Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I’m raising money for Leukaemia Care.

So on 21st Oct 2023 I will be flying from UK to Kathmandu and then taking a light aircraft to Lukla (Eeek), and then setting off on the trek through the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp. Then on to hike to the summit of Kala Patthar, to go even higher than base camp with the hope of seeing the sunset over the summit of Mount Everest, before trekking back down to Lukla for the flight back to Kathmandu. (With acclimatisation hikes added in this is expected to be around 150km and take around 14 days).

So.. The magnitude.

St Paul’s Cathedral is 366 feet high… The Shard is 1016 feet high… Burj Khalifa the tallest building in the world is 2722 feet high… Ben Nevis the highest mountain in the UK is 4413 feet high.

Lukla where my trek starts (after flying into the most dangerous airport in the world) is 9337 feet high… It also has an oxygen level of around 73% compared to sea level (100%).

It’s around 70km to base camp, but we can’t just get a stomp on and do it in a few days. It has to be broken up.

Day 2 we’re going to hit the main Sherpa village of Namche Bazaar, altitude 11290 feet and we’re into thinner air, we need to stop here for 2 days to get our bodies used to the lower oxygen levels. Not a rest day though, we need to trek around 500 metres higher up, then return back to Namche to sleep, this forces the body to create more red blood cells to carry more oxygen around (acclimatisation).

This is where people start to feel the effects of altitude sickness, a lot even turn back! On DAY 2!

Mild altitude sickness is severe headaches, shortness of breath and a massive drop in energy, I expect to get this. That’s on top of just being shattered and aching from doing that much walking over terrain every day.

I’ve got to cross (8 i think) suspension bridges, one or two are pretty high, and I’m not great with heights!! I don’t know how I’m going to deal with that, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, quite literally ha.

After trekking up above the tree line and into mountain territory it’s pretty barren, and I’ve got some of the biggest mountains in the world for company.

We need to stop again at around day 7 to acclimatise further. Again going higher then coming down to sleep. It can happen sooner but It’s usually here that severe altitude sickness is a risk.

Severe altitude sickness is everything within the mild version, plus pulmonary edema or cerebral edema (fluid on the lungs or brain). The only thing you can do with this is to get down fast (Helicopter evacuation).

It’s pretty cold too. I’m expecting -15 to -20 at Gorak Shep (the last little village before EBC). Oxygen levels here are at around 56%. Blood oxygen levels drop way below what it should be.

The bedrooms of the lodges we will stay in are also usually just plywood walls to protect from the elements, no heating outside of the main area, water bottles freeze during the night if you forget to put them in your sleeping bag with you.

EBC is 17598 feet! We’re going up another few hundred feet higher than that, to the summit of Kala Patthar, at well over 18000 feet. That’s pretty much half of what your holiday jet flies at!

And once we get to Base Camp, that’s really only the half way point, there’s no taxi back, we’ve got to trek back down too, at a much faster pace.

It’s not a sponsored silence, it’s not a walk in the park. It’s not without its dangers I’m aware of the reality of that!

All that said, it’s doable, a lot of people do it. I plan on being one of them.

So why a Leukaemia charity?

I think everybody will have at some point in their lives known of people that have fought Leukaemia. Anybody can get it, at any point in their life.

As a family we’ve been touched twice by Leukaemia, firstly with the son of family friends. Joe lost his unbelievably brave battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia aged just 20. His parents continue to raise money for Leukaemia charities in his memory.

The biggest impact on our family has been my mother in law Shirley, who battled against Acute Myeloid Leukaemia for almost 4 years. She has been so brave and strong throughout her illness, sadly she lost her battle on 5th June 2022. She was one of life’s good ones, very positive, always busy, she was a huge influence on my children when they were growing up, going way beyond babysitting and grandma duties. When she found out I was planning on doing the trek it was her that suggested I try to raise funds for charity. She was also one of the first to donate (anonymously). She planted a tree knowing she’d never sit in its shade, which was typical of her generosity, always giving more than she took.

I’m funding the trip myself so all monies raised is for charity. My aim is to raise £5644. £1 for every metre above sea level (5644 metres/18517 feet) at the highest point of my trek (The summit of Kala Patthar).

I’m not great with heights so flying into Lukla, probably the most dangerous airport in the world, and having to cross several high suspension bridges over rivers and valleys is going to test me to my limits, but I’m determined I’ll do it, and it’s nothing compared to the battles that sufferers of this illness have to go through, hopefully that will spur me on through any low points.

Every single £ helps, and whether donating £1, £10 or £100 I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.