Baz Trek - The Interview

By BrianC
March 31 2005

Every so often one of our community does something very special to help raise funds for a particular cause. Barry Buckley, known to most of us as Baz of London Irish, is the latest to join this list.

He promised himself while his wife Janet was fighting cancer that he would do something special to raise funds for cancer research. To that end he has recently completed a Himalayan trek, raising £6000 in the process. After his return The Craic caught up with Baz to ask him about his experiences.

Baz, of all the things you could have done, why did you chose this?
I think it was the combination of the chance to go trekking in the biggest mountain range on earth and the opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama, one of the worlds great spiritual leaders.

How did you prepare for it? Was there anything that you were concerned about beforehand?
I committed to doing the trek back in October 2004 and started working out in the gym 6 days a week. At weekends, Janet and I would go for walks on the Downs. I kept to a pretty severe diet that consisted of massive amounts of protein to support the level of training. I must have eaten my own body weight in roast chicken. The unknown factor involved in this trek was altitude sickness. I was worried that I might fall ill with it and not be able to continue the trek.

Tell us a bit about the journey there and your impressions when you arrived.
The journey there was a 9 hour flight to Delhi and then an 11 hour sleeper train journey to the Himachal Pradesh border. Then a 4 hour jeep ride into the foothills of the Himalayas. Delhi was a nightmare of noise, air pollution, poverty and human deprivation while the first view of the Himalayas was something I will never forget. The sheer scale and beauty of them was incredible.

What would you say was the most special part of the trip?
The Dalai Lama had been giving a series of teachings and we were fortunate enough to be present for the last two days. The atmosphere was quite intense and I couldn't help but feel that I was in the presence of a quite remarkable human being. The feeling of serene calmness was almost palpable. Very difficult to describe really.

How far did you trek? What were the highs and lows?
We completed seven treks and the distances varied from day to day according to the terrain. I guess we probably covered on average about 15 miles a day. On a trek day we would get up at 6.00am and start to trek at 8.00am. Have lunch at 1.00pm and then trek until about 5.30pm. My lowest point was getting altitude sickness. Having trained so hard to do the trek, to find myself being sick on the side of a mountain and feeling weak as a kitten was pretty hard to take. The high point was when we all finished the trek. We all had a great feeling of achievement and team spirit. We had all had our "tough days" but together we had got through it.

What are your feelings now that you are back?
Back at home I am so glad that I took on this challenge. I've seen things that I never thought I would, made some great friends and proved to myself that at nearly 50 years old there's life in the old dog yet.

What advice would you give to anyone who is considering doing something like this?
Do it. The experience will change your life. Not only are you raising money for good causes but you will learn something about yourself.