There are only 58 days to go, but the next four weeks will be the longest. The last month will be about securing my Chinese VISA, buying the last few gear that I am still missing and time will fly.
Now it's the time of working hard, every day, pushing as much as I can. It has been confirmed that my partner will not join me and that has put a bit of pressure on me as I will be joining 3 other climbers directly in Kashgar, China. I will have to trust my instinct and determine how much I wish to rely on new partners. Ideally, the answer should be "don't rely on them".
Since yesterday, I have entered Phase 3 (out of 4) of my preparation, which means an increased workload on my quads: working on weights session, squads and the evil stepper machine which is clocking 300 floors of stairs in 30 minutes, at L19 (average of 10 floors of stairs in 1 minute). My legs and my lower back are pretty sore, but today is rest day and hopefully will recover fast. Possibly will go for a gentle swim to help the recovery process. Also working hard on core muscles, abds and lumbars in particular and then shoulders and back to help supporting the backpack.
In addition, I have made arrangements for the hotel in Kashgar. It's called Seman Hotel and used to be a Russin Embassy about 30 years ago. Reviews are mixed, but my benchmark is a cold tend in the middle of a glacier, with no runnign water and no toilette, so this place will be fine. I have attached a few pictures just to give you an idea of what we're talking about, certainly mountaineering is not loved because it's a comfortable sport, but in my view (call me crazy) the trip and these sort of placess are part of the experience.
Thank you so much for all your support and please keep following my progress.
Are you going to hang your undies like this person? :)
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