Velindre Walks - Brains SA Captains' Climb

The final piece of the Kilimanjaro preparation jigsaw - Altitude!

All year the Kili trekkers have been busy preparing for our 19,334ft Kilimanjaro climbing challenge. We have been Beacons bound, fundraising as well a sourcing equipment and medication for the climb. Altitude has always been the unknown factor in the preparation equation with Diamox being our best option for counteracting the affect of reduced oxygen on our bodies. That is, until a few weeks ago, when we received the following message from Velindre and Professor Damian Miles Bailey from the University of Glamorgan:

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"We are extremely fortunate in having a fantastic resource on our doorstep, something that could make it a little easier to achieve our goal of climbing Kilimanjaro. In Pontypridd at the University of Wales Science and Sports Department there is an oxygen chamber – the only one in the UK able to carry out this type of research.

We have been granted exclusive use of the chamber in the weeks leading up to our departure.

The oxygen chamber can replicate conditions on the mountain – in fact up to 30,000ft, and will improve your chances of conquering Kili.

When we are climbing Kili, less oxygen is available due to the decrease in barometric pressure (the weight of the atmosphere). If the ascent rate is too rapid, we all have the potential to become ill and develop a condition known as acute mountain sickness (AMS). This can be particularly uncomfortable since it is characterised by severe headache, nausea, tiredness and insomnia.

The research we would like to carry out revolves around how we respond and adapt to the physiological challenge posed by a lack of oxygen, and we will measure the blood flow to your brain using specialist equipment based at the Neurovascular Research Laboratory. This equipment (Doppler Ultrasound) measures the speed of blood travelling to your brain using a high-pitched sound wave that comes from an ultrasound probe. This probe is covered in a clear jelly and placed at the side of your head just above your ear. It is perfectly safe and is not painful.

We would also like to measure you “brain-power” using questionnaires (mini-interview) and amount of oxygen in your circulation using a probe placed on your finger tip (pulse oximeter). We will repeat all tests (except for brain blood flow) during our ascent.

Our research has identified that there is less oxygen in the brains of mountaineers who are more susceptible to AMS during expeditions to high-altitude. We think that those people with the lowest brain blood flow at sea-level will be more susceptible to AMS on Kili and brain-power will also be impaired due to a more marked reduction in oxygen.  

These simple tests may serve as a “screening tool” to identify those individuals who are “at-risk” when travelling to high-altitude.

This is important information for the expedition doctor who may need to keep a closer eye and indeed treat the “susceptibles".

We can also develop special treatments to reduce AMS and thus improve your experience and ultimately summit success. This is especially important for us given Kili’s extreme height and easy accessibility given the high incidence of AMS.

Interestingly, many human diseases are characterised by a lack of oxygen (eg. heart and lung disease) and this model can provide unique, indeed alternative insight into mechanisms and possible treatments."

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Unfortunately I had to miss the test as I was on annual leave but hopefully they will be able to carry out the test once the Professor returns from a Conference in Peru next week. The Kili-Turbo session started last week with 4-5 participants training for 30 minutes in the chamber at any point in time. They have 5 step boxes set-up within the chamber with a metronome set to 90 beats per minute.

At sea level we breath in air with an Oxygen content of approx 21%, week 1 in the chamber was set at 16% (approx 7000ft), week 2 has dropped to 14% (9000ft) followed by 2 weeks at 12% (approx 14,000ft).

As you can see Kili is going to be around 10% and we've already felt the effects of reduced oxygen. At 14% the metronome has been reduced to 80bpm and talking whilst stepping has proven to be a breathless experience.

I've complete 2 sessions this week, here are some pics of fellow trekkers Madeleine, Steve & Andy with Helen who looks after us whilst we are undergoing the Turbo sessions.

This piece equipment shows that the Oxygen level is set to 14.4%:

Let the stepping begin:

The control system monitors the Oxygen level (14.1% Blue), the humidity (50.3% Green) and the temperature (18.7°C Red).

Thirty minutes later and we're done with the next group ready to get going, Alan Morgan & Peter Philips from West Wales arrive for their session:

We are so privialeged to be involved in the research taking place at the facility as well as benefiting from this training opportunity. We are all hopeful that this last training boost will help each of us reach the Roof of Africa. Look out for an update on how we cope in the chamber once it's set to 12% Oxygen.

