!! 26kgs. I turn to him and say "OK I'll change into my big boots" and start to pull them out of my bag, as I do so he relents and says that he'll only charge me 4kgs too, just to get rid of me and the ever impatiently growing queue behind me. HAHA! The downside is that we can't dodge paying as he has kept our passports, he's been here before. After some fruitless wandering we eventually find the correct desk to pay. The girl there speaks no English and attempts to charge BJ 1140r, we guess that she's trying to charge him as 24kgs over. Another round of bartering ensues, we write down 60R x 4kgs = 240R but she counters with 390R, BJ takes it and figures she's just made and easy 150R, about three quid. Before she has chance to pull the same stroke with me I point out the difference on my ticket, ARSE! she's charged me 390R too! Back across to the ticket desk to retrieve our passports, indignantly he returns them and points us around to the customs desk. BJ goes through one desk and I dodge round to another, the race is on. Trouble with ticket, that's checked and is ok, then through the scanner, it goes off, crap! but I get patted down by a rather hot looking lady official (not all bad) but there's a problem with my bag!  What? She says that something's wrong, "Is it the flask?" No? Another, sterner looking lady points to the image of a knife on the banned items poster. BJ figures it must be my Leatherman, f**k! I don't want to lose that. I start pulling all the crap out of my bag, big boots, fleece, ooops skanky boxers, shorts and . . . they tell me to go, but are, according to BJ, laughing at all the kit I have dragged out. Still we're through.  In to a waiting area and in the corner a small snack stand, so it's caviar and Earl Grey while we wait for the flight. Not too shabby! The flight is steaming, no AC on this plane either.

We're in Moscow again before we know it, no traumas. Hunt the bags, grab a trolley and dive through to International Departures, a quick stop at instant tickets and straight to the check-in desk, hhmmm the bags?, again no traumas! Upstairs and through more searches, what are they expecting to happen around here? A quick dive through duty free, a bite to eat and then down to the gate (which they seem to change with great frequency). Next door is a Fosters bar so we grab our last Russian beer and try to get a discount because of my surname, which causes laughs with the staff but alas not a saving. Through the gate and out on to the plane, now this is a classy craft, leather seats, loads of space and we're getting fed, can't be bad, oh! and DVD screens on the back of the seats (am I missing the Tupolevs? Nah).  The front page of the English news papers show the devastation of riots throughout the UK? What has been happening since we've been away, it hasn't been that long. The food's good, we're having fun with the stewardesses and we're going home! But Elbrus hasn’t seen the last of us, that mountain owes us a summit picture so we'll see you back here in 2012.

E-Bob signs off!

Oh and BJ says "seeya!"

Some Feedback from our Nepal Trip!

From Russell: I feel that it has changed who I am, as I am much more focused on goals and achievements. I will never forget what it was like being at Base Camp and the feel that it gave me. Do it without hesitation.

From David & Gavin: Expedition Wise were very supportive of individuals and the group.  My most vivid memory is the emotion we all shared in the success of reaching base camp and taking in the landscape around us, and the fulfilment of a boyhood dream to go and see Everest.

From Sally: Words cannot really describe what there is to add about Expedition Wise, the following text does not really begin to explain, but it will give you an idea .............. The personal input from the Expedition Wise team went above the call of duty. It is obviously a career of choice and a life they love, their passion and belief in what they do shines in their faces even when faced with a client like me!! Their enthusiasm is exuded with their every breath and it rubs off on you morning, noon and night, ensuring that if you have a moment when challenge ahead feels daunting, it just melts away and is replaced by confidence in yourself!! Their friendship and attention to our needs both personally and as a team ensured everyone felt cared for. Their leadership skills and support were second to none. They made everyone one of us feel valued as a team member and were genuinely interested in our goals for the challenge and helped us all every step of the way. Their experience of the Nepal and the mountain region along with their encouragement made the whole experience absolutely Amazing!!! Professional Experts in their field!!! Recommend - LIKE - Follow - Definitely book again!!!!! In fact - When can we go again???

