737 Leg 8 Denali - Day 178

I headed up to Sheffield today with Russ and Dai from SMS Media, our filming partner to meet with Simon Lowe and all the team at Jagged Globe, our logistical partner. It was so cool seeing Simon again and all the Jagged Globe team. I hadn't seen some of them since before I started the challenge, especially Stephanie in the office who's been on the other end of the phone from Antarctica to West Papua re-arranging flights out for me! I was surprised when Alan Hinkes dropped in, the first and only Brit to climb all 14 8000m mountains, it was awesome to meet him and have a chat about things. I really appreciated his advice, a really top guy. The best bit was that he forgot his sandwich in Simon’s car and I'm happily tucking into it right now on the train home!!! Cheers Al!

Simon, Matt and myself had a really productive meeting about Denali. We were all on the same page with potential timings and dates, but agreed it is wise to monitor my toe and stay flexible and open-minded. Matt's been awesome and almost finished planning the group gear, which we will split next week. It was really exciting seeing everything laid out and ready to pack! I love packing for expeditions and Matt (whose surname is Parkes so I call him the other Parksy!) is just as OCD as me! We still can't guarantee I'll be able to climb yet, my toe is a long way off and I have to still process the risks, but I feel much more positive now. I'm so grateful to Simon and all the Jagged Globe team, working with them I have the best chance, but more importantly the safest chance too. Just 4 hours on a train to look forward to..and I'm back in the hyperbaric chamber at 8am tomorrow morning!