Hi,

(Sponsorship update 03.08.10 - Chris has raised £1200+ offline for his nominated charities: Loros and CHICS and I have over £1800 for Wishes 4 Kids and PIA, A massive thanks to all those that supported us!!!!) We are still receiving donations so I'll keep this updated every few days....

Phew, we made it!!

We finally got to the Summit of Gran Paradiso around Saturday lunchtime, it really was an adventure like I've never had before...

After 22 hours of travelling (missed plane,change of airport, flight to Rome before a flight being cancelled etc,etc) we finally arrived at our Hotel at 'Pont' in the Aosta Valley only to find it closed! After much banging on doors (and swearing) a small light came on and an old chap wearing a nightshirt opened the door, it was surreal and like something from a Dickens novel.

After collapsing in our room for a few hours we got geared up and met our guide, 'Roberto'.

On day 1 we climbed up to the 'Chabod Hut' (2800m) where we ate as much food as we possibly could to fuel up for the ascent the following morning (those that know me well will tell you me eating a lot is nothing unusual!)

At 4am day 2 we started our ascent, firstly walking up steep moraine and then onto a glacier. This was truly amazing, with snow 30 foot deep in places and crevasses 50 feet across and deep. 

And so began the arduous climb up to the peak, for what seemed like forever, the 3 of us (roped together with crampons on,ice axe out etc) worked our way across and up the glacier toward the peak.

We reached the peak around mid-day on the Saturday. The true peak is the 'Madonna', (a small statue that was airlifted into place). To get to this it involves a very precarious climb across around 15 metres of  vertical rockface with a 2000ft drop, not surprisingly a lot of people decide not to bother with this! However, we really wanted the picture for Wishes 4 Kids so plucked up corage and did it. You can see the pictures above.

The decent was long and very slushy as the afternoon sun melted the snow, I lost count of the times I fell over and of the amount of swear words used.

We spent the 2nd night at Refugio Vittorio Emmanuelle on the other side of the mountain (2750m) and slept very well indeed. On day 3 we descended back to the valley arriving around lunchtime for a much needed shower and several pints!

All in all, a brilliant experience made all the better by knowing I was raising money for kids that really need it.

If you are reading this you have probably sponsored me so thank you very,very much. It means a lot to me.

Cheers

Rich

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

immune system doesn't work properly (along with other things). This means lots of time off school and time in hospital every couple of weeks for treatment.

Earlier this year we became involved with Wishes 4 Kids, they made Millie's dream of recording songs in a professional studio come true. This gave her a real lift and was a great distraction from the ongoing treatment. They help hundreds of terminally ill and abused kids every year and they need funds to do this.

I am hopeful that a number of kids that have had a hard start in life will benefit from the sponsoring of our climb.

There are a couple of pictures of the mountain attached, hopefully you'll agree this is a serious challenge and worth supporting.

I am employed by Mark Group and they have kindly sponsored me £500, if you are a fellow employee I hope you will support me as well. I know times are hard with the recession etc but I hope you will us help kids like Millie have their dreams come true as well.

Indeed, it would grant my wish if we could get to £5000 in total, other charities will also benefit from the funds we raise. In my case  75% will go to Wishes 4 Kids. The remainder will go to PIA (charity for those with immune defficiencies).

If you are from a business and are interested in sponsorship opportunities us please contact me on 07595 106 906 or email richard.rushin@markgroup.co.uk

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