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Blake PensonBlake Penson
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  • Mountineering Highlights (chronological)
    • An idea is born (2007)
    • Kilimanjaro 5895m (2011)
    • Aconcagua 6962m (2013)
    • Denali 6194m (2013)
    • Elbrus 5642m (2013)
    • Matterhorn 4478m and Swiss Alps (2016)
    • Everest 8848m (2015)
    • Everest 8848m (2017)
    • Paragliding the Vallee Blanche (2019) (Coming Soon)
    • Mont Blanc Climb & Fly (2019) (Coming Soon)
    • Kosciuszko with family (2019) (Coming Soon)
    • Vinson – Antarctica 4892m (2019) (Coming Soon)
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The final descent – South Col to Base Camp

The afternoon we arrived back to the South Col after the summit we were spent. [...]

9 Comments

07
Jun
Mount Everest Summit Day

None of us slept that night due to the trepidation of what was ahead and [...]

14 Comments

05
Jun
Base Camp to the South Col (Camp 4)

Sorry for the delay. It has been an eventful two weeks! We finally decided that [...]

5 Comments

05
Jun
Update – The Final Push

This is a summary post just to provide a quick update. More detailed posts will [...]

2 Comments

20
May
Camp 2 and above

It was good to arrive at Camp 2 albeit a bit lonely as the rest [...]

3 Comments

14
May
The Khumbu Icefall and beyond

Apologies for the lack of updates as of late however I have been freezing somewhere [...]

1 Comment

12
May
Lisbon

The journey back was truly a living hell. Any weight on my left foot was [...]

8 Comments

01
May
Base Camp to Hell

Everest base camp is a mess of rock, mud and a spattering of yak shit, [...]

14 Comments

23
Apr
Dingboche to Base Camp

Sorry for the delay in getting this post out but things have gone a little [...]

2 Comments

22
Apr
Update: Almost at Base Camp

We have been offline for days. Next post will be published hopefully tomorrow. We are [...]

3 Comments

14
Apr
Gokyo to Dingboche

We were supposed to stay in Gokyo for two nights and that made sense as [...]

2 Comments

09
Apr
The Renjo La Pass (5360m)

We woke at 3:30am, ate our breakfast in the dark with our head torches on, [...]

9 Comments

07
Apr
Thame to Lungden

Our last morning in Thame we woke up to a beautiful white landscape after a [...]

5 Comments

04
Apr
Kyamjuma to Thame

After a good couple of days in Kyamjuma we packed up our gear and made [...]

9 Comments

03
Apr
Lukla to Kyangjuma

Upon arrival into Lukla we made our way around the runway to a restaurant where [...]

12 Comments

30
Mar
Kathmandu

After a zippy 13 hour flight without delays on Turkish Airlines, I touched down in Tribhuvan [...]

8 Comments

29
Mar
Time to go

Well this is it. I leave this evening and I think I am prepared. Physically [...]

14 Comments

24
Mar
Everest Round 2

New challenges 5 months after getting back from Everest in 2015 we had a beautiful [...]

2 Comments

20
Mar
2015 recap

The expedition in 2015 was going well. We had a great trek into Base Camp [...]

20
Mar
Matterhorn 4478m and Swiss Alps

This post is a draft. Here is a summary of 6 days in Switzerland with [...]

20
Jul
The retreat from Base Camp to Lukla

As soon as Base Camp was decimated teams were evacuating to Kathmandu and Lukla. By [...]

01
May
Base Camp to Camp 2 – The Earthquake

This was the first rotation to acclimatise up Everest. We were on a schedule ahead [...]

24
Apr
Base Camp Rest and the Khumbu Icefall

Well as promised our schedule granted us a few rest days in Everest Base camp [...]

20
Apr
Everest Base Camp to Lobuche Summit and back

We left Everest Base Camp 6 days ago and trekked the 17kms back down to [...]

16
Apr
Lobuche to Everest Base Camp

After three days in Lobuche Base Camp we made the move to EBC. This was [...]

10
Apr
Pheriche to Lobuche

After a few days resting in the last teahouse of our journey, we packed up [...]

09
Apr
Tengboche to Pheriche

The next day was a move day from Tengboche to Pheriche which I was pretty [...]

08
Apr
Namche Bazar to Tengboche

On my first night in Namche Bazar I went to sleep with a sore throat [...]

04
Apr
Phakding to Namche Bazar

Our next destination was the famous Namche Bazar. This trek was amazing. The trail was [...]

04
Apr
Kathmandu to Phakding

The next morning we woke at 6 am and headed to the airport to have [...]

