?Not how high??but who with?

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I thought my CXE blogging days were over but seeing the Horizon programmes has brought many wonderful memories flooding back ? I feel compelled to post just one last blog.

Firstly I really want to congratulate and thank BBC Rob, Ben, Graham and Dave for the two wonderful hours of television that we were treated to through Horizon. Particular congrats to Rob and Ben for their work in the editing suite. If the response I have received from people (known to me and even people whom I have never met before) is anything to go by, the Horizon programmes have enthralled and enthused a very broad and diverse audience. Personally I thought they captured and conveyed the excitement and drama of so many aspects of the expedition superbly and I?d really like the guys to know how much their account of the expedition is valued. Well done?the end product is a wonderful account of a great expedition. You joined us as the TV crew and we have parted as friends. It is hard to imagine the expedition without each of you being there.

As I was watching the end of the 2nd Horizon programme I became aware of a sense of sadness descending over me. As the programme was completing I stared to feel as though a line was being drawn under the whole expedition? a very real sense that the CXE expedition was only now drawing to a close. Now I know that there is a great deal of work still to be done on the research data and that in future there will be many opportunities to get together but the reality is, that it is unlikely that we will ever fully recapture the special bonds and camaraderie that existed between this unique group of people in the spring of 2007 on the world?s tallest mountain.

So why am I coming over all sentimental? Well it is simply like this: I told a story to the summit and south col teams when we were all back together at camp 2; but applies every bit as much to the whole CXE team as to those who went high on the mountain. Before I left Belfast on 17th March 2007, one of my closest friends reminded me in a good luck card of the words he had inscribed at the bottom of a mountain picture he framed for me some 10 years previously. The picture was of four people (three friends and myself) silhouetted along with the bottom of a ridge of a modest alpine route we were about to ascend, against the orange glow of the beautiful pre-dawn alpine sky. The inscription read ?Not how high?but who with?. I am convinced, that when I think back to CXE 2007 in years to come it will not be the breathlessness or the cold or the hardship of the climb which will immediately spring to mind, neither will it be the exposure of the summit ridge nor the sustained challenge of the Lhotse face; in the future when I think of Everest I believe that it will be the people that we have each had the privilege to get to know in this wonderful team that will define our fondest memories?.?Not how high?but who with?.

CXE 2007 ? unique, unparalleled, truly unforgettable, sublime.

So as a parting gesture I want to pay some personal tributes to a few people:
Mike and Denny ? visionaries, exemplary leaders, tireless workers. Thanks for putting together this incredible team and for inviting me on the expedition ? it was truly a great honour.
Kay ? lynchpin, always cheerful, long-suffering, tireless. You are a much-celebrated household name among a considerable number of people back home here in Belfast. Your regular blogs were manna to many. When (yes when!) you come to Belfast you needn?t bring any money as your hoards of fans will be fighting to host you. (I kid you not!).
BBC Rob, Ben, Graham and Dave ? You guys?.raconteurs, luvvies, energetic entertainers, the BBC terrace set (not to mention the supreme physiology of the whole team). Hard to imagine CXE without any of you.
CXE Base camp team ? dedicated, selfless and full of fun. Bohemian Rhapsody will never be the same again.
Logistics guys (Mac, Lee, Paul, Rhys and Bobby) ? Elite, genuinely stellar.
The Sherpas - the giants on who?s shoulders we stood.
Sharon & Fiona ? Blog novices to fanatical voyeurs. Thanks for your support??enough already!!
Caroline, Patrick, Sophia and Connor ? My team?long-suffering and selfless. Know how to make a guy feel good ? great to be back. Missed you too much.
J&K, Harts of Hillhall, Wotsits, P&J, Logans, Der ? truly in your debt.

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Blog by Nigel Hart