WE MADE IT! Thanks for all your support. Here are some photos of the climb and you can read about the summit day and some more on the charity below. Geaspar and Maghnus Byrne
The climb:
We're happy to report that on Thursday the 4th of August 2011, we both successfully reached the 14,692ft (4,478m) summit of the Matterhorn.
The mountain has an unusually large amount of snow this summer which made for a nerve racking few days of crossed fingers hoping for sufficiently calm weather to allow us to make a summit attempt. Luckily, right on cue, after the first 5 days of rock climbing practice and altitude training on some other large peaks, the weather forecast started improving and it looked like we might get a chance on the 4th... We made the initial climb to the 3,260m Hornli Hut on the Wednesday and set off from there at 4.30am on the morning of Thursday the 4th. The climb was exhausting - unrelentingly steep, slippery underfoot (the snow I mentioned) and very exposed for much of the time. A few hours after dawn, a little tired but very relieved, we had made it to the top and were treated to amazing views of the snow covered Alps against huge blue skies. It actually took longer to get down than it did to get up due to the unstable snow but I won't go into that!
The charity:
Mary's Meals is an international charity with roots in Argyll in Scotland - like us! They set up school feeding projects in communities where poverty and hunger prevent children from gaining an education, providing meals in school for over 500,000 children in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Mary's Meals not only addresses the immediate needs of hungry children by giving them a daily meal, it also allows those children to receive an education that can provide an escape from poverty for themselves.
