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InThis Issue MINIMISINGRISKS
RUNNINGACROSS BRITAIN PAGE7
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CLIMBING- MONT BLANC
COASTEERING PEMBROKESHIRE
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CYCLINGTOROME WITHMYDOGROLO HOSPITALS AROUNDTHEW ORLD 6 PP AA GG EE45
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PADDLINGTHE YUKONRIVER MACHUPICCHU& THE INCATRAILS PAGE52
PAGE66 LOMBOKANDTHENYEPI FESTIVAL
IDITAROD
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PAGE80 THEMONGOL DERBY
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ROWINGCALIFORNIATOHAW AII Cazz Lan der
BUSHW ALKINGAUSTRALIA
COMMUTINGMADAGASCARSTYLE
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HIKINGTOEVEREST BASECAMP PAGPEAG 122 E3 PAGE6
COMINGUP PAGE135 3
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Welcome
Murray's help, when her dog Rolo hurt his paws, during training rides, as they practised for a long distance cycle from the UK to Rome. Yes, she took Rolo the spaniel with her too. After all, when things like navigation goes wrong, who better to comfort a person, than their best friend.
A big huge welcome to all of you. It's hard to believe, but we're already celebrating our first birthday! Yes, it's been a whole year since Adventure She was launched. If you subscribed to our 2018 issues, thank you so much. If you didn't, you can still get oall four of our 2018 issues from the website.
Anna Sargent didn't just travel with her best friend, she went with nine of them., on a canoe trip down the mighty Yukon river. I love this story, for it highlights the importance of proper preparation. How does the saying go, "fail to plan, plan to fail." In other words, proper planning is key to success. That's why we start this issue with a business technique that we can also apply in the adventure world. In fact, risk management is probably more important in the adventure scene, than it is in many a business.
Over this year, we hope to keep improving your reading experience. So if you have any comments or feedback, please do let us know. In our September 2018 issue we focused on fear. In our December 2018 issue, we focused on implementing positive changes. Alas the reality is, that whatever we do and however prepared we are, sometimes things go wrong.
Last year for her 40th birthday, Nicky Gaskell's partner thought she should jump off a cliff. Welcome to the world of coasteering. I bet responsible coasteering businesses carry out risk assessments!
So in this issue, we share several stories where events didn't always go according to plan. Such as, whilst running the length of the UK, Megan Al-Ghailani ran out of food and water,on the hottest day of the year so far! Not something we'd relish. Gemma Smith also found herself in a precarious situation, when she was teamed up with an inexperienced climber on Mont Blanc. Mercifully, she lived to tell the tale. Caroline Murray (who wrote about volunteering at the Mongol Derby in out September issue) is back. This time she writes about her experience as a volunteer vet at the legendary Iditarod. But you know what, as well prepared as the organisers were, things went wrong. But who could have foreseen Caroline falling out of bed and braking her wrist!
Now what would you think about a tall object going down a street and having to manoeuvre around low flying wires? Welcome to the Nyepi festival in Lombok, which Clare Johnston came across when celebrating her 30th birthday, thanks to the very hospitable owner of the guest house where she was staying. I must confess, low slung electric wires are something I'm a tad wary about, then again a former teacher 's husband got electrocuted and died, as a result of accidentally touching one whilst atop a truck carrying hay. Different countries of course have different ways and different facilities. Jade Toft shares the story of how she got around Madagascar, whilst volunteering with the Peace Corps. Annabel
Leila Smith could have done with Caroline 4 Front cover photo courtesy of Aex Thomson
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Norman is another one who writes about when things go wrong with local transport, in her case Nepal. Fortunately for her, whilst taxis / trucks were a bit of an issue, at least she managed to get out of the way of a rather angry looking yak, before it spiked her with its horns. Seemingly accident prone Fran Edmunds, meanwhile takes a look inside hospitals of several countries including Vietnam, Thailand and India. The story is a great reminder to all of us, of the importance of carrying a good first aid kit and knowing how to use it, plus of course, the need for appropriate travel insurance. On occasion though, travels do go according to plan. Liz Phillips planned her hike (on the Great South West Track in Victoria, Australia), with such skill, she even managed to have red wine on occasion. So are we saying that travel and adventure are dangerous? Absolutely, they can be. But, we can mitigate the risk. We can research in advance about a place, we can learn first aid techniques. and we can do courses such as in mountaineering, before heading off to some 6,000 metre peak. Over the page you'll see a short article by me, on how I managed risk when
choosing to travel to Peru, when it was considered a 'not so safe', option. Risk mitigation is also something I've applied when travellling in Pakistan (before 9 eleven), and when kayaking and mountaineering. Bethany Hughes and Lauren Reed recently became the first people to thru hike the Greater Patagonia Trail, which is a huge achievement, plus they recently finished a non motorised crossing of South America from Patagonia to Colombia and on to Panama. They are clearly hard core adventurers. Here though, Bethany writes of trails that are rather tamer these days, the hikes to world famous Machu Piccu, in Peru. We really hope you enjoy this issue and please please, do let us know what you think of the magazine and what we can do to make it better.
