Where to start? Where to bloody start?

Our expedition leader, Mac, who has led expeditions with Ranulph Fiennes, no less, said that what we are going through now is as extreme as it gets. Kim, our route Director, veteran of ALL P2P’s, plus other rallies worldwide, said that day 2 of our off road is the most difficult day he has ever known. It’s hardcore here.

We left the crappy hotel in Saga un-breakfasted, as there was not enough food and what there was was inedible, plus the ‘dining room’ was disgusting. The Camel tow had a gearbox leak and it was almost noon before it was repaired.

We set off all gung ho about the adventure to come. Beauty unsurpassed, obviously, a pass of over 5600 metres, a frozen lake – where we stopped, exhilarated, and had soup, and other hot drinks and snacks – and all on a good road. There were interesting patches of ice in little peaks like witches hats. There was a crazy little hot spring with boiling water bubbling from the rock next to a frozen river with a few curious herders nearby. Everyone we see is open mouthed when they see us. No westerners venture here and we may be the first ones – especially ones with yellow hair – they have seen.

We soon turned off onto gravel. Rocks, potholes big enough to swallow an old mini, corrugations, shelves, sand – you name it, we had it. We had to pull Mike and Anne, in the Alvis, out of the mud at one point. Phillip and Yvonne, in the XK, put a hole in their fuel tank. We came across Mark and Yvonne, in the giant RR, who were trying to screw their instrument panel back on as the rattling had made it fall off – a nut was lost and so the trusty gaffer tape came out. A few kms further on, their wing mirror fell off.

Eventually, we got to camp and a prettier spot you can hardly imagine. But the wind was something else. It was absolutely freezing. The mess tent blew away three times before being abandoned. Luckily, the small cook tent did stay up and a rudimentary dinner was prepared. We corralled the cars around the small sleeping tents to try to create a windbreak. As there was nowhere inside to sit we huddled together and ate our food, which was stone cold in about 15 seconds, and were in bed by about 8.

Our Landie is obviously more comfortable than sleeping on the ground, but it is effectively a tent on the top and so is no warmer. Actually, it’s possibly a bit colder as we are higher up and we catch the wind. I went to bed wearing several layers of clothing inside our supposed -20C sleeping bags and was freezing cold all night long. In the morning, We all had a look of shell shock from the cold. It had been -15C overnight. Imagine that. One crew member had a momentary sense of humour failure and said he couldn’t cope with endlessly cheerful Barbara in the morning. Jog on. Actually, we are a very tight knit bunch and all getting on famously, which is very important in these extreme conditions.

Several cars had to towed around the campsite to get started. The recalcitrant Landie, while it started, did not have any pull. Dr John laid on his healing hands. I took the John Cleese approach and gave it a good kicking and swore at it. One of them worked!

We set off on what we were told was to be the hardest days driving. So it proved to be. You cannot imagine a more bleak, forbidding, but utterly breathtaking landscape. We passed several nomad herders with their yaks, goats and sheep. How they live in such harsh and remote conditions is almost unfathomable – and we are here in late spring. The wide, wide valleys of the high plateau are unforgiving and there is not a thing to stop the fierce, bitter wind. We haven’t seen a tree for days as we are far too high.

It reminded me very much of Mongolia, not too surprising really. It’s also similar in that there are several tracks to choose from and it’s a bit of a lottery as to which is the least rough. Unlike Mongolia though, we are consistently at over 4500 metres, usually closer to 5000. Cars and people are suffering. Having completed P2P in can tell you that while not as relentless as P2P, this is much harder. Fabulous, but really difficult.

Boy, oh boy, was it rough. The Haslam’s XK broke its front axle and came into camp on the truck of shame. Dom and Rose had a hell of a day too and were very late in.

We went over one pass of over 5200m that Kim had named ‘boulder pass’. Several cars had to be towed up. We struggled, even in low ratio, as we are heavy and the altitude means we have lost power. The brave little Nash made it all on its own. That car is fabulous. Almost a hundred years old and it deals with everything that is being thrown at it.

We got to camp to find nothing there. The local camping crew had not arrived. It was beyond cold. We were next to a frozen river. A few of us were able to heat water and so hot chocolate etc was handed round to ward off frostbite. We put the roof up so people from open cars could take it in turns to sit two in the back, to keep warm, and two in the front.

