Medex Newsletter, 14
September 2003
Please remember to book your meal direct with Medex for the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in October. We must know numbers to arrange catering. Booking is made by sending a cheque, payable to Medex, for £28. As usual please make your own accommodation arrangements. Full details are posted later in this Newsletter.
For those that were on our 2003 Expedition PLEASE remember we need your reports, stories, accounts, observations for the Expedition Report. If you don't know what to write visit our website where the draft report is published. Look too at our other expedition reports. PLEASE send me your contributions as soon as possible so that we can finish the Report.
Hyssington BBQ
Two Medex meetings have taken place during the summer. The annual Hyssington BBQ was blessed, once again, by fantastic weather allowing a full compliment of activities. Mountain biking, rock and grass climbing on Arenig Fawr, serious socialising and parapenting. The BBQ was very well attended and we even encountered food shortages! The Diploma Team met on the Saturday afternoon and were able to put in place the final touches to the new Diploma in Mountain Medicine. Information on this appears later in this Newsletter.
An excellent meeting was held in the Village Hall on Sunday morning and it was great, once again, to sense the enthusiasm that lies at the heart of Medex. We floated two possible future Expeditions and there appeared to be universal support for these. Accordingly I have worked up a couple of proposals for 2006 and 2007 and these appear later in this Newsletter. We also discussed the future of Medex subscriptions and agreed that British Mountaineering Council (BMC) associate membership was no longer an attractive or worthwhile feature of Medex Membership. This is mainly due to the fact that a lot of our members live overseas and can derive no benefit from the BMC though we are still bound by the BMC rules to pay their levy. Instead we offered to propose and second individual Medex members to join the Alpine Club where they will enjoy both reciprocal rights and associate membership of the BMC.
We also agreed that Medex Membership should last for a number of years rather than being annually renewable as this saves considerable administrative effort. We have subsequently decided that the new period of membership should be for 4 years which will take us up to the end of the 2007 West Nepal Expedition. The cost of this four year membership will be £45 and of this a £10 levy will go direct to the charitable work of Medical Expeditions. The remainder will be used to cover administrative cost associated with maintaining the website and email services. As from 2004 Newsletters will all be disseminated by email and will only be mailed by post if specifically requested. There will be £10 surcharge for postal versions.
Jill Sutcliffe mooted the idea of compiling an illustrated book of our various adventures and research findings. We hope to work towards this over the next 4 or 5 years.
We also decided to organise a Ski trip to Chamonix in March 2004 and details of this too appear later in this Newsletter.
Roaches
In August Paul Richards organised a very well attended climbing weekend at the Roaches and we were pleased to welcome some new faces. Thanks Paul for the great organisation.
Website
The website is in the process of being completely re-written and will be demonstrated at the Old Dungeon Ghyll Meet in October. It includes hundreds of photos. A draft version be seen on our website at present. If there is anything that you would like to contribute to it please send it in to me by email.
Expedition Opportunities
Piotr Szawarski is looking for Medex members to join him in Mexico. Pico De
Orizaba, 5611m in Mexico,
November 2004. Full details are posted in the "Members Private Trips" section of
our website.
Please Contact Piotr Szawarsk,i zmierzchowiec@aol.com if interested.
Ben Boddy, www.bses.org is seeking
an expedition medic and has sent in this note:
We are planning an expedition in 2005 going to Peru in mid July to late August
(4-6 weeks). We will be taking approx. 60 young people between the ages of
16-20.
BSES is a not profit making charity based at the RGS. All of our expeditions have
scientific field work projects that often support host country organisations and
typically cover surveying, glaciology, ornithology, physiology and many other
topics. The recce is heading out in mid August this year to establish the actual
base camp.
At present it is proposed to have the base camp at 3000m and so we are trying to
find some good expedition doctors with experience + knowledge of altitude
medicine.
All expedition members have to make a financial contribution and it is expected
that this will be approx £1000 including everything from flights and food to
insurance.