Jane Founder and Editor
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Adventure She is published by TNA Consulting Services Ltd, the address of the registered of which can be obtained from Companies House. The entire contents is protected by copyright 2019 and all rights are reserved. Reproduction without prior permission is forbidden. Every care is taken in compiling the contents of the magazine, but the publishers assume no responsibility in the effect arising therefrom, Readers are advised to seek professional advice before acting on any information which is contained in the magazine. Neither TNA Consulting Services Ltd nor Adventure She magazine accept any liability for views expressed, 5 Rights Reserved. pictures used or claims made. Copyright Š 2019 TNA Consulting Services Ltd. All
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COASTEERING PEMBROKESHIRE BY NICKY GASKELL So, what do you do when you turn 40? Why, you throw yourself off a cliff. All in the name of fun though, and it turned out to be one of the silliest, most exhilarating and self-challenging things you can do. Coasteering is getting popular, really popular, and at a small beach in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, Celtic Quest Coasteering took myself, my fiance and four other equally clueless customers
on an adventure none of us are likely to forget. The night before we were hesitant. The weather forecast for the following day was wet 20
and windy in the morning, only clearing long after our allotted time. It wasn't enough to put me off, but it might have dampened my enthusiasm. As it transpired the morning came slightly better
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than predicted, it was windy, yes, but the rain had blown away. The best result we could have hoped for in October. We arrived early at Abereiddy, a cove at the bottom of a steep lane and between Fishguard and St. Davids. We wanted to walk the dog and to take a look at the 'Blue Lagoon' - the flooded out slate quarry that would be the culmination of our morning's trip. While occasional gusts of wind got at us on the coast path, the water in the lagoon looked relatively calm. It helped assuage any nerves and let the excitement grow a little. Soon enough the Celtic Quest Coasteering van rocked up on the beach and we went to introduce ourselves to Cleo and Jerry, our guides.
The nature of coasteering is a bit rough on clothing, so they provide all the gear (you just need to bring suitable footwear, trainers are fine). I was fully suited and booted with a wetsuit, (zip at the back is the mantra, even immortalised on the side of the van), gloves, hood, waterproof socks, gloves, a cag, helmet and buoyancy aid. I was snug and ready to hit the water. Our hosts were reassuring and positive, consummate professional adults while at the same time indulging in their obvious enthusiasm for hurling themselves into the water at any available (safe) opportunity. The tide was falling when we entered the water, and I was personally relieved at that, having previously at Abereiddy almost tipped myself off my
A big huge thank you from the Adventure She team. After reading our December issue which focused on resolutions and successfully implementing change into one's life, Nicky Gaskell decided to undergo a change in her life. Already an avid hiker, she's joining the mountain leader training programme, so she can further pursue her passions. Thank you Nicky for sharing your news with us and good luck with your mountain leader training. We'll definitely keep following your adventures, as you post them on Instagram @Nickygaskell247 Many thanks too, to Celtic Coasteering, for allowing us to use the images in this article.