31
Mar
Kathmandu

Upon arrival in Kathmandu I was greeted by some local IMG staff who placed a [...]

31
Mar
From Lisbon to Base Camp

Well this is it, my final post from the safety and warmth of my home [...]

23
Mar
Equipment Part Two – I love Stuff Sacks!

It took around 5 hours to organise but I have sorted and ‘stuff sacked’ everything [...]

22
Mar
Equipment Part One

Well I have 95% of everything I now need. Just need to finalise my ‘sock [...]

19
Mar
8 days to go!

In one week and one day I drive to Lisbon airport to catch my Turkish [...]

16
Mar
Training

The date today is the 18th of February 2015. I leave for Everest in 34 [...]

19
Feb
It Begins

In July 2014 I was chatting to Paul, my friend from Aconcagua and he informed [...]

17
Jan
Elbrus 5642m

Soviet Highs With McKinley still in my thoughts everyday, I was unpacking my equipment one [...]

07
Jul
Denali 6194m

‘The High One’ With only about 4 months between Aconcagua and Mt McKinley in Alaska (also [...]

07
Apr
Aconcagua 6962m

‘The Stone Sentinel’ In June 2012 I was due to climb Mt McKinley in Alaska [...]

07
Jan
Kilimanjaro 5895m

It began in Africa In 2011, I managed to convince my wife Alejandra and a couple [...]

07
Nov
An idea is born

My earliest memory of being inspired by mountains was when I was about 8 years [...]

15
Jan
All Posts
  • The final descent – South Col to Base Camp 9 Comments
  • Mount Everest Summit Day 14 Comments
  • Base Camp to the South Col (Camp 4) 5 Comments
  • Update – The Final Push 2 Comments
  • Camp 2 and above 3 Comments
  • The Khumbu Icefall and beyond 1 Comment
  • Lisbon 8 Comments
  • Base Camp to Hell 14 Comments
  • Dingboche to Base Camp 2 Comments
  • Update: Almost at Base Camp 3 Comments
  • Gokyo to Dingboche 2 Comments
  • The Renjo La Pass (5360m) 9 Comments
  • Thame to Lungden 5 Comments
  • Kyamjuma to Thame 9 Comments
  • Lukla to Kyangjuma 12 Comments
  • Kathmandu 8 Comments
  • Time to go 14 Comments
  • Everest Round 2 2 Comments
  • 2015 recap
  • Matterhorn 4478m and Swiss Alps
  • The retreat from Base Camp to Lukla
  • Base Camp to Camp 2 – The Earthquake
  • Base Camp Rest and the Khumbu Icefall
  • Everest Base Camp to Lobuche Summit and back
  • Lobuche to Everest Base Camp
  • Pheriche to Lobuche
  • Tengboche to Pheriche
  • Namche Bazar to Tengboche
  • Phakding to Namche Bazar
  • Kathmandu to Phakding
  • Kathmandu
  • From Lisbon to Base Camp
  • Equipment Part Two – I love Stuff Sacks!
  • Equipment Part One
  • 8 days to go!
  • Training
  • It Begins
  • Elbrus 5642m
  • Denali 6194m
  • Aconcagua 6962m
  • Kilimanjaro 5895m
  • An idea is born
Interesting Links
  • Alan Arnette Everest Blog
  • EXPEDREVIEW.COM
  • Interactive Mountain Panoramas
  • Kim Hess Climbs
  • Official Expedition Blog
  • OSM Adventures Blog
  • Our itinerary
  • Rocket on tour
  • Ronny McHugh's Everest Blog
  • Track me
Recent Comments
  • Blake on Mount Everest Summit Day
  • Jorge on Mount Everest Summit Day
  • Dil Gurung on The Renjo La Pass (5360m)
  • Dil Gurung on Thame to Lungden
  • Blake on Thame to Lungden
  • Teresa on Thame to Lungden
  • Blake on The final descent – South Col to Base Camp
  • Blake on Lisbon
Copyright 2017 © BLAKE PENSON.
  • Home
  • Mountineering Highlights (chronological)
    • An idea is born (2007)
    • Kilimanjaro 5895m (2011)
    • Aconcagua 6962m (2013)
    • Denali 6194m (2013)
    • Elbrus 5642m (2013)
    • Matterhorn 4478m and Swiss Alps (2016)
    • Everest 8848m (2015)
    • Everest 8848m (2017)
    • Paragliding the Vallee Blanche (2019) (Coming Soon)
    • Mont Blanc Climb & Fly (2019) (Coming Soon)
    • Kosciuszko with family (2019) (Coming Soon)
    • Vinson – Antarctica 4892m (2019) (Coming Soon)
  • Track me
  • About me
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