Blisters are doin' it for themselves, standin' on their own two feet . . . .

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to meet Miles Hilton-Barber.  Miles is an inspirational person, he is also a blind adventurer, public speaker, after dinner speaker, corporate speaker and much more. He was generous enough to talk at Chloe's Climb Evening of Inspiration. I'm pretty sure Chloe will soon be the youngest Welsh woman to climb Kilimanjaro, she starts her walk on August 25th with her Dad Jeff Smith and they are fundraising for another worthwhile cause, Barnado's.

It was an evening where I had to pinch myself to realise that I wasn't dreaming. I also met Richard Parks and Rosie Swale Pope during the evening. Miles was keen to hear all about the Brains SA Captains Climb as well as my preparation; he was also generous with his help and advice.

Yesterday I started to apply one of the valuable tips he gave me - prepare and harden your feet with Surgical Spirit before and during the walk.

Initially I was somewhat sceptical about this advice as I didn't want to introduce any further risk to me feet, following the Firewalk.

So what changed my mind? I was browsing the aisles of Boots picking up some last minute essentials (Johnson's baby wipes, Compeed Blister Plasters, Imodium, Nurofen, etc) when I noticed White Spirit on the shelf. I picked it up and proceeded to read the label including it's usage - "To harden skin on hands or feet: soak cotton wool and gently rub in a circular motion". So into the basket it went and I've just completed my first hardening session.

Having googled for instructions it seems that 14 days is the minimum prep time, I'm just in time, we leave for Tanzania in 20 days. I will apply the spirit to my feet every night from now on and monitor its affect. I am also keen to do this following three days walking in the Beacons. After several blister free months of walking in my lovely Meindl hiking boots I received my first few blisters this weekend. My feet were the victims of 3 full days of walks in which they endured damp and slightly sweaty conditions. After each walk my feet looked like they had been in water for some time, white and wrinkly. It was only a matter of time before it would inevitably affect me.

Miles said that every time we take a break, from walking, I should take off my socks and boots, wipe my feet dry, preferably with White Spirits and generally make sure that I look after my feet for the duration of the trip. After applying the first dose of White Spirit the skin on my feet is tingling, hopefully this sensation will reduce as my skin toughens up (rock on post Kili pedicure!)

In less than three weeks I will start to find out if all my preparation is enough to make it to the summit of Kili. It also means there's not too much time left for you to sponsor me, if you want to support us then please visit http://www.JustGiving.Com/BainsWalks or alternatively if you prefer to send a cheque then please make it payable to S. A. Brain & Co Ltd (I will place it in the Brains Velindre fund) and post it to:

Ogwen Evans
S. A. Brain & Co Ltd
The Cardiff Brewery
Crawshay Street
Cardiff
Cf10 5DS

Help us raise £1,000,000 for Velindre's Stepping Stones Appeal, please give whatever you can afford as every pound will make a difference to Lung Cancer Research and Treatment.

My Brecon Beacons Photo Medley and Video Blogs

I'm not going to write much on this post, here's a selection of pics that I've taken in the Beacons whilst training for Kilimanjaro.

I meet fellow trekkers there most Saturday mornings, generally start at 6am although this week was a late 7:30am start :)

We've had great weather, awful weather and pretty much everything in-between, hope you enjoy the photo medley.

To start with, my first walk with Steve Jones - I had met Steve and his wife at a Captains Climb Question of Sport night a few weeks earlier. I e-mailed the kili trekkers to find out if anyone was up for a walk in the Beacons with a suggestion of walking the Pen Y Fan Horseshoe, Steve replied to say that he had been doing that walk for a few week; start time 6am! With these views, it was totally worth the early start:

Pen Y Fan (right) & Corn Du (Left):

Steve & Rob (Welsh 3 peaks training) at the summit of Cribyn:

And then the impressive sight of the army guys descending from Pen Y Fan, it was a very hot morning and they were all enduring!

The next time we walked was probably the worst conditions I had even experienced, the wind was blowing so hard and fast that the rain felt like pins being poked into my face! It was also the first time that I had experienced being completed disoriented, as we were coming off Corn Du I thought we were descending Pen Y Fan and had to ask Steve where we were when we started, unexpectedly, ascending Pen Y Fan. Thankfully he was still on the ball!