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Climbing Mont Blanc
By Gem m a Sm it h
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Mountaineeringisadangerousactivity. If youare interestedingoingmountaineering, great. But please,doas GemmaSmithdid,andlearnthecraft withexperienced professionals. HadGemmanot beenascapableasshewas, Gemmaandher climbingpartner might not havereturned fromthistrip. Takingthosefirst snowy mountainsteps For as long as I can recall I?ve wanted to climb mountains. In primary school, when others dreamed of being ballet dancers and firemen, I dreamed of snow-tipped peaks and climbing Everest. For a child living in suburbia in the North West of England, this I discovered recently was not a normal thing children want to do. Yet by the time I moved to London at 21, I?d long since put to bed the idea of conquering mountains in far-flung destinations. I was too busy listening to the naysayers and the impossible dreamers, people like me didn?t go and
climb mountains, no matter how much my inner child wanted to. But, a quarter-life crisis that put me in hospital provided a wake-up call, I couldn?t keep going through the motions of life, going to work, getting home eating and going to bed, only to repeat the process again and again. I couldn?t keep thinking of these incredible trips to do and places to visit, and just writing them off. So on what at the time very much felt like a whim, it certainly was perceived that way by so many people I know, I decided I was going to go to the one place in the world I?d wanted to visit since I was that tiny redhead running around the playground ? Everest.
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You wouldn?t think that a hike to Everest base camp could have such a profound effect on a person. But this trek felt like a pilgrimage for childhood ambition. Standing at base camp looking up at the endless mountains I knew I needed to come back, to feel the wind whipping across the tops, the sun beating down, the snow underfoot and witness the curvature of the earth while looking out across an endless sea of mountain tops. And so began my unexpected journey into mountaineering, with new plans to conquer mountains in all corners of the globe before I'd even set foot back in the UK. Unfortunately, it's not quite so simple to set off and climb mountains when you have no skills, and for anyone wanting to get into mountaineering, I can?t
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recommend doing a winter skills course highly enough. Building the foundational skills to understand how to safely deal with all the elements and all the seasons is essential. Alas, rain, rain and more rain with a side helping of 60 mph winds and a sprinkling of snow was not quite the backdrop I expected when choosing to do a winter skills course in the depths of a Scottish winter. Navigating, learning crampon technique and some rather entertaining ice axes arrest practice in these conditions certainly showed why learning these crucial skills correctly is so important. But, you never stop learning in the mountain environment. The skills and techniques I acquired over those five days in Scotland have seen me through three
years of mountain adventures. Though my mountaineering journey is still only in its infancy, I would never have managed to take on some of my favourite challenges without them. If anything, my first mountaineering adventure reinforced why it?s so important to be prepared before you take on a mountain challenge.
Thefirst peak Sitting at 4,810m, the highest mountain in western Europe, Mont Blanc was calling me. With no climbing friends or mountain buddies to venture off with at the time, I booked onto a commercial trip with an allocation of two people per guide. As a solo traveller doing this, it means you don't know
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who will your climbing buddy for the week until that first-course briefing. Something that is somewhat of a concern when you don?t know if they will have put in the same effort to skill up or if they will be as physically fit as you are. In hindsight, I don't know if it was fortunate or unfortunate, but those concerns came to fruition for me. I was landed with a perfectly pleasant but slightly incompetent individual who really shouldn?t have made the trip given their existing skill and fitness level of zero. Don't get me wrong, I?m all for encouraging others to give things like this a go, but when someone puts another person?s life at risk because they haven?t taken the time to learn the necessary skills, it?s not good.
