The Raksha Urai Expedition 2001 was our most ambitious and expensive project to date and it would not have been possible without our sponsors' assistance. We would like to offer our sincere thanks to all the organisations that supported us this year, especially Helly Hansen who were our largest sponsor. We are always seeking support for our ventures, so if you feel you may be able to help or would like to discuss what we can offer you as a sponsor, please contact us This well known outdoor clothing manufacturer runs an annual award scheme that offers support to small, lightweight teams attempting innovative objectives that seek to extend the boundaries of outdoor endeavour. In 2001 the award was offered in the UK for the first time and our expedition was fortunate enough to win it. With a cash payment of £2500 and a full set of clothing for each team member, Helly Hansen were our largest sponsor. We are extremely grateful to Helly for this fantastic support and it is gratifying for us that they share our enthusiasm for the project, especially in light of the numerous high quality expeditions that also applied for the award. Their extensive range of clothing can be found at www.hellyhansen.com As two of our major sponsors in the past, the Mount Everest Foundation and the British Mountaineering Council have continued to provide our team with financial assistance, by generously awarding us cash grants of £840 (MEF) and £1800 (BMC). Their support is always important to our expeditions and is greatly appreciated. Their websites can be found at www.mef.org.uk and www.thebmc.co.uk Having sponsored several of our previous expeditions, Lyon took their support a stage further this year and offered the team £1000 worth of free equipment under their annual awards scheme. This was established in 1997 to assist ventures with innovative and adventurous objectives, and ours was one of four expeditions to receive an award in 2001. Competition is always very fierce with a large number of applicants, so we are extremely grateful to Lyon and wish to thank them for their continued support. Lyon's website can be found at www.lyon.co.uk Sponsors for a number of previous ventures, the Canadian Himalayan Foundation again assisted our team with a cash grant of CA$1000 and also put their equipment cache in Kathmandu at our disposal. Given the small Canadian contingent in our expedition, we would like to express our thanks for such generous support. They do not at present have a website, but details of their work can be found on the Alpine Club of Canada's website here Also sponsors in previous years, Terra Nova Equipment kindly lent us specialist assault tents designed to withstand the rigours of high altitude climbing. As a lightweight, self supported team, access to such equipment increased our chance of success considerably and Terra Nova's assistance is very much appreciated. Their website can be found at www.terra-nova.co.uk Metcalf & Eddy is a world leader in providing environmental services to industry and governmental clients and specialize in the fields of water, wastewater, solid and hazardous waste, and air quality services. They are also sponsors of Water For People, a non-profit organization that establishes drinking water schemes in developing countries, and their financial support of our expedition underlines their continued interest in overseas projects. Their website at www.metcalfeddy.co.uk gives full details of the company and links to the Water For People site. After sponsoring two of our Pakistan expeditions last year, this New Zealand dehydrated food manufacturer again offered us substantial discounts on their product range. As high altitude rations are critical to the success of any expedition, we would like to thank Back Country for providing lightweight food that remains a pleasure to eat, even at 6000m! Further information on their product range can be found on the company's website at www.freezedri.co.nz Pakistan International Airlines very kindly offered to increase the baggage allowance of our British team members to 50 kg's, thus significantly reducing the expedition's airfreight costs. We have enjoyed increased baggage allowances from PIA on a number of previous expeditions and we would like to thank them for their continued support. We would also like to offer our personal thanks to Marion and Jane in the Bristol office for getting us all home in such fine style after the troubles in Afghanistan. PIA's new website can be found at www.piac.com.pk ©Psychedelic Masala Productions 2001