Everest diary: Everyone on Everest has a story to tell, whether it's the seasoned guide or Sherpa who has reached the summit of the 8,848-metre peak numerous times, or someone seeking personal fulfilment through climbing to the top of the world.
But few have as fascinating and inspiring a story as Mogens Jensen, who has already cycled and run all the way from Denmark to Tibet and is now aiming to climb the northeast ridge of Everest without oxygen as part of Russell Brice's Himalayan Experience team.
The 32-year-old Dane, a veteran of 11 Iron Man triathlons and a member of the Danish triathlon team for three years, was diagnosed as a chronic asthmatic seven years ago. With the help of generous sponsorship from GlaxoSmithKline, he is determined to prove that asthmatics can still be top-class athletes and is putting his body to what must surely be the ultimate test.
Jensen left Denmark on November 28th last year to embark on the 10,764km journey to Kathmandu. With his fiancée Camilla Pedersen in a four-wheel drive van as back-up, he aimed to run 15km and cycle upwards of 100km every day.
The route ran through Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India and Jensen met hugely varying conditions and welcomes before his arrival in the Nepalese capital on March 3rd.
Cycling over mountainous terrain in Turkey in temperatures of -40° was easier than avoiding the traffic in India, he said. "India is one big city and nobody should be allowed to drive. Someone should tell them that meditation and driving don't mix. They go along in their own little cocoon." During the 96-day marathon, Jensen took just three rest days and had one sick day in India. The rest were all about getting as much mileage as possible under his belt, on either his special aluminium-framed road bike or the mountain bike, and on his feet.
A seven o'clock breakfast would consist of porridge, fruit, honey, a single cup of coffee and an energy drink. He brought much of the necessary high carbohydrate food with him, aiming to eat between 5,000 and 6,000 calories a day.
Accommodation was varied, with Jensen and his fiancée sleeping on a mattress in the back of the van for more than half the trip. Guest houses and kind strangers provided beds for the rest of the time.
Probably his most unusual night was spent in Iran, a country he dreaded visiting, but one that turned out to be the most welcoming. A chance meeting with a stranger brought him to a relative's house, where they became part of a wedding celebration for over 100 guests.
Arriving in Kathmandu a month before the rest of the expedition members gave Jensen time for some rest and recuperation. But he also took in a five-day trek in the Khumbu region, heading up the Everest trail on the south side to acclimatise before the last leg of the journey from Kathmandu to the northside Everest base camp in Tibet.
The 155km a day from Nyalam to Tingri included a climb from 3,700m to 5,050m, with a drop of 400m and then back up to 5,000m. "And there was a headwind for the first 100 kilometres," he said.
Even the last relatively easy uphill climb to the Rongbuk monastery and on to Everest base camp wasn't without its difficulties. Just 18km from his goal, the back wheel of Jensen's bike punctured. He cycled uncomfortably on for some time before being offered a lift the rest of the way. Purist that he is, Jensen went back the next day and ran the last 18km to complete the trip.
With World Asthma Day falling on May 5th, Jensen is a shining example of how the condition need not restrict athletes. Carefully monitored medication has allowed him to undertake a journey that most people wouldn't consider and now he is gearing up for an oxygenless assault on Everest after only three years' climbing.
"I've never used oxygen and hopefully I never will," he said. So what can possibly challenge this athlete afterwards?
"No Dane has done the seven summits yet and no asthmatic has ever done Everest without oxygen, but my next challenge will be getting married and having children."
The Grania Willis Everest Challenge 2005, supported by the North Face, Sord Data Systems, Peak Centre Ireland and Great Outdoors, is in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Friends of St Luke's Hospital.
Donations to the fund can be made to The Grania Willis Everest Challenge, Permanent TSB, Blackrock, Co Dublin, account number 86877341, sort code 99-06-44. Visa card donations to 01-2303009.