If you know of anyone who would be interested please send them these details and
ask them to drop me an email or call on 0207 5913141.
People News
Ollie Kemp and Neil Richardson both got firsts for their BSc projects on GTN headache at altitude, and 2:1 s for their BSc's overall. Congratulations!
John Milledge has been busy since his return from Nepal. Whilst most of us were acclimatising to clean sheets and soft beds John headed for Ireland with his Kayak. Alone, with his tent and kayak, he paddled all the way around Ireland. Jim kept us updated with a regular emailed report as John progressed around the coast. On route he encountered floating bodies, Irish hospitality, a good deal of weather and a near miss with the HSS ferry in Dublin Bay. The ferry was travelling at 40 knots! John is resting for a few weeks now before he flies out to Malawi to work for the next 2 years.
Martin Pengilly will be running in the Everest marathon in November.
Gwen Richards is a GP on sabbatical February to May 2004 and is looking for excuse to visit Nepal again, e.g. as a trek doctor, or other voluntary non medical work. Experience in altitude medicine - Himalayan Rescue Association clinics in Pheriche and Manang. Other destinations considered. gwenrichardsuk@yahoo.com
Frederic DeClerk has sent this in: Hi everyone. After leaving Kathmandu at the end of February, we spent 6
days trekking up to our new home for the next few months: the HRA clinic
building in Manang. Gobinda and Indira, our nepali helpers accompanied us
together with 20 porters (carrying the food, medicines for the clinic,
cooking gas....) We arrived in Manang on the 2nd of March, and were
promptly welcomed by the local mothers group with Tibetan tea and katas
(milk tea, and white shawls) Our little clinic building was better than we
expected. We had two rooms for the doctors, a kitchen, staff room, clinic
room, and solar shower. even 24h electricity by solar power...great.
We were three doctors for most of the season: Jan and myself and an
American doctor with his wife, both from Colorado Springs. This meant we
could divide the work and take some time off to go walking in the area.
A routine day looked like this: breakfast at 7.30, (Indira, our cook made
lovely pancakes, buckwheat pancakes, porridge,...), then we opened the
clinic at 9.00, usually there were a few patients in the morning, nepali
and foreigners. but loads a time to read,...then lunch, then shower time
(early afternoon is perfect timing: just enough for the solar shower to
heat up and not yet any winds outside which make it very cold!! At 3.00 PM
we hade our daily lecture to the trekkers. Very enjoyable At 5.00PM we
closed the clinic and usually went to the village for some tea, chat with
the villagers,... at 7.00Pm we had our daily dhal baat (rice with lentils)
Luckily Indira had cooked for westerners before, so we were spared from
three times dhal baat
a day... I apology if I speak about food a lot in this mail, but after
four months without fresh vegetables, fruit or meat, we are a bit
preoccupied. And it is the same with trekkers, it is amazing how many
conversations in the evening turn out to go about food, what you will eat
when you get back down, blablabla...
Mind you, we did manage to touch up our meals a bit. Once we had to
arrange a helicopter for a rescue and the HRA in Kathmandu put some green
vegetables and two packets of chicken on board.. Great
And two times the teachers in the village slaughtered a goat, so we had
some of that too...
The medical problems we had were quite varied. Trekkers mainly came with
diarrhoea and altitude sickness, while the locals had all sorts of
problems, from chest infections to skin rashes to teeth problems to broken
limbs. We had to arrange a few rescues for trekkers who were very ill with
altitude sickness, and also had to plaster a few arms of nepali who fell
from a roof or tree. And then there were the funny things, like the
Israeli trekker who got hit on the head with a hammer after arguing over a
100rupee bill (50pence), or
the time we had to assist in the delivery of a foal (died). Or the farmer
who asked for our help after he hit his ox on the head with a stone.
