Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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I've chosen to raise funds for SHINE to help those who are suffering the effects of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus.

The reason this charity means so much, is that when I first met my wife, Nadine, 7 years ago, we discovered that we had each previously suffered from the loss of a first child due to neural tube defects, making this charity doubly pertinent. Because of this Nadine has supported SHINE through her business, Kelsey Plant Hire for more than 20 years.

My love for climbing started with Snowdonia, the Lake District then peaks in the Alps including Mont Blanc, Eiger and Matterhorn.  More recently I have climbed Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Aconcagua in Argentina and Island peak in Nepal.

So now it's the big one, Everest.  Apart from being a 52 year old asthmatic, I think I've got every chance of making it. Wish me luck and please help support SHINE with a donation. I'm sure this will continue to inspire me during the training and on the mountain side.

The expedition has begun. I flew out to Kathmandu on 28th March 2015 and after 2 weeks acclimatising in Nepal I have now moved to the northern Everest Base Camp. Hopefully, weather dependant, I will climb the North Col for the first time on 20th April.

All being well, the summit weather window will be between 17th and 28th of May.

Wish me luck.

Many thanks, Andy.