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On Monday 21st December, 15 intrepid/mad boys ranging from 9 years old through to 50's, embarked on a crazy expedition - to climb Doi Chiang Dao.
This two day camping expedition was organised by Simon Bird, who was able to find a local guide and a porter to guide/help/assist us on our epic adventure.
Doi Chiang Dao is within the Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, and consists of a "clump" of mountains that rise from the surounding plains at 500m elevation, with the highest peak being Doi Luang Chiang Dao at some 2225m elevation - the third highest peak in Thailand.
Having "checked in at the sanctuary's base, counted in our bottles of water (60l), cans of beer(2), cooking gas canisters (2), natural gas cans (aka baked beans), we were driven as far as possible by our local guide and porter to the starting point on the North side of the range at around 1100m elevation.
Despite having a "porter", we still had to carry the majority of our two day supplies - 4 litres of water each, food, cloths, sleeping bags and tents. Being the middle of "winter", we were prepared for "extreme" cold - it turned out temperatures "only" got down to around 10'C at night, with a wind-child of 10'C (i.e. no wind), and a "feel-cold" temperature of -54'C!
The initial vertical climb of some 300m immediately dumped us in the deep end - straight up the side of the range's hill up narrow mud path, interspersed with rocks and boulders - tough going with all the water and kit of our backs.
After what felt like 8 hours of forced labour, we got to the plateaux after ~2 hours of climbing, in which we covered less than 2km (!), we stopped for a well deserved lunch - and to lighten our loads for the remaining 500m we still had to climb.
The views up on the plateaux as we headed East was spectacular - difficult to capture on camera.
After another three hours of climbing, we finally arrived at our camp site at an elevation of some 2040m.
Following 1 1/2 hours resting, setting up camp, the guide lead us up the final climb to the peak of Doi Luang Chiang Dao at some 2225m elevation - fortunately without any of the heavy kit. However for some the final 200m and altitude was too much for some and forced them back to camp. The view up there was reportedly amazing.
Back at camp, dinner was warmed/cooked on a portable gas cooker carried up by Mark Plumber (THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU!), with additional warmth and cooking provided by a small fire.
By 8pm, those not already in bed asleep hit the hay - too dark, cold, and the fire had gone out. I had the pleasure of sharing a spacious tent with Simon Bird...
Obviously this "2-3" man tent was designed for small Thai "men" - not us larger Europeans. Despite that, we managed to fit in, as long as we did not stretch our legs out ... or move ...
Around "morning", Simon announced that he was getting up - to go and vomit...badly cooked spicy sausage. On returning, he checked his watch - only to discover that it was only 10:30pm...another 6 1/2 hours until were meant to get up...oh dear...
To summarise the night - not much sleep was enjoyed, except for a few snorers - one young chap was so desperate to escape the barrage of noise that he moved his sleeping bag outside the tent to endure the severe dew - cold, wet, wild tigers, barking deer - anything was better than the snoring...
He did enjoy the beautiful night sky - I had not seen such deep black sky for some 30 years - I think the last time was up in Les Gets at my parent's chalet before the village installed street lights...
However the severe cold limited the enjoyment of the stars to a few minutes at a time while relieving one self...
"Next" day, we (not all...) were up at 5am to hike up to one of the peaks to watch the sunrise - this was a night hike with torches up what seemed 1:1 gradient - steep! Once up on top of the ridge, we sat and waited...and waited - in the cold and wind, watching the sky lighten up...and the clouds rolling in!! We soon realised that this was all we were going to see, so headed home...not before some mad youth took their lives in their own hands...
Despite the barrenness up on the ridge, there were some amazing flowers - "Sedum SuSanae Hamet Crassulaceae"...
Back at camp, breakfast was prepared - except for a rather green Simon. Pringle cans work well for boiling sausages in a fire!
Once feed (or not), camp packed away, and all rubbish ("trash") cleared up, we gathered for a group photograph with our guide.
Unsurprisingly, the trek down was much quicker - but did inflict casualties.
Simon, already delicate, slipped on the mud, hitting is right arm. Fortunately nothing broken, but badly bruised/strained. Kindly the guide and porter were able to carry his pack down for him the rest of the way.
After some 2 1/2 hours, we arrived back at the drop-off/pick-up point, exhausted ... legs, knees, shoulders, toes, feet, arms - all aching.
I know that I am currently unfit, but having climbed a number of mountains in France, Switzerland and Wales, I would say that this climb was by far the hardest I have ever done. The terrain, gradient, and the weight of all our kit/water contributed to the level of difficulty.
That said, when asked if they would want to repeat the "ordeal" next year, Tom and David said yes without hesitation...hum...guess I had better start training for next year...