Apparently the animal didn't want to plough anymore, so he took a
rock and threw it at it. It struck the ox right between the eyes and the
beast collapsed, and hadn't walked since (it did get better in the end)
Luckily it wasn't all work, and we had some play. The Manang valley is
beautiful and there were some great walks we did. We went up to the
Thorong pass (5416m) a few times and visited Tilicho Lake, a high altitude
lake at 5200m, we camped next to the lake, the following morning we were
woken up by a shower of ice (our breaths had condensed inside the tent and
promptly turned into snow....) One of the best walks we did was to the
villages of Nar and Phu. These are in a valley parallel to Manang valley,
but this was previously closed for
foreigners (the valley leads up to the Tibetan border). This year the
government opened it and we were among the first foreigners to visit. We
had to take our tent, food,... as there are no lodges... The trip ends
with
crossing the Kang La pass at 5322m, from which we had a great view of the
Annapurnas, Dhualagiri, Nilgiris, and back to the Tibetan Plateau.
We closed the clinic on the 20th of May and then continued the rest of the
Round Annapurna trial, so went over the Thorong pass to the Holy site of
Muktinath. Then on to Kagbeni, where we stayed in a lodge (Red house) that
has its own little gompa inside (complete with 2m high buddha statue!!) We
then went down the Kali Gandaki valley - said to be the deepest gorge in
the world ( Annapurna - 8000+m on one side, Daulaghiri 8000+m on the
other...) We stayed in some lovely places, but as we were walking downit
became
hotter, and hotter, and hotter. In Tatopani (tato=hot, pani=water) we
visited the hot springs (and had an ice cold coke while lying in the warm
water, ... very cool) We then completed our walk with the long climb up to
Poon Hill from which we had a great view from Annapurna, Dhualagiri,
Machapuchhre,... in the
morning (had to get up at 4.00AM though... We finished the walk in Naya
Pul, and then came the most dangerous part of the walk:... the taxi ride
to Pokhara. Cramped in a small Toyota corolla,
with lots of scratch marks from previous hits, our driver dodged other
taxis, buses, and lorry and seemed to be on a personal mission to not hit
the brakes once and to keep the horn on at all times.... The joys of
Nepali
traffic... Luckily Pokhara was not too busy, it's much more relaxed than
Kathmandu, but hot, oh so hot. We spent a few days there relaxing, took a
boat ride on the lake, and re-stocked on vitamins with lots of fresh fruit
(mango, pineapple, bananas, lichis,...)
We finally arrived back in Kathmandu on the 31st of May. (after another
enjoyable bus ride on nepali roads, with a few Indian people who were nearly
killing each other for the best seats, heated arguments,... all worse
because the air-conditioning didn't work...)
We are now winding up here, had our goodbye party at the HRA last night.
(and got to write our name on the famous Rum Doodle pub wall - where all
the Everest summiteers have written too). We are flying home on the 9th of
June, a little earlier than before. The last few days, we will spend
visiting Baktapur and Patan, famous cities, and maybe taking a rafting
trip or so...
Phew, now I've got cramps in my fingers from typing, hope you're not dozed
off by now. Hope to see as many of you as possible when we are back in
Europe.
Meetings
A few events organised by the Britain Nepal Society that members might
like to know about:
Weds Sept 17, Royal Geographic Society - Lecture by Mark Tully in aid of Nepal
in Need Trust
Tues Oct 7, Soc of Antiquaries, Major KBS Kent on the British attempt on the SW
face of Everest in 1972
Mon Jan 19 2004, Soc of Antiquaries, talk by Dr Gillian Holdsworth of the
Britain Nepal Medical Trust
For more details email Mark Howarth on
mark@medex.org.uk
Peaks and Porters: Ogre to Everest Lecture Tuesday, 11
November at 7.00 pm at the Royal Geographical Society
by Doug Scott, OBE and Ben Ayers. Introduced by Sue Lloyd-Roberts
Heroic tales of the Himalayan mountain porter, including Doug’s epic journey off
the Ogre and Ben’s update on Nepali porter culture. Fund-raising event for
Community Action Nepal, Porters Progress and the Hopeful Home for Helpless
Children and Orphans, Kathmandu. Tickets: £10. Send cheque (payable to IPPG)
with s.a.e. to Porters Progress lecture, IPPG, 3 Northfields Prospect, Putney
Bridge Road, London SW18 1PE or telephone 020 8870 2600. This has been organised
by Medex Member Denise Prior after being inspired to help Porter's Progress
during Medex 2003. Please make every effort to attend. It is an excellent and
needy cause.
