Getting Cold Feet: One man’s trip to the summit

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A trip to the Nepalese Himalayas entails a lot of experience (of which I am working on) and sheer determination (of which I soon discovered I had). Whether I was bending over an ice axe at the top of a mountain, sitting amongst the smells of incense burning inside a vibrant monastery, or even admiring the magnificent and often intimidating scenery, my recent trip to the Nepalese Himalayas had it all. Making a successful landing at Lukla airport marked the start of our month long journey amongst Nepal’s highest peaks. We had been dropped right into the heart of these mountains, which are stooped in tales of adventure, triumph, disaster, and passion. The Himalayas have a unique and compelling ability to captivate even the hardiest of adventurers. Looking up around me, it was easy to see why. Still only strictly in the foothills, the landscape was already eerily towering over us.

We had a month to summit two 6000 metre peaks, Mera and Island. Kit had been checked and re-checked; bags were packed and re-packed. Though, these concerns soon disappeared with the inevitable departure from Lukla for our climb that we had all worked so hard preparing for. Lukla is a community that has adapted to life in the mountains with apparent ease. Everyone is seemingly content with walking everywhere and carrying everything and they seem to have developed the strength of small giants. It became very normal to see substantial amounts of chopped firewood, hover past you, only to realise that a small man is bent double underneath it, carrying it.

Hours rolled into days and days into weeks as we made solid and steady progress up to Mera base camp. We climbed up, back down and up again, for what seemed like an eternity, as we became acclimatised to the altitude. Through the valley floors covered in sprawling bamboo shoots, up amongst the reds and pinks of the famous rhododendron forests and eventually up above the snow-line and amongst the ‘real’ mountains, already higher than most of Western Europe.

The journey came to its pinnacle on summit day. Feeling already sapped of energy, after a sleepless night perched up at high camp, I stumbled out of the tent and followed my head torch beam up 100 or so yards to the glacier. My numb fingers fumbled around with crampon straps but I was kept amused by the cursing around me coming out of the other team members. After three hours of slowly climbing the glacier in the last hours of darkness, we were switched out of autopilot as the sun silently emerged over the ridge behind us. The mountains began to develop a golden glow that was glistening off the snow all around us. Shedding off a few layers as the sun warmed our backs, we pressed on for the summit.

Nothing could have prepared me for the sight that we were greeted with as we climbed the last few metres to the top. The 360 degree panoramic view spanning three countries and some of the most famous mountains in the world, including the gigantic Mt. Everest, stunned us all into silence. As I stood on the summit higher than the six other continents in the world the sense of achievement and excitement was overwhelming. A journey so full of life-long memories, couldn’t have culminated in such an awesome, yet humbling way.

 

Words by Joe Jones

Stay in Stanley

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Before the British moved in, Stanley was the largest settlement on the island. Today, it evokes an European meets Asia atmosphere with its café lined coast and open-air bars. If it’s a bit of peace and quiet that you are after there are two places worth visiting. Although better well-known for its stretch of sand on the northern Stanley coastline, the little beach on the south coast (to the left of the market) is much less crowded and a great place for a picnic. The other place is actually amongst the rocks that jut out to sea. Although, not the most comfortable of locations, the unobstructed views of the South China Sea on a clear day are beautiful, just bring a towel to use as a cushion.

Stanley is perhaps most renowned for its market, which is not all its cracked up to be. However, if you want to discover something a little more authentic then make sure you pay a visit to the market stall which is very close to the aforementioned small beach, on the left hand side of the main market if you were looking out to sea. Choose from beautifully, hand-crafted ceramics collected from all over China and wonderful antique wooden games. But remember to haggle.

