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DOWN BUT NOT OUT - PHIL ACHIEVES THE (NEAR) IMPOSSIBLE IN NEPAL

Long hours. Hard work. Facing challenges head on. Overcoming difficult spaces. Ensuring that the show goes on... all of these phrases can be applied to the ethic of engineers and techs in the live sound environment. But one - DiGiCo audio crew member Phil Down - took the inherent dedication of the ‘noise boy’ to extremes this autumn, when he went trekking in the Himalayas.


Doing it as a sponsored event on behalf of Cancer Research, Phil’s plan was to be part of a group - organised by trekking and climbing specialists Summit Climb - doing a 16 day expedition to climb two mountains - the 6200m Island Peak, 5700m Kalar Patar and also to visit Everest Base Camp (at 5540m no mean feat in itself).


Unfortunately Phil’s trip got off to the worst possible start, losing four days after arrival in Nepal to a stomach bug, leaving the entire trip in jeopardy for him. But this is where his audio crew’s sense of dedication and unwillingness to be beaten came to the fore - he wasn’t about to let a bout of illness stop him!


After racing against time to catch up with the rest of the trek, he met them at Island Peak Base Camp and was the first to the summit.


But this was just the beginning. Having descended back to Island Peak base camp, he hatched a plan to make up for the trips to Kalar Patar and Everest Base Camp which he had missed out on.


So, while Phil’s fellow trekkers prepared to sleep off their exertions on Island Peak, he set off with his assigned Sherpa and completed the (usually) seven day trek to conquer Kalar Pater and Everest Base Camp in just four days, including three consecutive 13 hour days of walking.


“It was the hardest journey of my life!” says Phil. “But the thought of letting down all those that had been kind enough to sponsor me and completing the mission for Cancer Research kept me going. It was an incredible journey.”


Despite this, he met up with the rest of the group again in the town of Lukla just two hours after they had arrived. “Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads,” Phil smiles. “Overall it was the hardest experience of my life and I had a very different expedition to the rest of the team, as I spent quite a lot of time by myself. But it was great.”