Medex West Nepal 2007
Below is a draft outline of our 2007 expedition
Outline maps are already published on our website and we are developing a picture library of the trek.
Kathmandu - Pokhara - Jomsom - Mustang - Jomsom - French Pass - Dhualagiri Base Camp - Phala Gaon - Jalja Pass - Thankur- Tarakot - Dho Tarap - Numa La - Ringmo Lake - Kagmara pass - Hurikot - Jumla - Bumri - Rara Lake - Sinja - Jumla - Pokhara - Kathmandu
Other variation: Kathmandu - Pokhara - Beni Phala Gaon - Jalja Pass - Thankur- Tarakot - Ringmo- Kagmara pass - Hurikot - Jumla - Pokhara - Kathmandu (avoids the expense of Mustang)
Other entry points for those with less time: Beni, Juphal and Jumla.
Maximum duration ex Kathmandu 60 days
Minimum duration ex Kathmandu 21 days depending on joining point
For our fourth major Expedition to Nepal we have broken the mould and devised a highly unusual and challenging route. Instead of a traditional trek in, climb high and trek out expedition we, in autumn 2007, will begin in the Kali Gandaki valley and trek westwards along the spine of the Himalaya. As usual this Expedition will have trekking, research and mountaineering objectives.
As yet we have not defined our mountaineering objectives as we will have to negotiate access to the various peaks that we will pass. Below is an outline of our trekking route. There are many variations so it is easy to keep groups geographically separate and still meet up for regular shared camps. Some regions require special permits and liaison officers and it is possible for groups on a low budget to avoid these if necessary. For those with less time available it is possible to join or leave early from the various air strips we pass en route. For those wishing to avoid the higher elevations they could join just for the start (Mustang) or at the end (Rara Lake).
Though we inevitably will have to spend some time in Kathmandu on this Expedition we plan to spend several days in Pokhara at both the start and the finish. For those able to devote the full 60 days to the Expedition the first 10 days will be spent visiting Mustang. We begin here as it is unaffected by the monsoon and so it enables us to start trekking earlier than we would otherwise. Mustang is relatively low and should enable us to gradually acclimatise before turning westwards over the French Pass to Dhualagiri Base Camp. For those with less time available they would drive to Beni and trek south of Dhualagiri to a rendezvous with the First group at Phala Gaon.
From there the route goes west over 2 passes and through very poorly mapped country to the village of Tarakot. The views of Dolpo from the pass before Tarakot are said to be "exquisite".
From Tarakot the groups will again diverge. Those with time and those able to afford the Dolpo permit will trek north east into the heart of Dolpo before turning west again to the next rendezvous at Ringmo to camp for a few days R&R on the shores of Lake Phoksundo. Others may wish to trek direct to Ringmo and thus avoid some expense. Groups with less time available may wish to join the main Expedition at Tarakot by flying to Juphal.
From Ringmo the route goes once again west to the next rendezvous at Jumla where there is a further air strip allowing others to join for the final Rara Lake leg. The 10 day circuit goes to Nepal's least visited National Park, is at relatively low elevation with a maximum altitude of 3,800m and is inhabited only by park wardens and wild life. From Jumla the groups fly back for some serious R&R at Pokhara.
Based in Pokhara for the final few days of the Expedition there will be opportunities to chill out on the lake, go parapenting or raft the river down to Chitwan.
