....The next day......

Tuesday Sept 8th

Well I gave it my best shot but was unable to get  beyond 5,400 metres.  Handicapped by a cold and throat infection, my legs turned to jelly and I rapidly became exhausted climbing on the 45 - 60degree shifting shale and then black ice glacier.  However I did offer up the prayers people had requested at 5000 metres and I hope these prayers are answered. Thank you all for your support..

Of course it would have been fantastic to summit, but I know I gave it my best.  I remind myself of two of my favourite pieces of writing.  From Rudyard Kipling

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same....
...If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

And from the song Icarus by Ann Lister,.  As the legendary Icarus flew too close to the sun the heat caused the wax on his wings to melt and so he fell to earth

And as I watched your body fall
I knew that really you had won
For your grave was not the earth
But the reflection of the sun.

Back in Riobamba now I have to book my bus journey back to Mancora in Peru overnight Wednesday.  But this afternoon I´ve just been resting.  And I celebrated  the end of this journey with a glass of warm white wine at the Italian gelateria jut along from my hotel.

Thanks to those of you who have been following this journey.  And remember what Michelangelo said:  the greatest danger for most of us is not that we aim too high and we miss, but that we aim too low and hit the mark.

Monday Sept 7th

 Well with disastrous timing the sore throat has developed into one of those throat infections where even swallowing is painful - even on ibuprofen and paracetamol - and of course salt water gargles.  I feel not at my best at all.  And this afternoon we start climbing Chimborazo.  So an antibiotic has been added into my pharnaceutical and vitamin intake.  One thing is clear.  It will be a miracle if I manage to summit Chimborazo - and so that´s what I´m praying for.

I met my guide Fabiano this morning to get kitted out with boots, crampons etc and talked about what we should do.  It´s not that there´s any choice on dates as I have to return to Peru in a few days. So we´ll just go and take it,one step at a time - literally. He inspires me with confidence with his strength, his ready smile and obvious competence.  I don´t think I could have been allocated a better guide. 

I´ll let you know what happens - probably tomorrow night.

Sunday Sept 6th - the World Cup

Did you know that yesterday Ecuador played Colombia in the first round of the World Cup soccer qualifiers?  Very passionate about their football here, they are.  I had breakfast at my usual cafe where they were all wearing the yellow shirts of Ecuador.  Even the taxis are a sunny yellow here.  So after a 6 hour hike i was keen to get back to the cafe and see the end of the game.  I just managed to catch the 4.30 bus from my finish point about 7 miles out of town. I caught this bus about a week ago and I managed to get the last seat.  This time it was empty.  Everyone was watching the soccer.  There was me, the driver and the conductress. And she got off about 4 miles from town so I had my own private bus.  We listened to the match on the radio and it was looking like  a draw until Colombia scored in the last 10 minutes.  I just managed to get back to the cafe in time for the last few minutes and a bit of extra time. The commentary was in raapid and excited Spanish.  Then, in the final 10 seconds of the match the yellow shirts scored a great goal ( though it might have been offside if you ask me), and i cheered and clapped and smiled.  I was really pleased that Ecuador had managed to get the draw.  It was only when I returned to my hotel that I discovered that Ecuador, unusually , were playing in blue shirts.  So I had been cheering the Colombian second goal.  Oh Noooo.

I didn´t know if I would be barred but I went back to the cafe later for dinner and explained my misunderstanding to the patient owner.  He was very understanding but  perhaps he still thinks I´m not the brightest button in the box.  By the way, they make a most wonderful traditional Ecuadorean potato and cheese soup.  See if you can find a recipe - it´s a meal in itself.  The other day i had the soup and ordered a plate of fruit and cream as well.  I was pretty full after the soup and then was faced with a dinner plate serving of banana, papaya, watermelon and pineapple.  It was a bit of a struggle but I managed it all!  It was so delicious.

Still got a sore throat and am taking ibuprofen.  I bought some salt for gargling too - 250 grammes was the smallest size.  Enough to last me a few years.  I wonder what the chambermaid will think of my salt stash? I hope the drugs police don´t break my door down in the middle of the night.