The challenge - for me, I realise now that anything you want to do IS possible - Just DO IT!! Memories - 15 New Friends, I feel like I have a second home in Nepal I have ventured into the unknown and loved every minute The sounds, the smells, the colours, the sky, the mountains, pictures in my mind I see everytime I close my mind! A culture so different from our own, religions I have learnt about. The whole experience, MIND BLOWING AND LIFE CHANGING!!! Advice - Don't diliberate for long, just BOOK IT and GO!!!!!! Life is too short!

And from me: I wanted to thank you for making the trip so incredible for everyone.  It was by far the best organised and lead challenge I have been on and you put the others to shame, really great to work with you and on to the next ones!

The Year is Nearly Over...

And what a year it has been for us here at Expedition Wise, with trips far and wide across the world, from the Brecon Beacons to Mount Elbrus, Snowdonia to Iceland, by foot, by boat, by rail, by bike, by plane....

Saturday night saw the Staff celebrating the year end with drinks, food and the promise of a chilly mountain bike ride on Sunday!

Next year is looking great already, with bookings coming in for existing events and new exciting challenges such as Beat The Sun to look forward to. We facilitated the raising of over a half a million pounds (£530,000) for charity in 2012 and would love to double that in 2013.

Thanks for being with us and hope to see some of you next year. 

Have a fabulous holiday season and enjoy every precious moment!

Everest Base Camp and Back!

Recently a group of intrepid adventurers made the challenging and arduous ascent to Everest Base Camp. We are currently in the process of writing a blog that reflects the challenges and triumphs of this iconic climb, along with some photographs to give you a feel of what it is all about.

In the meantime, we share with you here a poem written by one of the group as they flew back to Heathrow:

   Safely back at Heathrow, here at Terminal Four,

   It’s where we began our trek, and lots lots more,

   We bonded together, as one great big group,

   Even looking forward to our teatime bowl of soup,

   Little steps we took, all the way up those hills,

   And depleted Brian’s supplies of most of his pills,

   Avoided the Yaks, and got covered in dust,

   We were all very determined, Shit or Bust!

   So this little poem is from the Cornish lot,

   To our guides Kate, Ian and Brian, it has really meant a lot,

   We can't thank you enough for all you have done,

   And hope you remember us, when we have all gone home.

Great Wall of China Trek - Autumn 2012

China Great Wall in Autumn

I have led several Great Wall of China charity treks in the past but this one was to be a first for a couple of reasons.

1. I had never led a Great Wall expedition in Autumn
2. We were to go to a section of the wall, Dayingpan, not open to the public and still unvisited

We were lucky enough to fly on BA which meant arriving quite early into Beijing so not only did we get to our lodge early but were able to trek on the Juyonguang Pass section of the wall on the day of our arrival – a real bonus extra section on top of the other 6 days of trekking.

Trekking in Autumn in China does provide generally more stable weather and the views of the surrounding trees changing through the bronzes and golds made the surrounding landscape very memorable.

There did seem to be more charity groups from different companies on certain sections of the wall this year – a testament to the popularity of people now spending their annual leave on charity challenges, rather than the usual holidays.  However we were able to spend two days free of other groups in the wall and one day free of anyone on Dayingpan.

Dayingpan is a very broken down area of the Great Wall with a tough and exposed central section to negotiate.  This is called the Water Gate and is at the furthest point from any assistance and involves traversing off the Wall to avoid a huge unprotectable boulder that the Wall has been built over. The group then had to down climb part of the wall to reach the relative safety of the Water Gate itself before climbing back up onto the Wall proper.  This is a great wilderness section of the Wall and well worth the effort involved to get to it and along it.

This was a great expedition with a fun bunch of challengers, all raising money for Breast Cancer Care which led to some very emotional moments along the Wall.

Thank you to all involved.