Full details and prices have yet to be worked out. Visiting Dolpo and Mustang will be made expensive by the need for special 10 day permits. The logistics will undoubtedly be very complicated with several different portals for groups and several "transit type camps". These camps are an new innovation for Medex and will provide opportunities for groups to catch up, to socialise and to do research. It is envisaged that much of the research will be done on the hoof with compact, light weight equipment and solar power supplies. This is in contrast to our previous centralised base camp model. The trek profile will pose considerable difficulties for the researchers too. As stated above we are unsure of the mountaineering objectives but the route passes many peaks in the 6,000 to 6,500m range that look suitable.
As with our 2003 trip it is likely that politics will play a significant part in the difficulties. The Maoist movement began in the West and there is no way of predicting what circumstances will be like in 2007. What is certain is that this is a remote, rugged and seldom visited region, many areas of which were only opened to westerners in 1992. Permits will make aspects of the trek expensive and it is likely that there will be considerable bureaucracy as we will be close to the Tibet border and in prime Maoist country. The logistical and research challenges will also be severe. All this adversity should, however, make this one of our most rewarding Expeditions.
Medex Antarctica 2006
This a completely new venture for Medex and represents a personal fulfilment of
a lifelong ambition. The Expedition will take place in January and February 2006
and will combine the thrill of sailing from Tierra del Fuego across Drake's
Passage with the adventure of skiing and climbing in one of the remotest
destinations on earth.
In 2000 Sally and I went down to Patagonia with the express purpose of
researching the feasibility of this trip. We experienced, first hand, just how
inclement the Patagonian conditions can be and so are under no illusions as to
how unpleasant the voyage past Cape Horn to the Antarctic Peninsular may be.
However the rewards of arriving in this incomparable wilderness by small yacht
are huge. We will cruise down the Peninsular in the relative shelter of the
archipelago to the west of the Peninsular until we get into the ice. We will
then be dropped off by the yacht and establish a land Base Camp on the ice. From
there will climb ski and trek before being collected and transported to the next
land base.
After approximately 4 weeks on the ice will turn and head north back to Tierra
del Fuego. The crossing of Drake's Passage takes about 5 days and thus the total
Expedition from Tierra de Fuego to Antarctica and back will be 6 weeks. It does,
of course, take at least 2 days to reach Tierra del Fuego from the Northern
Hemisphere and so realistically 8 weeks leave are required.
As alluded to above this is an extremely remote Expedition with no chance of
outside rescue and should only be contemplated by those that are capable of
travelling competently on glaciers. Those that choose to ski must be experienced
ski mountaineers and those that choose to climb must be very experienced.
The voyage to Antarctica crosses one of the most tempestuous pieces of water in
the world. It is euphemistically referred to as the "screaming fifties". Though
the yacht will be chartered complete with crew and will be designed for sailing
in this region the journey south will be an uncomfortable one. Some sailing
experience would be very valuable if only to have first hand experience of sea
sickness and how to cope with it.
Medex is able and willing to arrange glacier and sail training for those keen to
undertake this Expedition.
As with all expeditions to Antarctica this will, inevitably, be an expensive
one. We will charter a yacht from one of the specialist companies providing
expedition support based in the Beagle Channel. It is thought that this trip
will cost in the region of £10,000 which would not include airfares, equipment
and freight. As yachts get booked up years in advance an early expression of
interest is essential.
Medex Membership - New Subscription Period:
Medex was formed in 1998 and the membership programme has proved far more successful than anticipated. Currently (August 2003) we have 270 paid up members. The new subscription period will run for 4 years and will cost £45. Please note that Medex Membership no longer includes associate membership of the BMC. We hope that members will feel that this provides good value for money.
Newsletters will be sent out by email only. If you require a postal version you will need to specifically request this and pay a £10 surcharge.
Pay either by cheque or direct bank transfer into the Medex account: Lloyds Bank, Pride Hill, Shrewsbury UK. Sort code 30-97-62 account number: 01919643 Code: LOYDGB2L. Please be sure to quote your name. Unfortunately at present we do not accept credit cards.