Well, a quiet day today.  I´ll meet Fabiano tomorrow at 9am and we´ll sort out crampons, boots etc.  Then off to Chimborazo, climb up to the Whymper refuge, have something to eat, then climb up to the glacier and play snow and ice games for a bit.  Return to the refuge, for a few hours sleep, have something to eat at around 11pm then head off for the 8-10hour trek up to the summit.  Sounds easy!  I hope I´m one of the 50% who get there.

I´ll let you know what happens.   

Friday Sept 4th -  Oh dear - sneezes and a sore throat

I´ve been really very well for the 7 weeks I´ve been in South America - apart fom a hip problem which has settled down.  But the last 2 days I´ve had a few sneezes and a sore throat.  i´ve also been more breathless than I would have hoped.  I´ve been resting and doing a lot of self treatment with Touch for Health and Kinesiology - directed at optimising physical health and mental attitude. I´ve also been doing  the Ananda energisation exercises and meditation.  I´m sure Divine Mother will rescue me in the nick of time and everything will work out in Divine timing.  I sometimes feel I´m being tested  to see if I trust enough that all will be well.

I met my mountain guide today - Fabiano.  He´s about 30 - a really cheerful soul, has a great smile, and is a very sweet man - and he´ll be carrying almost everything -except me - up the mountain (food, water , ropes and mountain gear). I think I´ll be carrying the camera and some nuts and raisins. He´s climbed pretty much everything in Ecuador and been up Chimborazo 42 times.

 Thursday Sept 3rd - good days, bad nights

Had 2 days and 2 nights at a hostel - Estacion Urbina - on the lower (3,600 metres) slopes of Chimborazo.  2 good days hiking up about 1200 metres, 1st day straightforward - 5 hours return. 2nd day involved trekking over some rough up and down ground, again gaining around 1200 metres.  Had to cross a stream too (shoes and socks off, shoes back on, cross stream using a branch to balance, dry feet, socks and shoes back on).  Good fun.  6 hours return.  But  the 2 nights I stayed at the hostel I didn´t get much sleep as I was quite breathless and had some muscle twitching  too(due to the altitude)  So I came back to Riobamba to rest up for a few days and although I was still a bit breathless last night i discovered a "fix" from kinesiology.  It´s a technique called ionisation and it´s similar to the yogic breathing technique of nadi shodanam.  I´m pretty sure the breathing problem was caused by an imbalance in the ida and pingala flows and the technique stopped the breathless episodes IMMEDIATELY.  So I thought it would probably be helpful in sleep apnoea and snoring problems.  There´s a research project for someone.

So back in Riobamba yesterday and have been taking things easy - energisation, meditation, self treatments with kinesiology, healthy eating (part of the training programme) drinking lots of water, and a wander down to the lovely cathedral here where  I had another  good meditation. 

And I think that´s the way it will be for the next few days.  I meet  my mountain guide tomorrow.  Maybe take a medium hike tomorrow afternoon or Saturday, rest on Sunday and then the Chimborazo climb on Monday afternoon  - to the refuge at 5000 metres - a few hours rest , hopefully some sleep,and then 7-9 hours to the summit.. Hopefully the snow and ice will be in good condition - hard enough to move over easily with crampons.

Oh, and I went to the market and bought an alpaca sweater -one of those with pictures of alpacas knitted in.  So that´ll help keep me warm.  Forecast is good for Monday and Monday night and Tuesday.

Sunday August 30th

Walked up to the Whymper refuge at 5000 metres.  Moderately breathless but  happy with my progress.  There were some Ecuadorean pilgrims there who were singing a chant  to a guitar accompaniment.  When they had finished I played and taught them them the ancient Indian chant Hey Bhagavan.  Both songs meant the same thing - Praise God (whatever form that takes for you).  lovely people they are. 

I noticed that the Whymper refuge hut was opened on June 10th 1979.  June 10th is my birthday, though not 1979.  I am taking this as a good sign.