We were joined by Madeleine Brindley & Geoff Hughes on this week:

An inverted waterfall!

I don't think I need to point out that it's a bit windy in this video!
 

The very next day we had glorious conditions and we decided to climb Fan Y Big, this pic shows the roman road / Taff Trail going from left to right and the 2 routes that can be taken either over or around Cribyn.

Steve on the 'diving board'

A great view of the 4 dominant mountains in this area, closest being Fan Y Big (719m), then Cribyn (795m), followed by Pen Y Fan (886m) and finally Corn Du (873m).

I'm afraid I've misplaced the pics from 2 other visits to the area so next we move to last week's walk with Geoff Graham, Madeleine Brindley and Steve Jones.

Four walkers this week, Andy Thomas, Bleddyn Bowen form the Captains Climb trekkers and John Crutcher a colleague from Brains who is climbing Kili, with his partner Hazel, 2 weeks before us. We revisited Fan Y Big and then continued to Cribyn and Pen Y Fan.

Bleddyn on the diving board:

Then it was my turn:

Andy goes next:

And finally John:

This morning's walk up the Granny Pass (what my fellow trekkers are calling the route from the lay-by near the Storey Arms on the A470, it's still a tough walk) was mainly in the clouds, my legs were tired so I took it easy. It was pretty windy but ironically when I reached Bwlchygwynt it was the only sheltered spot, it's name reflects it's usually windy swept status. My legs had warmed up by this point and I continued up Corn Du and over to Pen Y Fan, it was very gusty which you'll see in my video.

I'm starting to feel more comfortable with talking on video but my next challenge is to regulate the pitch of my voice, you may want to turn down the volume on your PC/Laptop :)

I'm actually shouting here but it's not that obvious because the wind is so strong.

I'm not sure how to pronounce Fan Y Big and until writing this up I thought it was Byg, so forgive me if I've got that wrong.

On the decent I come across the arm once again, this time climbing at a more reasonable pace.

Fox Gloves at the base:

  

So that's, my Beacons Medley . . . I hope you liked it.

Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival - Day 3 (inc. video blog)

I awoke to rain, as predicted for the morning of Day 3 of the Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival. I managed to get ready and cook breakfast without leaving the tent; I was quite pleased with myself :)

A quick run to the car with all my gear, packed up the tent and then I was off to walk number 4. In pouring rain the group met in Ystradowen ready for a 7 mile walk following yet another section of the Millennium Heritage Trail. Our leaders for the day were Graham Woosnam and Peter Lane.

After a damp start to the walk, through fields and woodland, we eventually arrived at Talygarn Manor and it's grounds. A quick walk around the reservoir and the promise of our lunch break kept the group's spirits up.

We were asked to keep quiet as we crossed the bridge so that we did not disturb the pair of swans sitting on 6 eggs.

And then it was lunchtime :)

A few of the locals came out to say hello whilst we were resting.

The second half of the walk took us through some lovely countryside but with very little historical interest and continued miserable weather there were few highlights.

I was very pleased to finish the walk and get going to my final walk and 3 miles. The meeting point for the final walk was The Red Fox Inn in Penllyn, the walk was aptly named Taith Y Cadno Coch and was led by Gareth Simpson. The aim of this walk was to encourage Welsh language development therefore it was for welsh speakers and learners who were willing to participate, as much as they could, in Welsh.

The wet weather earlier in the day took some by surprise, these long crops meant wet legs and feet for many, I was thankful for my gaiters and waterproofs to keep me dry.

The route took us through some familiar territory and another visit to Llangan Parish Church, St Canna, which dates back to the 12th Century. And once again we were introduced to the head stone, depicting the Crucifixion dating back to the 9th century:

The group tread the final footsteps of the Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival and I complete my 3-2-35 challenge.

The finish was at the Penllyn Village wells, Salmon's Wells. Until 1934 this was the main water supply for the village, the oldest well is thought to date back as far as the 14th Century.

Another beautiful display of wild garlic surrounded the wells a real them of the weekend's walking, as well as bluebells of course.