Old Dungeon Ghyll in the English Lake District October 2003
October 4th - 5th 2003, Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, Lake District Weekend. This is the annual Medex event We normally arrive on the Friday night, spend Saturday on the hill with dinner in the evening. B&B accommodation can be booked direct with the Hotel (tel: 015394 37272) and camping is available nearby. If you want to attend the dinner on the Saturday evening this must be booked direct with Medex as places are limited. A cheque for £28 will secure your place for dinner, made payable to Medex and sent to the Pinfold, Hyssington, Montgomery, Powys.
Pay either by cheque or direct bank transfer into the Medex account: HSBC Bank plc, Wolverhampton PO Box 33. Sort code 40-47-11 Account Number: 12183293
Medex Ski trip to Chamonix 4th - 8th March 2004
A first for Medex. Taking advantage of cheap flights to Geneva from the UK it is now possible to have an excellent and inexpensive long weekend in Chamonix. Sally and I will take a late flight to Geneva on the Thursday and stay at the Hotel Beausoleil in the tiny hamlet of Le Lavancher (half way between Chamonix and Argentiere). We fly back from Geneva on the evening flight thus allowing 4 full days skiing.
This picturesque family run hotel is ideally placed to ski any of the valleys ski fields. If conditions are suitable Sally and I hope to ski the world famous Vallee Blanche which is the longest, finest and most accessible off-piste ski run in Europe.
If you would like to join us then please make your own travel and accommodation arrangement. The Hotel Beausoleil is very reasonably priced. It's probably best to share a hire car from the airport as it is very useful to have you own transport in Chamonix for the weekend.
We neither supply guides nor tuition for off piste routes though both can be hired in the Valley. Hotel email: hotel.beausoleil@liberysurf.fr
U.K. DIPLOMA OF MOUNTAIN MEDICINE
U.I.A.A. I.K.A.R. I.S.M.M.
The first UK Diploma of Mountain Medicine will be open for applicants from
November 2003.
Background:
The Medical Commission of the International Mountaineering and Climbing
Federation (UIAA Medcom), International Commission for Mountain Emergency
Medicine (ICAR Medcom) and International Society of Mountain Medicine (ISMM)
have been running an internationally recognised Diploma of Mountain Medicine in
France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Italy for several years. It consists of
a basic international syllabus that is then adapted to the needs of each member
country.
At the UIAA Medcom meeting in Kathmandu in 2001 the two UK British
Mountaineering Club (BMC) representatives were asked to look at the need for a
UK version of the Diploma. Initially sceptical about another “mountaineering
qualification” they were won over by the very practical basis of the syllabus
and the obvious enthusiasm of their European mountaineering medical colleagues.
The Course: The UK Diploma is being run on a modular basis with a course
logbook similar to the tried and tested system currently used by the UK Mountain
Leadership Training Boards. The personal logbook will contain sections on pre
course experience (both medical and mountaineering), each course module and,
most importantly, continuing post course experience.
The syllabus includes sections on the physiology of exercise and high altitude,
expedition and travel medicine, pre hospital care of trauma and illness in a
hostile environment, first aid, patient transport and an introduction to
mountain rescue techniques. Candidates will be assessed by UIAGM guides on their
ability to look after themselves in the mountains during the UK summer, Scottish
winter and Alpine modules. In addition there will be a spring theory module held
in Snowdonia with time to get out in the hills. The international syllabus has
an emphasis on the needs of Alpine rescue doctors but this has been adapted to
UK conditions to cover more travel and expedition medicine for doctors working
for commercial expedition companies. It also covers the unique conditions that
are often found in Scotland in the winter.
There will be a self directed distance learning aspect to the course with
constant assessment but the four residential modules can be spread over up to
four years.
It is hoped that the UIAA/IKAR/ISMM Diploma will be accepted by the University
of Leicester Medical Postgraduate Department as an UK academic Certificate, with
the possibility of upgrading to UK academic diploma level by the addition of a
dissertation. Further Details can be obtained from: courseadmin@medex.org.uk
Conclusion
That's enough for now please remember to renew your Medex Membership and do make every effort to join us at the Old Dungeon Ghyll and in Chamonix.
Simon and Sally