After visiting the refuge we mountain biked - mostly downhill - through some lovely hillside and paramo, including visiting an ancient Inca site - powerful place. 

Have to go now to get my lift to a mountain hostel where I´ll stay for a few days getting acclimatised some more.

Next blog will probably be Friday

August 29th

Took a bus from Riobamba at 2750 metres to St Juan and walked up towards the lower slopes of Chimborazo.  It looks very "Scottish".  Green tree plantings in green valleys.  Beautiful hills and mountains.  The Ecuadorean hill people are lovely.  They smile a lot (toothless smiles the older ones) and everybody says hello and will have a chat.  It´s noticeable that "Buenos dias" changes almost immediately at 12 midday to "Buenos tardes".  Not like India where "Namaste"  works all day long - and for both "Hello" and "Goodbye".  I´d bought some chocolate bars on the bus from an opportunist salesman thinking that I might meet some kids who´d appreciate them......I was right....I did....and they did.  All smiles even before the sweets.  They live in pretty harsh conditions. Sun, cloud and some showers while I was out.  I walked for around 4 hours in all - reached the Paramo windswept mountain grass areas, probably around 3,500 metres, and got some stunning views of the  Chimborazo glacier and snow slopes on the way down when the cloud cleared a bit. It´s a beautiful looking mountain.  I felt pretty good - only minimally breathless at times, and my legs felt strong.

Going mountain biking tomorrow - drive to 4,800 metres, climb to the Chimborazo refuge  at 5000 metres then return to 4,800 and bike DOWN through some good looking mountain country. A 6-8 hour day mostly at altitude so a good workout.

 August 28th

....but we arrived  in Riobamba safely at 5am this morning.  I´ve found a decent and quiet hotel $15 a night where I´ll stay for a few days.  Even at this altitude 2,750 metres I occasionally find myself a little short of breath.  But it´s 3pm now and I feel that´s settling.  I have booked my mountain guide for climbing on the night of 7th September and the priority now is to acclimatise and get the mountain legs working. I will also be spending a lot of time this week on the lower slopes of Chimborazo, getting to know her and making friends - asking her to be kind to me. So, the plan is Sunday cycling DOWN Chimborazo from about 5000 metres (we drive up!!) then Monday to Thursday at a mountain hostel at 3,500 metres and daily hiking according to how well I acclimatise. I´m being careful not to overdo it - save that for the climb if needed.  I am using visualisation and  the yogic manifesting technique shared by Gyandev at the Expanding Light.  I clearly see myself standing with Yogananda at the summit of Chimborazo. I bought some postcards of Chimborazo today.  I was going to post them but it´s $2.25 a stamp for the UK. So now they´re  decorating the wall of my hotel room so that I can keep seeing that goal being achieved.  But I know that it will be only by the grace of God and the Masters that I will reach the top.  As they say in Spanish "Dios mediando"

And finally - the funniest thing I´ve seen today.  There are lots of eating places on the main street of Riobamba.  One of the eateries is a fried chicken place.  On the big front window are large, yellow, happy, smilng chickens.  The name of the place--

--

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Happy Pollo!

I don´t think so!

August 27th 

When I took the 17 hour bus journey from Lima to Mancora the bus was luxurious - tv and video, hot meal, hostesses and a/c.  I was told the bus from Mancora, Peru, to Ecuador would be the same type (or at least that´s what I understood) .  I knew it would be different when I saw the bus - all battered and scraped, no tinted windows., no drivers in uniform or hostesses - just the conductor. There were  air conditioning vents all right but no air came through them, and when I asked about it (it was somewhat sticky) the conductor shrugged and smiled at me.  No on board food - until 2 Peruvian men and a women boarded the bus for a couple of kilometres.  She had a plastic bucket withbaked potatoes which smelled really great (chopped onions and mayonnaise fillings if desired) and the guys were selling cokes and potato chips.

