Elspeth Hikes up Annapurna Base Camp : Walking 64 Hours in 8 Days!
02/05/2018
A couple of weeks ago LEP Fitness member Elspeth completed her walk up to Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal. During her 8 day hike over the Himalayan mountains she completed 8 hours of walking per day! My legs ache just thinking about it! To celebrate Elspeth’s awesome achievement I thought it would be good to interview her and share her story on the LEP blog…
Introduction…
Hello, i’m Elspeth! My interests include travel, walking, photography, cinema & food! I spent many years bringing up three children who are now all in their 20’s, followed by a few years of poor health that prevented me from playing the tennis I loved so much. At the age of 58 I decided it was finally time to invest some time & money in myself and that’s when I got in touch with Nick at LEP Fitness.
What made you set yourself a walking goal?
I visited Nepal 2 years ago & did a 5 day trek which took in a small peak of 3210m above sea level. I fell in love with the majesty of the mountains, the people, & the country in general. Admiring the view with one of my companions on that trip, I said “wouldn’t it be great to go up as high as that”.
The seed was sown but I wasn’t sure I was brave enough or fit enough. I walk a great deal in and around Sheffield as I have a very active dog, but I wanted something that really stretched me. Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) was the challenge I chose because route crosses different valleys and incorporates hugely diverse mountain scenery.
How long have you been training for the event and what has been the hardest part?
I have been doing personal training sessions with Nick on average twice a week for a year. I initially saw the personal training sessions as improving my health fitness & well-being, rather than training specifically for the trip.
But as the trip got nearer & I talked more to Nick about it, my training sessions were subtly becoming much more targeted to what was going to be required of me. One of the hardest mental parts was knowing that despite training hard I might not be able to complete the trek if I was hit by Altitude Sickness and it that is something that you can’t predict or train for!
How long did it take you to walk up the mountain?
Reaching ABC took on average 8 hours walking per day for 8 days. Descent sounds a doddle, but on the first day of “descent” while crossing a valley we scaled the height of Ben Nevis twice.
What was the hardest part, and some of the challenges you faced whilst outing Nepal?
The hardest physical part was the penultimate day of climbing when I had to dig really deep as the tiredness hit my legs & the altitude hit my lungs & brain and the temperature was -10 degrees. I could hear Nick’s voice in my head motivating me & spurring me on!
Cheesy status alert. Training with Nick has had an impact on many areas of my mind & body & I certainly couldn’t have enjoyed completing this challenge without his input. Alongisde feeling much fitter I have also managed to lose over a stone in weight and have lost 2 inches on my stomach.
To read more LEP Success Stories click below…
KAB RUNS A MARATHON & RAISES £1,500 FOR CHARITY!
JULIE REACHES HER SQUAT GOAL OF 60KG!
