November 20th 2023
I have just returned from an expedition to the himalayas in Nepal, I flew out last month to join a group of like minded people for 4 weeks of hiking and climbing on a route that took us from the lower pastures of Lukla in the Himalayas over the upper passes of Renjo La, Cho La & Kongma La at 5500 meters and we also climbed three additional peaks over 5500 meters in the vicinity of Mt Everest and the Everest range (Gokyo Ri, Kala Pattar & Chukkung Ri)…. During the trip we encountered many issues with illness & altitude sickness related problems which were extremly serious, this resulted in only 3 of the 10 members of our group completing the expedition, thankfully I was in good shape and encountered no trouble. Although not the objective of the trip we managed ascend up to Everest Base camp and onto the Khumbu Ice fall which is the starting point for many great mountaineering adventures to Everest and surrounding peaks such as Nuptse / Lhotse which are usually now climbed in the summer months due to weather and avalanche possibilities that occure more often later in the year. The trip was mainly completed in snow with temperatures dipping below -15 most evenings while camped, as we were on the route we heard about a series of avalanches which took the lives of 40+ climbers/trekers & guides on Annapurna region of the himalayas, a sobering incident which shows the realities of being in such harsh environments, thankfully we never had any issues. I have been a regular Munro walker for a few years, walking at first and recently running for charity as Ive gained fitness but have been looking for a little bit extra as a challenge lately hence this trip, now Ive returned I am already looking at further possibilities for next year to return and tackle something a little tougher at higher altitude in the 6000+ meter range with some level of more advanced climbing, I'm a qualified rope access rescue supervisor in the offshore oil sector dealing with climbing and abseiling on a daily basis so hopefully I can adapt well with more technical demands on a mountain. Ive been following County the last few years while based abroad and love the energy and commitment from the fans, Im now based back in the UK however with travel I still miss games due to work commitments but with social media and radio coverage your never far from home so thought it would be a nice touch to show my support while away hence having the flag made up. 'MON THE COUNTY' Chris Mackinnon