I changed buses after crossing the border and found myself on a real boneshaker, for 10 hours  with a crazy driver who drew shouts and screams from some of the Ecuadoreans at the back who were able to witness a number of near misses.  I felt surprisingly calm.  But then I wasn´t watching, and I guess I  have been a little inured in India to that kind of thing.  I listened to Sunday Service on my iPod, and tried to meditate as we swung round sharp bends heading up into the mountains, on one occasion crashing my head against the window.  Oh, and the on-board toilet didn´t work so there were a few unscheduled stops........

August 26th

Tomorrow -Thursday - I take the 12 hour bus trip to Riobamba in Ecuador.  From Riobamba to Quito four hours north is the corridor of the Volcanos.  Chimborazo lies north and west of Riobamba.

My left knee(ancient cruciate ligament op) is playing up and my right hip still isn't 100 per cent so I'm a little concerned at not being 100% fit.  I'm really relying on prayer and the Masters to get me up Chimborazo.  Riobamba is at an altitude of 2,700 metres and I'll have a couple of days acclimatizing. Then I'll do some walking in the higher mountains hopefully finding some easy routes to 5000 metres.  I  may have  to go to Quito for some high altitude training on Pichincha although I would prefer to avoid such a big city - 1.3 millions.   Visualisation plays an important role in my training and I see myself on Chimborazo summit with my guru Paramhansa Yogananda. 

The climb itself is something of a pilgrimage- an allegory if you like of the spiritual path.  IAnd if I make it to the top I know it will be only by the grace of God, Divine Mother and my guru. And the good wishes of friends and family.  Looking at the weather forecast expect to make the summit attempt on the 7th or 8th September.  And, of course, you can sponsor this climb and make a donation to our school project in the Himalayas.  Simply click on the donate button on this page and follow the PayPal link.  (Thanks to all of you who have already done so. ) 

I'll add to this page every few days if you want to folow my progress.

 Love and best wishes

Stan 

Dear Friends, Great Souls

YOUR PRAYERS TAKEN TO THE POINT NEAREST TO THE SUN 

During the first week in September I'll be climbing Chimborazo, Ecuador.  At 6,300 metres the mountain is, due to the equatorial bulge, the point on earth nearest to the sun.  The exact climb date will depend on the weather. Will I make it?  I don't know, but I feel strongly drawn to this adventure and I'm working hard on my fitness.  The climb involves high altitude mountaineering, over snow and ice, and around crevasses, so it's a little challenging.
However I feel the Masters are guiding me and will be with me on the mountain.

Imagine the power of prayer on this special mountain.  And you can have your own prayer carried to the summit of Chimborazo.  And even if I don't reach the summit your prayer will be read on the mountain at the refuge hut at 5,000 metres.

To register your prayer all you have to do is  sponsor me on this climb.  Funds go to the Ananda Rainbow Himalayan Village Schools project (www.anandarainbow.org).  And it's really easy.  Simply click on the PayPal donation/sponsorship button on this page. Make your payment.  Then email me with your prayer through the Contact Us page.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many blessings to you all.

Stan 

Well, it's decided. I'm going to climb Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador at 6,300 metres, and the point on earth which is closest to the sun. Isn't Everest higher? Yes it is, but due to the earth's equatorial bulge the summit of Chimborazo is actually further from the centre of the earth and closer to the sun.  The average equator radius is 6,378,388 meters, the average polar radius 6,356,912 meters (according to dtv-Lexikon). This is a difference of nearly 43 kilometers, in relation to the diameter. If an imaginary circle is drawn around the center of the Earth that just touches the peak of Mount Chimborazo, the difference to Mount Everest is 2,143 meters.  Huge!!

It started with a kiss, I never thought that it would come to this - as the old song goes (Hot Chocolate -1982).  Or in this case it started with a date.  Or a date stone to be more exact. As a result of which I have spent the last 3 months visiting the Seema Dental Hospital in Rishikesh.  About 15 visits so far and hopefully my teeth will be well and happy by the time I leave for the UK on the 23rd April. It must have been 10 years ago that I broke my tooth on a date stone and needed a filling.  Of course when I went to Sainsbury’s to complain that the pack of stoned dates in fact had a stone in it they pointed out the small print on the packaging – no guarantee that there would be no stones in the stoned dates.