Challenge complete and I was happy to be heading home for a bath :)

My final video blog of this 3 day challenge, again apologies for cutting my video blogging teeth in this way but I need the practice so bear with me :) 

   
 

Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival - Day 2 (inc. video blog)

Day 2 started with scrambled eggs and fried mushrooms, cooked on my humble gas camping stove. I then set off for St Fagan's Museum of Welsh Life to meet Barbara Palmer who would lead us in a 11 mile walk covering an Eastern Circular of the Millennium Heritage Trail. There were 6 other ladies in the group and we discovered that Barbara is a passionate historian and we were set to learn a fair bit during the walk. The first section took us through the site of the Battle of St Fagans which took place in 1648 leaving over 200 dead. Here's the site of the battle, quite different today:

Our next landmark was a grade 2 listed derelict mill:

As well as historical sites our walk took us through some of the best woodland and farm land in the Vale.

We soon arrived at the main highlight of the walk, if not of the complete Millennium Trail! Tinkinswood Burial Chamber was constructed in the Neolithic period and is approx 1000 years older than Stonehenge. It is thought to have the largest Capstone (the horizontal stone resting on the smaller vertical stones) in the UK and Europe weighing in at a mammoth 40 tons.

It is truly impressive!

Whilst taking our lunch break we were joined by Stafford Ramblers who were part way through a two week tour of Wales with a walking group from Odenwaldklub in Dreieich, Germany (Stafford's twin town).

After lunch we had the pleasure of walking through the grounds of, I believe, the Tredegar Estate

The garden had been carefully planned and was a pleasure to see. The family are fully supportive of the walkers and the standard of fencing, styles, hedges, etc were all evidence that the family liked to look after their property as well as the countryside.

A lovely herd of Welsh Blacks grazing:

We eventually arrived back at St Fagans and I dashed back to the campsite for a quick refresher, half hour soaking up the late afternoon sun and then I was off to the pub to meet up with some friends.

I had suggested that we meet at the The Carne Arms in Llysworney as, on Day 1, we had walk through the beef farm that supplied meat to the pub.

If you haven't visited the pub then it's worth you swinging by there. As we walked in we were greeted with the aroma of an open fire, there's a cosy cwtch to settle for the evening or a friendly bar with the locals as well as a restaurant area. We had booked a table in the restaurant and the menu was a delight to mull over, I eventually chose Goat's cheese salad to start followed by Belly Pork, there was also venison, various fish dishes, lamb and of course beef options all cooked to a very high standard. I'm not a veggie, as you can tell, but there were also options for the greener way in life :)

Eventually we had to drag ourselves away from this food haven and time for me to head back to camp. Once I'd settled in I recorded my 2nd mini video blog to end the night:
 

Is climbing to the summit of Ben Nevis worth £5 sponsorship? Pls Do :)

http://www.justgiving.com/BrainsWalks

It's a challenging climb but totally worth it! So pleased to make it!

Happy to be on the roof of Britain :)

Will update you more later

 

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival - Day 1 (includes my video blog debut)

I had been planning this weekend for quite sometime and had labelled it my 3-2-35 challenge:

3 Days Walking
2 Nights Camping
35 Miles to cover over the weekend

In order to complete my challenge I booked myself onto 5 walks as part of the Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival, the walks would make up 33 miles and I would need ot complete the final 2 miles on my own. My next 3 blogs will cover the 3-2-35 challenge as well as debuting some video blogs, one at the end of each day.

Day 1 involved 2 walks and the first started at 10am from a Brains tenanted pub, The Sycamore Tree in Colwinston. Unfortunately we had to skip starting with a drink so that we could get the 9 mile walk underway. Our leaders were fellow Vale Ramblers Graham Woosnam & Roger Chapple so I knew that it would be fun as well as full of interesting facts as Graham would share his local and geological knowledge with the group: 

Along the walk we passed the old lead mine near Llangan, the Romans came here because of the lead ore and the mine continued for a number of centuries.

The walk followed a shortened 6 Village walk to include 4 villages starting in Colwinston, then Llandow, Llysworney and Llangan. These villages are some of the most affluent in the Vale. Graham tipped us off that The Carne Arms in Llysworney was worth a visit due to it's reputation for great home cooked food. I decided that this would be my destination of choice after the 2nd day of walking.