Be Inspired: San Yisdro Ranch, CA

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Winner of numerous awards, San Yisdro Ranch is a haven of flora nestled in the Californian Monecito foothills, just outside Santa Barbara. It has long been a well kept secret amongst those living in LA, who escape here for a romantic home-away-from-home. Beautiful gardens, shaded arbors and discrete pool make this the perfect escape from the city. Villas are elegantly decorated and kitted out with all the mod-cons and most come with private Jacuzzis. Dine on your balcony or in the restaurant, then retire to your cosy sitting room where your log fire will be lit ready for you to curl up for a film. If you are in need of a break – there is no better place on earth. www.sanysidroranch.com

What to read: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn/Putnam)

What to wear: Fit Flops (not the most stylish of shoe but walks amongst the Santa Barbara hills will get your calf muscles going)

What to listen to: “It’s Complicated” Soundtrack

What to do: Take tea in the arbor after a long walk

What to eat: French toast for brunch

What to drink: Fresh Californian orange juice

 

 

What to Pack Where: New York

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Staying healthy on the road is not always easy to do. Follow these tips on what to pack to keep those extra pounds that return with you, restricted to your suitcase.

Travel light and you won’t have to go through customs. This bag from Hush is both stylish and practical and can double up as a gym bag for when you get back. Overnight Bag, £85, www.hush-uk.com

Packing your trainers may be the smartest thing you do for a trip in NY. Not only can you run around Central Park but hotels, such as The Westin, organise running tours – a great way to see the city. Nike Free Run+ Trainers, £90,www.store.nike.com/gb/en_gb

You might not want to take the weather with you but taking a bit of the Brit can never be a bad thing. This top by Stella McCartney is stylish and practical. Olympic fever has already started and we like it. Team GB Stella Vest, £25,www.shop.london2012.com

The Nike+ Running SportBand and Chip is a great way to track your runs. So wherever you are, you will always know how long your runs are, how many calories you’ve burned, what speed you were going and how far you have gone. Nike+ Running SportBand and chip, £42,www.store.nike.com/gb/en_gb

Hip and Healthy Loves: all things Rosie

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…all things rosie

It’s July and the wait is over, summer is finally here, and the roses are out in bloom… so to celebrate, Hip and Healthy has rounded up the top rose products out there to get you looking bloomin’ marvellous

Wild Rose Beauty Elixir by Neals Yard
Enriched with rosehip oil, a fantastic source of vitamin C, and ultramoisturising Hyaluronic acid, this serum is great for getting rid of unwanted scars. £43, www.nealsyard.com

Benetint Rose Lip Balm by Benefit
This will give you a hint of colour without giving you the ‘clown mouth effect’. It also contains spf15. £14.00, www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk

Les Petales Lumiere de Rose Face Highlighter by Chantecaille
This gives skin that polished effect. It contains moisturising triglycerides, to keep skin fresh and supple, and it’s gentle enough to use on both lids and cheeks. £28.00, www.spacenk.co.uk

Wild Rose Smoothing Night Cream by Weleda
This has to be one of the best moisturisers on the market. It has a delicious rose scent and leaves skin rejuvenated and glowing. £13.50, www.weleda.co.uk

Desert Rose Powder Blush by Mac
Mac never fail to deliver, and this is no exception. This blusher will give you the fresh-faced look, and is the perfect complement to a summer tan. £17.00, www.maccosmetics.co.uk

Rose Love Balm by Jurlique
This salve contains vitamin E, olive oil, soybean oil and safflower oil, all of which replenish dry skin. Scented with rose oil, it can be applied to anywhere that needs a little bit of TLC. £10.00, www.jurlique.co.uk

California Running

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Running is not something that came naturally to me. I was never athletic at school, and have not yet found a competitive bone in my body. But my first run along Venice Beach ignited a love affair with running, which shows no sign of abating

In my first year at university, my mother and stepfather uprooted our family home across the pond to sunny LA, where I spent many long and wonderful university holidays. It was during the first Christmas break that I noticed the effects of my unhealthy university lifestyle. The tanned and toned bodies of LA just accentuated this. I was bloated, with dull, spotty skin and a bottom that, although wasn’t huge, had no place on Malibu beach. I had to put a stop to this. Residing amongst Hollywood’s glitterati meant that you were always bumping into someone so famous or gorgeous that you would begin seriously considering Extreme Makeover as a viable option for beauty. But as I looked around me it wasn’t plastic surgery outpatients that dotted the sun-drenched boulevards (that would be quite scary) but runners of different shapes and sizes, all with one thing in common – they radiated health.

