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Having conquered various challenges as part of teams or on an individual basis, we have come together again to support Yorkshire Bank's chosen charity partner, Help the Hospices and specifically St Michael's Hospice Harrogate.

Rick, Martin & Graham have undertaken two 100k charity walks over the last 3 years, with Graham taking time out in between to run a few marathons & triathalons & Rick & Martin St Michael's Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge in 2010. The former were done in under 24 hours and the latter 12 hours.

Mike has come from being our trusty support crew to get his walking boots out and show the young 'uns how it is done,

Gary & Mark joined Rick & Martin to undertake the last St Michael's trek to the Great Wall of China. Last time around we raised over £13k and we would like to top that this time.

Mark has run countless miles for charity with the Great North Run his favourite event - they invite him to the staff parties now!!

Gary completed a charity bike ride last year between Liverpool & Leeds along the canal and managed to avoid falling in despite a few visits to the local hostelries for a cheeky beer.

So why St Michael's? We are all passionate about the Hospice movement with each of us having been touched by their work. It never ceases to amaze us just how much funding they need to raise every year - £2.8M to maintain their current service levels and over 80% has to be raised through voluntary contributions. The care they provide is free of charge and with the compelling statistic that 1 in 3 of us will probably require the services of the Hospice movement in our lives, what better cause.

So what type of trek are we going on? Well for starters each of us is paying all the administration costs for the trip so every penny will go to our chosen charity. The money we raise will go to Yorkshire Bank's chosen charity partner, Help the Hospices, but specifically to St Michaels in Harrogate. Through the bank's matched funding a further 50% of all funds raised will go to St Michaels with the remaining 50% going to Help the Hospices - so a double reason to give generously. 

When we arrive in Peru the first two days see us involved in a local community development project to help acclimatise to the altitude. We then undertake a four day trek along the Salkantay Route. This follows an ancient and remote footpath, crossing high passes (up to 4600m). Undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges we will face will be how we react to altitude. Apparently most people suffer some symptoms, which range from headaches, nausea, vomitting, lack of appetite, insomnia, fatigue or dehydration - what fun!

The climate we face will involve trekking snowy peaks, with temperatures falling below zero at night but then up to 35 degrees celcius during the day

Food will be basic & we will need to purify & carry our own water and supplies. So it is not going to be a jolly by any stretch of the imagination.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now we really appreciate your support.

Many thanks.

Martin, Rick, Gary, Graham, Mike & Mark

Team YB