Towards the end of the 9 mile walk we visited the Llangan Parish Church, St Canna, which dates back to the 12th Century. In the churchyard there are two crosses and the oldest, dating back to the 9th century, depicts the crucifixion: 

The 2nd cross, from the 15th century, can be seen in the background but I couldn't resist taking a shot of the blue bells which were at their best over the weekend.

Thankfully Graham admitted to a slight mistake along the way which put an extra half mile onto our walk, ideal for me as I now only needed to make up an extra mile and a half during the weekend.

After a whirlwind stop at the campsite to pitch my tent, my next walk started in Cowbridge for the Vale Ale Trail, 3 pubs and 3 miles to finish day 1.

Unfortunately, as I arrived dead on 3:45pm I didn't have time to join my fellow walkers for a pint at the Edmondes Arms before commencing. Our leaders were Gareth Simpson, the chief honcho of the VAG Walking Festival, and Paul Cottrell.

Along the walk we came across this fabulous display of wild garlic, I just wish I'd been able to pick some over the weekend to use when I arrived home. I still haven't tried wild garlic in salads, soups, etc. next year maybe??

After a leisurely stroll I was finally rewarded with a pint of Ale at The Cross Inn at Llanblethian, and lovely it was too :)

The pub landlord was also the key holder to Llanfrynach / St Brynach Church which dates back to the 12th Century.

The Church is largely unused except for special services at Christmas, Easter, etc. It was the main Parish Church of Penllyn which is over a mile away, the route from the village to the church has unusual stiles that allow coffins to be rested on them whilst the bearers climbed over the stiles to continue their journey to the church.

Gareth signs the visitor book before we head of to pub number 3 :)

The Vale of Glamorgan in Cowbridge:

Thankfully this was opposite the Brains Managed House, The Duke of Wellington, where I indulged in one of our classic meals, Ham, Egg & Chips. I was also lucky in that the walk finished over half a mile away from my car and I was able to complete my extra mile before heading back to the camp site. On my way I captured this fabulous sunset.

Finally, I decided to record a video blog before pushing out some zzzz's and I'm feeling a degree or 2 uncomfortable with this debut but thought I'd go with it anyway. It gives the blog another angle and I guess the more I practice the better and more natural I will get . . . . . bear with me :)

Just in case there is any question over my commitment then I guess this video also serves as evidence to the contrary, I even brought a case of Up & Over as my thirst quencher for the weekend - unfortunately the video is a  bit dark but if you look closely enough you can tell, happy viewing . . . .
 

 

Pembrokshire Coastal Path - Solva to Newgale

Even though I was lucky enough to grow up in West Wales I haven't really walked the Pembrokeshire Coast to any great degree. Therefore a weekend away with some old friends gave me another opportunity to explore this fantastic coastline! After popping in to The Harbour Inn in Solva we soon set off on the path to Newgale.

The view back towards Solva was pretty even on an overcast spring afternoon:

 

Along the way the path dipped down onto a few secluded beaches

Even today the sea was a vibrant turquoise

 

After completing our coastal path walk we couldn't resist strolling the length of Newgale beach & back

 

As we don't meet up very often the chit chat was constant along the way and the miles were eaten up with equal enthusiasm :)

 

Of course a quick beer at the Duke of Edinburgh in Newgale was our final destination!

West Wales jaunt - Burry Port & Pembrey

Mike Carey and Adrian Rowe lead the Vale of Glamorgan Ramblers along an 8 mike circular walk starting in Burry Port Harbour.

Whilst still in the harbour we met Andy Ballard who was part way through his Scillies 2 Shetlands challenge.

Andy explained that he's walking the length of Britain to raise over £10k for children's hospitals. He was quite taken by one of our most bubbly walkers, Josephine, a cheeky lady who had no hesitation in replying 'Yes' when jokingly asked would she like to join him on the journey. After a quick chat and a 'You Rock' comment, to Josie, Andy continued along his journey.

The beginning of the walk took us along a path that links Burry Port to Pembrey Country Park.

The West Wales beaches once again demonstrated their stunning appeal and a quick coffee stop at Cefn Sidan Beach was a must :)

' Onwards and upwards' as they often say in the group; we head towards a ridge of hills running in parallel with the coast.