There must be a statistic to help me describe this, like people in London say, you are never more than two feet away from a rat, in LA, you cannot be far off that from a jogger. So, inspired and eager to find out what I was missing, I laced up my trainers and headed to Venice Beach, home to what must be the best beach running track of anywhere in the world.

Miles of uninterrupted pavement weaves it way through the sand, along the coast from Venice. Past muscle beach, where Arnie himself use to work out, through clouds of sensuous incense smoke and the sound of excited chatter and reggae street music. Once under Santa Monica Pier the vibe changes entirely – sand courts full of athletic bodies playing volleyball, dog-walkers, roller-bladders and cyclists. As the sun beat down on my shoulders and warmed my face I found myself thinking, to my surprise, that this was something I wanted to stick at.

Over the years my love of running has grown stronger and as soon as I step onto Californian soil, I lace up and head out to Venice, no matter how exhausting the flight has been. Some of these runs are mere shuffles, but after 11 hours on a plane I’m not expecting a personal best.

I have been lucky enough to run along beaches in Antigua, Hong Kong, Cornwall and a tiny island off Malaysia, but nowhere comes close to the thrill of pounding the path that winds its way along the pacific coastline. Santa Monica and Venice Beach may not be the world’s most idyllic beaches, but they have something much cooler, more exciting to offer.

Each time I return, I run as early in the morning as my jet lag allows. The path is particularly peaceful then and there is something about starting the morning with a run that sets me up for the rest of the day. My music is different too. I set my iPod to the dulcet tones of Chicane and Zero 7 rather than the usual high-tempo Tiny Tempah (don’t judge me) that I listen to in the gym.

As the sun rises higher in the sky, I feel the strength of its rays deepen on my forehead and shoulders and watch how it makes the sea dance with iridescent blues and greens. Everything feels calm. The sand feels hot as it finds it way into my socks and tiny beads of sweat form on my shoulders, eventually running down my back as the sun gains strength. Afterwards, I reward myself with a smoothie from Urth Café, a short walk from the beach, only to return and sit on the sand looking out to sea. It is still only around 9am and I have never felt happier or more peaceful.

Venice beach provides me with an enlightening tour of magnificent graffiti and weird and wonderful people. Once I passed an entire camera crew filming an episode of Nip Tuck. On another occasion, a war veteran gave me a cross to plant in the sand. It is the people of Venice that give it its life and soul and no two runs are ever the same.

Since I began running here, I haven’t gone one year without returning to Venice and Santa Monica’s beaches. It is where I did my 18-miler with my boyfriend in training for a marathon (and where I fell in love with him). It is where I have come to think over many of the decisions I have had to make. But most of all, it is my respite from the rest of the world and even though it is over 5,000 miles away, no where else feels more like home.

Eat for Whiter Teeth

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I am yet to meet a Brit that is truly happy with their natural teeth. Pearly whites are not our strong point. In a recent survey it was found that 99.7% believe a smile is an important social asset and that ¾ of adults feel that an unattractive smile can damage a person’s chances for career success. With that in mind and a recession on our hands it is time we look at how our diets affect our teeth. We all know that sugar is not helping the situation but there is a realm of other foods just waiting to be consumed that will get your teeth on the path to looking nothing short of Daz white!

Strawberries & Lemons
Remember that strawberry flavoured toothpaste you had as a child? Well, here’s why. Strawberries are excellent at whitening teeth due to their acidic content but are high in natural sugars (4.7g of glucose and fructose). So, brush your teeth well afterwards. Lemons, too, have a natural whitening effect on teeth as their high acidic content removes staining.  But, and this is a big but, Dr Nigel Carter, Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, commented that consuming lemons regularly “cause the tooth enamel to be worn away”.

