“You hear the ground shake most nights when you're lying in your tent from avalanches that are happening far enough away that you're not worried about them but it's just such a dynamic and imposing landscape.
“I had heard from other people that because you're already up high, you don't really see the great grandiose nature of the mountains because they're not that much higher than you.
“But it's incredible, they are like nothing I’ve ever seen anywhere else. They are monsters in every way and really, really impressive.
“So, coming back [to Loughborough], you're leaving that landscape behind and getting back into the day job is the same as it is after many great events, it's a bit of a shock to the system.
“But actually, there are so many things to do in our case…”
In a bonus episode of ‘Cuppa with a Scientist’, Dr Matthews discusses the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Extreme Expedition to Mt. Everest, getting sick on the mountain, and what the world’s highest weather station could tell us about the effects of climate change.
Cuppa with a Scientist is a brand new podcast launched by the Loughborough University PR team that aims to inspire the next generation of scientists.
The first episode saw Dr Matthews discuss his academic journey (from GCSEs to PhD), frosty fieldwork trips, ongoing research, and the importance of studying climate science and science as a whole – the tea was hot but the conversations were hotter, so a bonus episode was in order!
You can listen to the episode below:
For more information on the ‘Cuppa with a Scientist’ podcast series, click here.