It was July 2006. Tibet was our target destination. Valerie was leading us for the first time. We drove west from Lhasa then wild-camped for 6 days across the Tibetan plateau, attended the Saga Dawa Festival, followed by a 3-day trek circumambulating sacred Mt. Kailash. At 5,600 metres, it was the highest altitude we had reached in the Himalaya. It was a tough trip – cold, windy, snowy, dusty, sunny, with some steep ascents and descents – and we quickly came to appreciate Valerie’s superb leadership skills and knowledge. She inspired and encouraged us (both over 60!) to do more…..so we did…. eight more actually, between 2011 and 2019!

In 2012, Valerie set us a new target by persuading us to take on a 6,000 metre challenge – the ascent of Stok Kangri (6,123m) in Ladakh. Already aware of her Himalayan Community Projects, we decided to make this a sponsored climb – £6,000 was our goal. Roping up and use of crampons and ice-axes were required for the final ascent. Practice in their use while at base camp gave us a lot of serious fun. Our 12-hour summit day began at 2am with a steep vertiginous climb to a glacier gingerly crossed by torchlight. A spectacular sunrise at 5.45am revealed an expansive white landscape of peaks stretching into the distance. The relentless zig-zag route to the final ridge completed, we had just about reached 6,000 metres, when, to our great disappointment, the weather closed in and we and the wonderful views were enveloped in cloud. Valerie’s advice was not to risk the final 100 metres to the summit which are the most dangerous and need special care even in good conditions. We reluctantly agreed. Back at base camp by 2.30pm, hot food and a rest were never more welcome. We may not have reached our target of 6,124 metres, but we did raise over £6,000 in sponsorship.

However, Valerie would not let us rest on our laurels. Two years later, we were back in the Ladakh Himalaya and successfully summited Dzo Jongo East at 6,090 metres.

Climbs aside, with Valerie, we have successfully searched for snow leopards on two occasions (2011 and 2018), attended spectacular Buddhist festivals at Matho and Tikse monasteries (2011 & 2016), stayed with Ladakhi families in their traditional homes (2016), practised high-altitude yoga, and trekked to Nanda Devi base camp (2016) and round Mt. Manaslu in Nepal (2017). Visiting Manaslu with Valerie was particularly special. While gazing up at the 8,000+ metre peak, she gave us an extraordinary account of her summiting Manaslu some years before without supplementary oxygen. No, in spite of her persuasive powers, 8,000 metres would not be our next challenge.