As many of you may know, I recently accomplished reaching the summit of Gokyo Ri, trekking over Chola Pass and making it to Everest Base Camp. Before this trek I played with the idea of raising money for charity but wasn't sure of the cause I thought best to raise for.

Having been on the trek and meeting our porter Buddha and hearing his story I have decided to raise money to support him as much as I can in his quest to run the Everest Marathon and to learn English to become a guide.

Buddha was born in a farming community and when he was young his dad passed away leaving him to look after his mum, two younger brothers and sister. To earn some money he started carrying loads up and down the mountains, these will weigh anywhere up to 70-80kg! Below are some of the many Sherpa/Porters we met carrying loads that included tables, doors and even kitchen sinks!

In 2017 Buddha started in the trekking sector, carrying trekkers bags up and down to many of the teahouses ahead of guests so their bags are ready for them when they arrive. They used to carry nearly up to 100kg but now the industry has much better welfare support in place and is limited to a maximum of 35kg. Nearly all of the porters walk in ordinary trainers as hiking boots cost too much for them.

The money that he earns during trekking season is all used to take care of his family.

His dream is to run the Everest Marathon.

We nicknamed him Buddha the Bullet as he was so fast and steady on his feet even carrying our two bags. Our group was only small, myself, Leon from Oz, Prem the guide and Buddha. Normally the porters leave before the trekkers but as we were a small group we all walked as one group.

Its the best thing we did, as we got to know him and he got to practice and improve his English skills with us. He was brilliant, always smiling, laughing and giving us energy, we taught him card games and although he currently does not speak as much English as he would like we had a great laugh.

While the Everest Marathon is cheaper for the people of Nepal it is still a lot of money for them and so I have decided to help Buddha raise the entry money, some training gear and also I would like to help him learn English by raising enough to send him to Kathmandu to learn.

I will be doing as many challenges as I can to help reach the target and appreciate all your help and support as I know he will.

I even gave carrying the bags a go and confirm the porters have super strong necks!