Phuket woman to head to Everest Base Camp

[webfact]

Phuket woman to head to Everest Base Camp
Claire Connell


Mayura “Nany” Namarasa will head to Nepal on Thursday.

PHUKET: -- Just three months ago, Phuket woman Mayura “Nany” Namarasa decided to take on the ultimate challenge: to start climbing the hills on the island in preparation for an epic 14 day alpine trek to Everest Base Camp in the Himalayas.

Mayura and her boyfriend Kevin Mansfield will leave on Thursday (February 27) and return on March 16, which will include the two week trek.

The couple fly to Kathmandu, Nepal, before flying to Lukla in the country’s north-east. Two other Phuket people – George Lindsay and Al Alnor – will also be on the same trip, which the group are doing through the adventure tourism company that Kevin works for, Unforgettable Adventures.

In preparation for the 120-km-hike, the 28 year-old Mayura has been jungle trekking in the hills in Kamala wearing her pack to increase her fitness, hiking for three hours a day, as well as visiting the gym to increase her leg muscles.

Despite being of rather small physique, she’s determined she will succeed in her dream to get to Base Camp, and have a view of the highest mountain the world.

“I can do it – 100 per cent,” she says with a big smile.

When asked about how she will handle the temperatures, which will be as low as -15 degrees Celsius, she says, “That’s a good question. I worry about it a little bit. But if you have the right clothes and you’re fit, you’ll be fine.”

Once the group fly to Lukla, they will then trek up the Dudh Kosi Valley, which is surrounded by the Thamserku and Kusum Kanguru peaks. Then it’s a steep climb to Namche Bazaar, before having a rest day.

Passing villages and monasteries, the next stop is Tengboche, located high on a ridge where a 360-degree panorama awaits, with views of Everest, the Lhotse Nuptse Wall, Ama Dablam and Kantega.

The group will then arrive at Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar (5,555 metres above sea level), a viewpoint recognised as the best vantage point to see the spectacular Mount Everest, before they return to Lukla and fly back to Phuket.

The idea for the trip first came to Mayura when she was looking at some of the tours Kevin’s company offered. She spotted the Base Camp trip and asked if she could join one.

“He said no [at first],” Mayura explains, “He didn’t think I could do it. He told me once I start training then I can come, so I started the next day – I wanted to show him I can.

“I also want to show Thai women that they can do this too, even if they think their bodies aren’t strong enough, or they are worried about travelling overseas.”

There is a concern about altitude sickness, as the highest Mayura has trekked will be 500 metres above sea level. In Nepal, the group will be going to a height of 5,600 metres above sea level.

However, Kevin says this is avoidable if the group have rest days to allow the body to adjust.

They will be hiking around four to six hours every day, except for the final day which is an eight hour climb – unbelievably, on this day the group only walk a total of four kilometres.

The good news is that Nepalese porters will carry the majority of the gear, so the trekkers will only be required to carry a day pack.

Kevin, who is the business development manager for Australian-based Unforgettable Adventures, says Mayura’s fitness will be fine for the trip, and the two are likely to be some of the fittest in the group. “She’s got the right mental attitude too, and that’s more important than fitness,” Kevin says.

Maruya says, “My friends said to me, ‘You’re such a little girl, are you crazy? It will be so cold.’ But that’s why I want to go. It’s a big mountain, and it’s hard to make this dream come true.

“I am a little girl, but I’ve been training very hard. I want to be able to tell my friends, ‘See, you can do this too’. I’m very excited about it.”

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-woman-to-head-to-everest-base-camp-44724.php


-- Phuket News 2014-02-21

[eezergood]

chok dee

[HooHaa]

nice little PR piece for him, and good for her.

it will certainly distinguish her as one out of millions.

As regards her training, she should start chain smoking while climbing and at the gym, the altitude is likely to cause her as many probelms as the cold, if not even more.

[JoePai]

Now that's a Thai Smile

[Gregory Morozov]

How is this even a story? My friend went to Everest base camp with his Thai wife a few years back; with my Thai girlfriend we trekked around Meili Snow Mountain in China; I know a few more Thai people who's been trekking in Nepal to Everest Base Camp and around Annapurna without much fanfare...