Signs of spring welcomed us along the way . . .

After a hot climb through pretty woodland the group gather for a pic overlookings the Burry Port / Pembrey coastline.

What goes up must come down, in this instance through woodlands once again.

And finally a leisurely stroll back along the coast to Burry Port

Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival and my next walking challenge is born

As part of the build-up and training for Kilimanjaro my next phase must move towards walking on consequitive days. When I was given a leaflet advertising the Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival I knew that I needed to use the opportunity to do exactly that.

Therefore next weekend I will be aiming to walk 35 miles in 3 days by joining 5 walks over the festival weekend. I will also be camping out on Friday and Saturday night in order to get a taste of the Kilimanjaro sleeping arrangements. The conditions will only be a fraction of what we will have to endure on Kili as I will have an inflatable mattress next week and the evenings will be nowhere near the cold temperatures that we are expecting in September (-15 degrees). Having said that the creature comforts will be limited and walking on the 3 days will prove a challenge when the camping combines with 11-12 miles per day.

As ever I will be tweeting and blogging my progress over the course of the weekend and if you haven't been inspired to show your support through sponsorship then maybe this event will. I hope that this long distance challenge encourages you to take a few minutes to visit my JustGiving site and spare a few pounds for Velindre Cancer Centre http://www.justgiving.com/BrainsWalks. We are grateful for any amount that you can afford to donate.

Here are the full details on the festival including all of the walks that you can choose from, there's something to suit everyone. Visit their website to book yourself onto a walk http://www.valeofglamorganwalkingfestival.org.uk

Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival    14 – 16 May 2010
Booking Essential
Online www.valeofglamorganwalkingfestival.org.uk or Phone 01446 749000 (0900 – 1300 Mon – Thurs)
Day/Time	Distance	Location	Walk Name	Lead Organisation
Fri 1000 - 1500	9m	Colwinston	A Four Village Walk	Vale of Glam
Fri 1030- 1200	3.5m	Cowbridge	Cowbridge & Llanblethian -Glimpses of the Past	Valeways
Fri 1030 - 1630	6.5m	East Aberthaw	Cement, Coal & St.Cadoc - The Varied Vale	Valeways
Fri 1330 - 1500		Dyffryn Gardens	A Guided Walk around Dyffryn Gardens	VoGC Dyffryn Gardens
Fri 1630 -1830	3m	Cowbridge	Vale Ale Trail	Valeways
Sat 1000 - 1230	3m	Cosmeston Lakes Country Park	Cosmeston Lakes Country Park - Past & Present	VoGC Country Parks
Sat 1000 - 1630	11m	St Fagans	Millennium Heritage Trail - Circular East	Penarth & District
Sat 1000 - 1400	7.75m	St Mary Church	Llanfair  - St Mary Church	Valeways
Sat 1000 - 1400	6.5m	St Brides Major	Castle upon Alun	Vale of Glam
Sat 1000 - 1530	9m	Llantwit Major	Church College & Lighthouse	Valeways
Sat 1030 -1230	5m	Dinas Powys	The Salmon Leaps	Valeways
Sat 1400 - 1600	3m	Dinas Powys	Michaelston Way	Valeways
Sat 1400- 1530	Stroll	Amelia Trust Farm, Bonvilston.	Buggy 'n' Toddler Walk	Valeways
Sun 1000 - 1400	7m	Ystradowen	Ystradowen Millennium Heritage Trail North	Vale of Glam
Sun 1100 - 1230	3m	Peterston Super Ely	Seven Counties View	Valeways
Sun 1345 - 1715	7m	St Brides Major	Cliffs Dunes & Common	Valeways
Sun 1400 - 1800	8m	Cowbridge	Castle Court and Wells	Valeways
Sun 1400 - 1530	2m	Porthkerry Country Park	Walk on the Wildside -Family Walk	VoGC - Country Parks
Sun 1400 - 1700	5.5m	Wenvoe	Wenvoe & Burial Sites	Penarth & District
Sun 1500 - 1700	3m	Penllyn	Taith y Cadno Coch – Red Fox Walk O Ddysgwr i Rhugl. Welsh Walk - learners & speakers.	Valeways