Eventually, a new, and much better, mess tent arrived and they managed to erect it. The cook tent arrived much later. It was well after 9 by the time dinner was ready but, huddled in the mess tent spirits were reasonably high. Yes, we are suffering but we are travelling through an area of remotest western Tibet that western people never go to and seeing such beauty it could make you cry.

I decide to wear even more layers to bed: leggings, cashmere joggers, goat mohair socks, a merino base layer, two cashmere jumpers, a down gilet, gloves and a cashmere hat. I snuggled into my sleeping bag, put a blanket on top and my big coat on top of that. Take that, freezingness!

Now some of you may be reading this over you cornflakes or muesli. Maybe panckaes with maple syrup and a little crispy bacon on the side; kedgeree; a full English; or some sourdough toast and marmalade or a soft boiled egg – I’m actually losing my mind and becoming delirious – dreaming of a Shangri-La buffet. Liz, our leader, said she was dreaming of a pork pie with a little mustard and she’s a vegetarian. Rose, who ran a well known organic food company for 15 years, said she was desperate to see us on the road yesterday as she had been dreaming of my Knorr tomato soup. PW declared it the finest tomato soup he had ever tasted (sorry Tania) it’s all about context. However, I digress. If the above breakfasting applies, then lucky you, or if you are feeling sensitive, then gloss over the next paragraph.

At about 5, I woke up needing a wee. The horror! I tried mind over matter, to no avail. I just had to go. I got up, put my big coat, slipped my feet into Adrian’s giant shoes as putting on my boots is too much of a palaver, stuck on my head light and ventured forth into the wilderness, walking away from the Landie in total darkness. There was real danger that I would quite literally freeze my arse off, but I had no choice as I was desperate. Mid stream, I suddenly thought about the wolves that are here – many crews have seen them – and I thought my naked bum would be a target. Readers, high altitude hysteria was setting in at this point, all logic out of the window, if there had been one. Anyway, deed done, I raced back to the Landie and back into my sleeping bag, breathless from the exertion. Paddy was sitting in the latrine tent yesterday, kegs down, when a gust of wind came and blew the tent up and sideways…

Sleep has proved elusive, however, after my foray into the wilderness and so I’m risking frostbite of my right index finger by typing this.

Later..

It was -20C last night. minus bloody twenty! My freezer at home is quite literally warmer. Have you ever considered camping in your freezer? It’s been brutal. We had ice covering the inside of our sleeping compartment. My wet wipes were a frozen block and I went to clean my teeth – yes, water frozen solid. Trying to strike camp was so hard. Numb fingers, numb feet, shivering, gasping for oxygen, really, really tough. We were all wondering if there was a hotel we could stay in tonight as the thought of another night like last, was almost too much to bear. Some people were crying because of the bone chilling cold. We have suffered enough. Liz said she’d see what she could do, but it was likely to be very below par. We didn’t care, so long as it had walls.

It was the same as yesterday with cars being towed to get started. We started, but didn’t have any brakes, nor did the Merc, or yellow Roller, that we were travelling with. All our brake callipers had frozen.

Today’s off road driving has seen yet more spectacular scenery with almost no habitation. We passed though one tiny town and cars 20 and 24 decided to go in search of lunch as arriving early at yet another bitterly cold campsite held little appeal. The first couple of shops that Pads and I tried were hardware shops. We mimed the universal eating gesture and a young man took Paddy by the hand and led him down the street like an old lady. We entered a pitch black corridor and then a cosy little room with, best news of all – a stove! We could be warm. We went into the kitchen and there was a great big bowl of momos. Thank you, God!

We were soon joined by several other crews and were so happy. It was the first time we had been warm for a couple of days.

We drove on to the campsite turnoff to find Mac and Dr Rich waiting for us. A hotel had been found, a further 100 kms on, by Jimmy, the leader of our local crew. What’s more, it is a new, very clean hotel with radiators that are on. Heaven! We’ve been told that the hot water will arrive after 6. This little hotel will not know what’s hit in when a coupe of dozen, unbelievably filthy and bedraggled rallyists try to scrub off the filth of the least few days. I’m worried that I may never get a brush through my hair again. It is a complete bird’s nest from dust and wearing a woolly hat day and night.

For now, we are all in agreement that this is the finest hotel we have ever stayed in. 5* plus! A view of the Caribbean Sea could not give me more pleasure than looking out at a rubbish filled yard in Ge’gyai. All crews have their socks and smalls drying on the toasty radiators; there’s a bar, hot water (limited), clean sheets, everything a person could desire. Context, people, context.

I will give details of all the problems the cars had today in my next bulletin.