[Guest]

The story is that she is making her dream to come true. These kind of stories are welcome break from all the dirt which daily news are flooded of.

[wiriporn]

Good luck to her.

[tweezer]

Cool

Edited February 21, 2014 by tweezer

[LivinginKata]

Best of luck to her

[wobalt]

Good luck for the trip.

Made the trip with Thai people several times from Nepal and from China (ABC).

The key is the acclimation . Extra days are from advantage . Thais are not well adapted to low temperatures and often have the issue of "slow moving blood",

I think as outdoor specialist Kevin will know it.

However I wonder a bit why he doesn't has made a "high altitude' tour during her preparation i.e. to Mt. Kinabalu to check her response to higher altitude?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[phuketrichard]

Nice PR;

BUT "on the ultimate challenge: for an epic 14 day alpine trek to Everest Base Camp in the Himalayas.before flying to Lukla .

The couple fly to Kathmandu, Nepal, before flying to Lukla in the country’s north-east

I dont get it, whats the big deal>>>we cycled there from Kathmandu in 1983 and it took 12 days to get to Lukla.

BY flying in you miss the adventure.

All u need do is put one foot in front of the other. although air is in short supply at 17 00o ft, thats why most poeple walk in to acclimatize.

Anyway its an adventure for her

[wobalt]

Well, one other main issue beside the acclimatization will be the prevention of the high solar UV radiation, making the skin "dark". Really a problem (after the trek).

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[JoeThePoster]

The toughest part of the trip is getting to Phuket airport by taxi.

[richard_smith237]

How is this even a story? My friend went to Everest base camp with his Thai wife a few years back; with my Thai girlfriend we trekked around Meili Snow Mountain in China; I know a few more Thai people who's been trekking in Nepal to Everest Base Camp and around Annapurna without much fanfare...

I have to agree, I've no idea why this is even news... I know numbers of people who have made the Base Camp trek...

I have also met a chappy who summited Everest - Now that is an achievement worth of fanfare.

That said - Good luck to her, I hope they both enjoy their trek...

[kkup]

Obviously a paid post by the adventure company, hardly newsworthy :/

Next week it'll be "Bob and his young wife Nana head to New Zealand for a ski trip" Bob didn't want to go but Nana had never seen the snow. Luckily Bob runs his own company, a tour group called "Bobs Discount Ski Holidays"

[Briggsy]

Who's this Kevin Mansfield chap?

[LivinginKata]

a number of troll posts being removed

[fatdrunkandstupid]

She will HATE the food.

[telecom]

How is this even a story? My friend went to Everest base camp with his Thai wife a few years back; with my Thai girlfriend we trekked around Meili Snow Mountain in China; I know a few more Thai people who's been trekking in Nepal to Everest Base Camp and around Annapurna without much fanfare...

This is nothing special.

Many Thai women have done this Lukla to base camp trek, including me and my wife last year.

It is not a biggie, and at that time of year there won't be any snow anywhere on the trek. The snow makes it a lot harder.

I have also climbed to the summit of Kilimanjaro.... there is no roping involved, it is a trek on a well used nature track, the only danger is altitude sickness, which is not that common at that height. But the lower levels of oxygen certainly stopped the wife from yapping all the time which was a nice addition

The walk is not so hard, it is only about 8KM a day. It can be done at a much faster pace, like 4 hours a day, but they keep you moving slow to acclimatize.

[fiddlehead]

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She will HATE the food.

I agree. The food in Nepal is tough to handle. Especially after Thai food.
Lentils, rice with a little curry powder thrown in and a pinch or two of dirt for good measure.

If you're lucky, you get some tough old goat to go with it.

Done the Everest base camp trek and Kala Pattar 3 times and Gokyo lakes once.
The last day is the toughest.
And the night before, sleeping at Lobuche is the coldest.

I recommend she rent a -20deg bag in Namche Bazaar when she gets there.
As long as someone else is carrying it....................................

[LivinginKata]

Yet another stupid troll post removed.

[falkan]

whats the story? a thai girl goes climbing, pg you can do better then this!