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Like any mountain, there?s a multitude of routes up Mont Blanc, ranging from the well-used novice friendly slopes to spikey and complex ridge routes ideal for experienced climbers. The most popular and seen as the ?easiest?route, the Goรปter Route winds its way up to the mountain summit from Les Houches in the Chamonix valley. Across two days it takes you from a beautiful cog and pin train, across snowy fields, up rocky ridges and along rolling false summits with an overnight in the Goรปter Hut, which looks like a Bond villains lair from the late 60's as it glimmers and glistens from its perch on a rocky arete. I don?t know what I really expected when we set off for our ascent of Mont Blanc, lots of people, hot weather, even heatstroke, weren?t on the list. Ascending next to the notorious Grand Couloir, dodging rockfall, skin stinging from sunburn, and vision waning due to overheating is not what most would associate with a snowy scene. Having to rely on stuffing snow and ice under my helmet and on my neck to lower my body
temperature was the only way I managed to push myself on to the Goรปter Hut, our stop for the evening. It certainly brought home just how carefully balanced our bodies are and how easy it can be to get into trouble in the most unexpected ways. With a backdrop of twinkling stars and bobbing head torches, we set off zigzagging up the mountainside at 2am on summit day. A never-ending slog, we seemed to walk forever, my one distinct memory of it was debating with myself why I thought it was a good idea to make this trip at all? Yet, the second those first rays of light peaked out from the horizon all thoughts of difficulties vanished. Curving around crevasses, along ridge lines and over endless false summits, it became a desperate desire to see more, see further, stand above it all on the elusive mountain summit. There are no words to truly describe the feeling of standing on the summit of your first big mountain, elation, astonishment and exhaustion doesn't quite capture it all. The magnificent alps stretched out in all directions, snow-capped peak
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after snow-capped peak like gleaming spires as far as the eye could see.
Altitudedemons Standing on the summit, it?s so easy to forget that the journey is only 50% complete, that you can?t relax just yet. After all, it?s well known that more accidents happen on the descent of a mountain and the descent of Mont Blanc was undoubtedly more eventful for our trio of guide and clients. When someone is putting their crampons on the wrong feet and constantly standing on the rope at altitude, it's reasonably clear that something's not right. But when that person has no experience, and it?s someone you don?t know, it's hard to judge if it's purely due to inexperience or a sign of something worse. Unfortunately, after arriving at the summit of Mont Blanc, it became clear the other client had neglected to tell anyone that he was experiencing some pretty serious symptoms of altitude sickness. Combined with exhaustion, it resulted in a situation I certainly wouldn?t want to relive anytime soon.
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CYCLINGTO ROME BY ROLOTHESPANIEL ANDHISHUMAN LEILASMITH
Who was it who wrote that a dog is a man's best friend? Of course, a dog can just as equally be a woman or a child's best friend. Rather than leave her best friend behind, Leila Smith chose to take her best friend, Rolo, with her on a cycling trip to Rome. Now some people might think, oh perhaps Leila is a highly experiences adventurer, perhaps even an experience cycle tourer, but no, this was a first for both her and Rolo. What on earth would happen, as Leila, the 16kgs Rolo, the 16 kg (unloaded) trailer, Rolo's 6kgs food bags, plus all Leila's clothes and food, as well as the cooking and camping gear, cycled off to Rome? 36
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The t rut h I do not st ret ch or shove W hen I st at e t hat t he dog is full of love. I've also found, by act ual t est , A wet dog is t he lovingest . Ogden Nash 1902 - 1971
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MACHU PICCHU AND THE INCA TRAILS
By Bethany Hughes Photogr aphs by Br endan Reed, Laur en Reed and Bethany Hughes
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Imagine if you were part of a team of two, that were the first people, male or female, to thru-hike the Greater Patagonian Trail . Well Bethany Hughes and her hiking team mate Lauren Reed, don't need to imagine, for they were the first. A community, called Her Odyssey, has come together to empower Bethany and Lauren, not just to travel the length of the Americas by non-motorized means, but to also tell the stories of the land and its inhabitants. When we here at Adventure She magazine heard about them, we simply had to ask them if they would be kind enough to share part of their story with us, after all, what a way to start our new UNECO World Heritage Site series. Both were delighted to share a little bit about their experience and in the end, Bethany is the one that wrote the words. We're really grateful to both of you and send you huge congratulations on having treked and paddled your way across the whole of South America.
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MOREABOUTMACHUPICCHUANDSHINING PATHFROMTHEADVENTURESHETEAM 1911
15THCENTURY Machu Picchu was founded in the mid 15th century. It has frequently been described as the Lost City of the Incas, the place where the Incas eventually fled to after warring with the Spanish. Nowadays people generally consider that place to be Vilcabamba, with Machu Picchu having been an estate of the Inca emperor Pachacuti who ruled from 1438 to 1471 (we?ve also read the date 1472).
