Hello and welcome to my Just Giving page and the story behind my passion to climb Lhotse. There are 14 mountains in the world of greater than 8,000m, with Everest the highest at 8,848m & Shisha Pangma scraping in at 8013m as the lowest. Lhotse is number four at 8,516m.

I am aiming to raise £1000 for each peak over 8,000m, a total of £14,000.00!

My inspiration for supporting Cobalt with this trip is my late mother Zena. Mum would travel by bus from Cirencester to Cheltenham to meet her sister Stella at Cobalt coffee mornings. Here they would help recycle Christmas cards and enjoy spending time together. I'm doing this challenge in her memory and to help people who benefit from the work the charity do. Please donate what you can to help me achieve this fundraising goal.

I wish to thank my kind sponsors Bimber Distillery Ltd, Dunphail Distillery, Melody Whisky Bar and Scotch Whisky Auction.

Latest update as Philip reaches Base Camp

Prayer wheels at the start of my journey. Traditionally, a mantra is written on the outside of the wheel. Each turning of the wheel by hand is equivalent to the prayer's oral recitation multiplied by the number of times the mantra is printed on the scroll.

The journey ahead.

Suspension Bridge

Namche

View from the tea house Namche.

A historic trading hub, famous for its homemade yak cheese and butter, Namche has amazing views of the Himalayan peaks.

Mountain views and acclimatisation walks

Amar Dablam

The Bimber bottle blessed by Lama and prayer wheels.

Puja and blessing of climbing gear

I joined Matt McKay, Director of Marketing & Communications at Bimber Distillery Ltd for a blending session to create the rare London single malt The Lhotse Challenge 2023. This incredibly special Bimber will be accompanying me on my journey.

About Cobalt

Each year Cobalt provides diagnostic imaging for over 130,000 patients with a fleet of mobile MRI, CT and PET/CT scanners supporting hospitals across the UK, at Imaging Centres in Cheltenham and Birmingham and with national lung screening. Cobalt pioneer innovation in medical imaging diagnosis by investing in equipment, integrated research and education to improve outcomes for patients now and in the future. The Charity also participates and funds research mainly in the areas of cancer and dementia and provides training for healthcare professionals on a local, national and international basis.

How it all started

For those who know me well, you will be aware that I am a keen climber and photographer as well as a film and television location manager and that I'm a firm believer in the importance of not living life with regrets. I love travelling, with India having been my second home for the last forty years and more. My fundraising is intrinsically linked with my love of visiting unique parts of the world and of course climbing. This April I will be embarking on an adventure that will test my mettle and push what is a well-loved hobby to its limits. I will be climbing Lhotse, a mountain over 27,000 feet high for local medical charity Cobalt. Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain in the world at 8516m. The main summit is on the border between Tibet, China and the Khumbu region of Nepal.

At the age of 46, I had read many books about big expeditions in the Greater Ranges and thought that if ever I were to climb a big one myself it would be best to do something about it sooner, rather than later! The problem was I knew no one who climbed. My first introduction to climbing came from a winter mountaineering course in Scotland. The weather was rubbish, lorries were being blown over in blizzards and we had to complete rope work and skills on rock. I felt clumsy and in need of developing some rock climbing ability.

I followed this with a visit to an indoor climbing wall in London. By the second visit I was hooked. I became obsessed and went on to qualify as an instructor. I have since taught thousands of people to climb and climbed on three continents in 14 countries.

My Lhotse Challenge for medical charity Cobalt

I'm currently preparing for the toughest and most exciting challenge of my life, which starts from Kathmandu the day after my 67th birthday. I will be climbing Lhotse to raise money for Cobalt. The climbing route for Lhotse is the same as Everest from the south side until just beyond camp 3 at more than 7000m.

This is the second challenge I have done for Cobalt, the first being a climb of Cho Oyu in 2018. The Cho Oyu trip included some of the most extraordinary moments of my life. Snow-capped peaks bathed in moonlight, waves of mountains and the sun coming up as I watched dawn break over the Tibetan Plateau. It also had its tough moments.

In my rucksack will be a whisky miniature from Bimber distillery. It will be specially labelled for the expedition and will be auctioned off at the end of my trip, after travelling with me to the summit.

Training

Training for altitude and stamina is key. My training is in full swing and other gym users have grown accustomed to me plodding up the StairMaster [a short down escalator] in high-altitude boots, both of which weigh almost 1kg, whilst carrying a 15kg dumbbell in my rucksack. This element of my routine aims to help me manage some extremely demanding parts of the climbing expedition. After negotiating the famous Khumbu icefall, crossing the Western Cwm and climbing the Lhotse Face to camp 3. I along with my climbing companions will part company with the Everest teams to set up at camp 4 at 7,800m. It is after this that we enter the Lhotse Couloir at over 8,000m, a steep ravine of ice and rock that leads to the summit. Fingers crossed!

Do keep checking here for updates.

Inspired?

If my story inspires you to take up the mantle of a challenge, be it climbing a mountain or running a marathon then Cobalt would love to hear from you. Contact the fundraising team on 01242 535922.