Today began with our by now traditional musical send off only this time from Nick Harper. Nick sang from the steps of the lodge perched above our trekking party in front of the multi coloured entrance to a Nepalese prayer room. He sang a song that he had written in the evening previously but I think he had been preparing to write this song his whole life. It was a beautiful and moving tribute to his late mother who had died of cancer in 2000. The song filled the air of the Khumbu Valley and as the story began to weave it's way into our understanding, a hush came over the assembled until Nick ripped into his acoustic strings with a devastating display of verve and prowess on his baritone acoustic, a spontaneous roar came from everyone who was feeling the emotion in his playing. What a send off...................
The day is cloudy and the valley is filled with a cold Nepalese chill, but towering above is a magnificent display of Himalayan mountain tops. This is the backdrop for our acclimatisation trek to the Everest Hotel. The hotel is a Japanese built luxury establishment where every room has a view of Everest and it's surrounding peaks. We made our way high above our lodge in Namche Bazaar and soon made it to the top of the ascent. The purpose of today is to acclimatise and so we are going up to 12,300 feet and then drop back down to our lodge in Namche at 11,000. The latter hour of our journey was spent walking along a ridge that was not unlike the Rhyd Ddu ascent to the summit of Snowdon. We made it to the Everest Hotel in time for some green tea and a cheese sandwich (spelt on the menu as sandwitch).
We had been hoping to have a view of Everest today from the deck outside the hotel. It would have been spectacular but there was a cloud base obscuring our view of the big one. Blue skies were coming our way and we hoped for a view of the mountain we have all come to see. It wasn't to be yet but the sherpas had brought our guitars along and instead we broke the guitars out and began strumming and vibing with each other. We were supposed to begin learning some songs for the highest concert event instead we all rendezvoused quite naturally into a version of 'Rockin' The Freeworld', the synchronicity of the moment spread amongst the camera crew and before long we were all involved in a roof top concert with everyone singing along and rocking to the acoustic beat. Slim Jim was on the tambourine and shakers, Cy Curnin and Jamie West-Oram from The Fixx strummed their Epiphone guitars as did Nick Harper, who took the first solo followed by Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze who thrust his pick deep into the tension of the strings to bring out a ringing instrumental finale. The final chorus was changed (at the suggestion of Slim Jim) to 'Keep On Trekking In the Freeworld' and by the time we had finished there was a huge roar from everyone in the immediate viccinity not just the Love Hope Strength trekking team but the other hundred or so Japanese, European and North American trekking groups.... it felt like one of those grand finale moments the sort that there is no following, it had been spontaneous and unrehearsed, the best kind of rock and roll.... as we all savoured the moment and the rest of our tea and sandwitches (sic) Nick and Jamie began strumming quietly in the corner while the rest of us chatted in our various groups. All around us the clouds began lifting and we began to see the majesty of Ama Dablam rising from the clouds and nearby the majestic peak of Llhotse, Everest (Sagarmatha) herself kept mysteriously out of view. A silence descended but Nick and Jamie kept on playing and Nick began to sing. His beautiful falsetto and careful delivery piercing our hearts. The song was called 'My Imaginary Friend', I knew it as a song from Nick to his Mother but it also seemed to connect to Everest herself as we all held an imaginary picture of not only the mountain but the ones we love closest to our hearts. I was thinking of my wife Jules and my boys Dylan and Evan so far away yet so close. Cy Curnin was crying and he was not alone. It was an extraordinary moment for us all and the magnitude of of our endeavour came home to all of us. Thank you Nick for giving us your heart and soul.
We all had a sping in our step on the way back to Namche and we talked of going into the village for an acoustic shindig. Plans were made and before we knew it were on a make shift stage in the middle of a tea house with a crowd of Sherpas and onlookers from all four corners of the globe... We burst through a selection of Squeeze, Alarm, Fixx, Stray Cats and Nick Harper classics. The crowd were with us all the way even when Glenn Tilbrook lead us on a walkabout around the room and over the pool table.... It was an amazing end to another amazing day.... the whole mountain is buzzing with excitement about our presence here and people are changing their plans and timetables to be with us on Kala Pataar on October 21st when we attempt to break the Guiness World Record for the Highest Concert on land.................... As I type this in the dim lights of the internet cafe we have just heard the news that the www.everestrocks.com website has had over a million hits since we began and today Yahoo ran our story on the front page of their website which will be seen by billions........... perhaps the Gods really are with us.......