Crunchy Fruit & Veg
Munching fibre-rich fruit and vegetables such as apples, celery, and carrots act as a brush by dislodging unwanted bacteria.

 

 

Sugar-Free Gum
The British Dental Health Foundation argues that chewing gum also stimulates saliva production and extricates all sorts of bacteria that coat our teeth preventing decay.

 

 

Cheddar Cheese
Cheddar contains a whopping 721mg of Calcium and has also been proven to help prevent plaque ph levels from falling to a level, which is conducive to cavities forming. And out of the cheese family, Cheddar contains about 1/3 less fat than many of its dairy siblings.

Water
An oldie but a goodie – a swig of water after every meal is a good way to prevent stains. Alison Newlyn, Specialist Orthodontist, believes that this is “one of the most effective ways at preventing tooth discoloration”.

What not to eat:
When it comes to white teeth it is more about what you don’t consume rather than what you do. Alison Newlyn argues that “reducing your intake of tea, coffee and red wine will help prevent the build up of stains” as these contain tannic acid which creates pores in our enamel where the colour collects. The rule of thumb goes – if it stains your clothes it will stain your teeth.

Top Tip: Drink sugary or acidic drinks through a straw to avoid contact with the fronts of your teeth.

Black Superfoods

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When it comes to superfoods, black is the new green. Research has proven that because of their high levels of pigment, black foods contain more antioxidants than lighter coloured foods. This means that foods that are easy to get hold of in the supermarket, such as tea, beans and blackberries (more on them later) are not only highly nutritional but they are also superfoods that are easy to incorporate into our diets . This great antioxidant value is mostly down to a type of flavanoid called ‘anthocynains’, which are responsible for the dark colour of many fruits and vegetables. Research suggests that these anthocynanins protect us against free-radicals and in turn shield us from DNA damage, which can lead to cancer.

Black Rice
An article in the Daily Mail recently hailed black rice as the new, caner-fighting superfood on the market. A grain that has long been held to be full of nutritional benefits by the Chinese. In fact, black rice was so highly regarded in China, that it was called the ‘forbidden rice’ and only nobles were allowed to eat it. It contains high levels of vitamin E (great for skin and the immune system) but is low in sugar, making it a fantastic alternative to white rice. Dr Zhimn Xu at Louisiana State University commented after a study conducted on black rice that ” just one spoonful of black rice contains more health-promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries but with less sugar and more fiber and vitamin E”

Blackberries
Other foods that are high in antioxidants are blackberries, which are jam-packed with polyphenols that protect against signs of aging. They are also fiber-rich. Try adding them to your cereal in the morning or smoothies for an instant boost to your day.

Black Tea
Black tea is also amongst the list of go to superfoods, even though it is green and white tea that has recently been getting all the attention. Black tea has been shown to improve oral health and is a very easy superfood to incorporate into your diet.

Black Grapes
Black grapes have also found themselves on the superfood list lately. Research has shown that they can contain up to 600mg anthocyanins, which is 100mg more than berries according to a study cited in the American Journal of Nutrition. Black grape’s greatness lies in their skins -the stronger the colour, the higher the concentration of flavanoids and, therefore, the more antioxidants they contain. They have been show to reduce the risks of heart disease and help protect against DNA damage that ages skin. That glass of red wine just became even more attractive.

Black Beans
When it comes to black beans, the bioflavanoids packed in their dark skins, are just one of the reasons they make the cut on the superfood list, since recent studies have shown that bioflavanoids can protect against cancer. But black beans are also full of fiber and protein – in just one cup you get nearly 15 grams of fiber (over half of your RDA) and 15 grams of protein (a third of your RDA) making them great for digestion and maintaining blood sugar levels. Add them to soups or salads for an easy way of incorporating them into your diet.