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We are back.  Unfortunately we didn't manage to complete the climb as I suffered from altitude sickness so we had to take the sensible decision and come down.  We are already talking of trying again next year though so stay tuned!  The whole experience has been absolutely amazing and I feel priviledged to have been able to get as far as I did, Vikki was an amazing partner in crime and a fantastic support all the way through.

On Saturday we took the cable car to the Aguille de Midi for acclimatisation, crampon training, rock climbing and crevasse jumping (no, not a sport, just a necessary evil when crossing a glacier).  At 8 o'clock yesterday morning we went up the same way to start our ascent and had planned to summit in the early afternoon and descend to the mountain refuge for around 8pm.  All was going well as we trudged onwards and upwards roped together on the snow and ice.  The views were breathtaking (literally!).  After a quick food stop we continued on up when I realised I had the beginnings of a headache,  I carried on for a while but the headache worsened and I had to be honest with our guide Klemen and Vikki and admit that I would not be able to continue and we took the decision to come back down.  I was absolutely gutted and so disappointed in myself at the time but have since realised that what we did was still amazing and we both had a wonderful time and an extraordinary experience and hey, the mountain isn't going anywhere!  Vikki got over some of her greatest fears and I am so proud of her and all she has acheived these past months. 

Finally (at least for the time being) I would like to thank all of you who have so far made donations to this most wonderful of causes, it is still ok to donate even if I didn't manage to fullfill the challenge!  My mother is still in Rowcroft and is being looked after incredibly well as always, I will head back to the UK on Thursday and hopefully I will be able to see her then.

NEWS UPDATE!!  We have just been informed that due to the weather conditions we will now be starting our challenge a day early, so on Saturday.... I'd better get my boots then!

Many thanks to all of you who have contributed so far, hopefully more will donate when we have completed the climb.