Voltimum, the unique web portal for the electrical installation industry right across Europe, aims high in a number of ways. It already is a unique web portal and it is well on its way to becoming the reference point for all electrical information across the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Italy. However, two of Voltimum's employees have also personally attained high places in a very different way. Independently, Voltimum UK Managing Editor James Hunt and Alain Blanc, Business Analyst, Voltimum SA in Geneva, have recently climbed two big mountains.
James was part of a five man team which climbed Stok Kangri, a 6,121m (20,082 ft) peak in Ladakh, Indian Himalaya, while Alain climbed the slightly higher (20,320 ft ) Denali (more commonly known as Mt. McKinley) in Alaska. The latter is the highest mountain in North America.
Low temperatures:
Alain's un-guided expedition of four friends on Denali's normal route was in May 2003. It took three weeks in total but only 10 days were inside Denali National Park. Three of the team, including Alain, reached the summit in seven days - pretty fast going. The team was lucky with the weather, there being some strong wind but no blizzard. However, the temperature was well below zero with -35oC being a minimum with no wind chill but they were waking up in their tents at a temperature of –28oC ! The climbers set up five camps on their way to the summit. The most difficult thing for Alain's team was that they had to carry everything with them (up to 60 kg for each person). "Technically", commented Alain, "it was not too complicated", although almost all the climbing had to be carried out using crampons, ice axes and rope. At the end, the climbers had to wait three days for the aeroplane which later dropped them back on the glacier.
Relatively warm but stormy:
James Hunt's route on Stok Kangri in August was, if anything, rather easier as there was little snow despite the high altitude. Global warming is starting to affect even the Himalaya. However, the team did a 160km walk in to the mountain as part of a trek, going over four high passes (two of which being over 5000m - about 16,000 to 18,000 ft) in the process. Because of this, the team had both cooks and ponies, the latter helping to carry as far as base camp. On the summit day, the team – which now included two Ladakhi trek guides who had asked to come on the mountain - left the high base camp at half past midnight and reached the prayer flag decorated summit just after sunrise at about 7am. The summer temperature, despite the 20, 082 ft height, was a ‘warm’ -5oC. The team had a brief view before an ice storm blew in and obscured everything - a shame as K2, the world's second highest mountain in the Karakorum range of Pakistan can be seen from this summit, as can parts of Tibet! As with Alain Blanc's team, one person did not make it to the summit because of altitude related problems.
Both Alain and James are now both back, hard at work on Voltimum in their respective countries.
Voltimum UK
Braywick House East, Windsor Road,
Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 1DN
Tel: +44 (0) 1628 508500
Web: www.voltimum.co.uk
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