When Hiram Bingham first saw Machu Picchu in 1911, some of its famous terraces were used for agriculture, but vegetation covered a lot of it.
1980'STOEARLY1990'S In 1983 just over 100,000 people visited Machu Picchu. By 1987 visitor numbers were still under 200,000 , Then they dropped off, to less than 100,000 visiting in 1991. A key reason why visitor numbers halved between 1987 and 1991, with only low increases in 1992 and 1993, is Sendero Luminoso, or Shining Path. It utilised guerrilla tactics and terrorism, as it attempted to take over the country. In some areas it even killed very poor locals asleep in their homes, late at night. According to the Chicago Tribune newspaper, dated 17 August 1986 and sourced online, Sendero also ?dynamited a tourist train leaving Cusco for the popular ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu, killing seven vacationers, including an American, and injuring 40 others.? In the same article an official is quoted as saying ?Four years ago, we had 397,000 tourists in one year in Peru, and for us, that?s a big amount ? ? .It?s been going down and down since then. From Jan. 1 to Aug. 1 this year, I don?t think we?ve had 50,000.?
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POST1992
MACHUPICCHUNOW
In 1992 the leader of Shining Path Guzman was captured in Lima. Since then, visitor numbers have increased most years, the exceptions being 2009 (possibly due to the global financial crisis) and 2010 when horrendous floods hit the area.
Today about 1.2 million people visit Machu Picchu each year., compared to less than 100,000 in 1991. In 2007 Machu Picchu was named one of the seven modern wonders of the world by an internet poll. As always, visitors should keep an eye on various travel advisory websites and try to keep up with news when in a country. This is particularly relevant in South America at the moment, where the situation in Venezuela has the potential to worsen and even possibly stir up animosities in other South American countries.
2013 On 15 February 2013 another USA based newspaper, USA Today, revealed the US Embassy in Lima had issued a ?warning to U.S. tourists of a potential kidnapping threat in the Cuzco region, including the famed Inca citadel of Machu Piccu.? This too was a threat from Shining Path. The article reported that the warning ?drew vehement objections from Peruvian officials?.
Hopefully any such problems will not
BOOKSONMACHUPICCHU Our editor found 'Lost City of the Incas' by Hiram Bingham, a tough read, when she hiked the Sacred Trail to Machu Picchu in January 1993. Another previous contributor to this magazine, failed to finish it. More recently, our editor didn't persevere on starting to reread Hiram Bingham's book. But, she loved 'Turn Right at Machu Picchu 'by Mark Adams, claiming it contained history, adventure and suffering, which combined, made for brilliant reading.
UNESCOWORLDHERITAGE Machu Piccu and the City of Cusco, were declared UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1983. Since then, numerous other Inca sites have also been granted UNESCO World Heritage listing. The following website is an excellent and easy to read source of more information on Machu Picchu's World Heritage listing.
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COMMUTING MADAGASCARSTYLE
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BrousseLife - Taxi Brousse(noun): Anoisyand crowdedvehiclethat operatesonitsownscheduleto takeyoufromPoint AtoPoint BinMadagascar. When Jade Toft approached us with a pitch on Madagascar, we couldn't believe our luck. The Adventure She team has travelled far and wide, but no one, has been to Madagascar, or even knows someone who's been there. We love learning about life in different places, so over to you Jade, and thank you so much, for getting in touch.
When you?re waiting at the Brousse station or on the side of the road, you never know what you?re going to get.You might end up sitting on someone?s lap. You might have a driver who plays the same song on repeat at maximum volume. You might have a bundle of chickens underneath your feet. No journey in a brousse is ever the same. The only thingsthat are for certain are that you will inevitably be squeezed into a row meant for four people with at least five others, someone somewhere will get carsick (fingers crossed it?s not you!), and you will most likely not make it to your destination on time. If you calculated all of the time I spent in a brousse over the course of my two years in Madagascar, the number would probably be close to a month and they are NOT the most comfortable rides in the world. I spent one night squeezed in the back row of a broussewith one man sleeping across my lap and another man sleeping across my back, leaving me to sleep at an uncomfortable forward slant. I spent several nights cuddling up with the people next to me for warmth, 117
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