Cosmo Goes To Everest: This is summit season on Everest, so it’s hard to stay away from the place. And while TWC has tried to avoid the ho-hum, pay $70,000 and get dragged to the top of Everest via fixed ropes expeditions, Annabelle Bond deserves a look. No, not because she’s a blonde and has a penchant for cheesecake poses on the sides of mountains. She deserves a look because she is on a mission to climb the Seven Summits, AND she is writing long, detailed dispatches which really give a full picture of what it is like to be an amateur getting ready for a climb through the Everest summit factory. If you are used to terse, “because it’s there” stoicism–i.e. the standard fare for adventure dispatches–Annabelle’s breezy screeds are something entirely different. Anna is not afraid to admit that she loves getting tea in bed in Base Camp, has anxiety attacks about the climb ahead, and worries that she won’t cut it. You’ll find mention of beans at altitude, massages and manicures, and plenty of detail on what it feels like to sit around for 6 weeks on the side of a mountain waiting for a weather window. She provides a uniquely complete and colorful look at the society of base camp: the crowds, the egos, the bonds that develop due to shared peril. Here’s her take on the climb ahead, but it’s worth going to her site to read through the full reports:

“IF WE DO GO FOR THE SUMMIT IT WILL TAKE 4 OR 5 DAYS ON THE MOUNTAIN AND THIS IS THE VAGUE PLAN. WE WILL GO FROM BASECAMP TO CAMP 2, HAVE A REST DAY, THEN GO TO CAMP 3 AND SPEND A NIGHT, MOVE TO CAMP 4 ON THE SOUTH COL AND THEN LEAVE FOR OUR SUMMIT ATTEMPT AT AROUND 11.00PM AT NIGHT, AND ALL BEING WELL, HOPEFULLY BE BACK AT CAMP 4 BEFORE NIGHTFALL THE FOLLOWING NIGHT. IT WILL BASICALLY BE AN EXHAUSTING 5 DAYS AND THEN WE HAVE TO GET BACK DOWN..NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT THE DECENTS BUT I CAN PROMISE YOU COMING DOWN THE LHOTSE FACE IS MENTALLY EXHAUSTING YOU HAVE TO BE SO VIGILANT WITH YOUR ROPEWORK, CONSTANTLY CLIPPING INTO AND OFF THE FIXED LINES. AMY TOLD ME YESTERDAY THAT THERE IS A LOT OF ROCK FALLING ONTO THE ROUTE ON THE LHOTSE FACE SO IM BRINGING MY HELMET WITH ME.. GOT TO PROTECT MY VALUABLE BRAIN CELLS CANT AFFORD TO LOOSE ANYMORE!!”

What will the Russians think when they find Bond, Annabelle Bond, on the summit….



“Damn, I wish my sponsors would let me wear a down parka for these shoots. I’m f*cking freezing in this thing….”