We are home! What an amazing but exhausting experience!!

Thanks to everyone for your generous donations and a big thankyou to my fellow trekkers for all their support......

Les

Himalayan Hike – Taking Big Steps for Rutland House School for Parents

Thank you for visiting our fundraising page.  We are: Les, Keith, Mark, Niall and Martin, five 'forty-something' friends embarking on a physically demanding 17 day trip to Nepal on 4^th March 2010 to raise much needed funds for Rutland House School for Parents in Nottingham.  Our goal is to walk approximately 152 kilometres and scale heights of 17,800 feet, coping with below freezing temperatures, slowly acclimatising ourselves to avoid acute mountain sickness once we reach 9,000 feet - this is one phenomenal challenge!  Here’s a bit about School for Parents and the reason why we hope you will give what you can: for Parents helps pre-school age children with physical, learning and communication disabilities such as cerebral palsy and Down’s Syndrome to get a better start in life. They offer a free service to families and rely entirely on charitable donations to keep the service going.  It is an amazing place that supports both the child and the family – their holistic and expert approach of high but realistic expectations means that each child is nurtured successfully. Our ‘team leader’, Les Rutherford, the driving force behind the Himalayan Hike, has first hand experience as Joseph, his 5 year old son, has Down’s Syndrome.  Les says…”Joseph first attended School for Parents as a baby. Thanks to the support we received over the past four years he is now an all moving, singing, dancing, talking, signing, happy and confident little boy.  What more could any parent ask for?!  School for Parents helped us enormously during Joseph’s early years and we don’t know how we would have coped without them.  We want to make sure this vital service continues to be available for other families just like us.”   Please help us to help Rutland House School for Parents by making a donation through this page – we are grateful for any amount received and thank you in anticipation of your generosity.  We are funding it all ourselves, therefore ALL monies raised will go directly to the charity and no donations will pay towards the trip (as is the case with some organised charity walks).

Anyway, back to us!  A group of hard working blokes who like nothing better than to relax playing a round of golf or two (when not training intensively for a massive 17 day walk that is!).  Here’s a bit more about the Himalayan Hikers:

Les Rutherford: 48, the oldest member of the group and company director for Budgens in Keyworth.  He used to like a game of rugby but now prefers a more sedate round of golf! Les wants to see the world from a great height before he reaches 50 and just hopes that his knees hold out during the trip. His inspiration is his son Joseph who has Down’s Syndrome and attended School for Parents for four years.

Keith Jackson: 44, project manager for Wilson Bowden Developments, he enjoys walking in the Lakes, followed by a cosy log fire and a comfy bed.  Keith has a long held ambition to go to the and is looking forward to the trip with some trepidation as there won’t be a comfy bed in sight!

Mark Ellison: the baby of the group at 42 but with the least amount of hair (the altitude may help there Mark!). Project manager for a property developer he is the fittest person in the team [he says] and enjoys a variety of sporting activities.  

Niall Moore: 47, a self employed business consultant and a part-time student in sports coaching. Unlike Mark he is not incredibly fit but in his own words is "as fit as a butcher’s dog" he enjoys motorcycling, scuba diving, tennis, football and golf (yawn!).

Martin Haines: 47 - a down to earth guy, who lives in Kinoulton, married with two children.  Martin is a physiotherapist (an essential team member for such an arduous challenge) and a Biomechanics Coach.  Martin and Les have been friends for 15 years, both walking the Inca trail together in 2006 to raise funds for School for Parents.  Trekking the is a long held ambition for Martin, so this trip presented the perfect opportunity to get out there and do it!

We want to raise a minimum of £5,000 for School for Parents (to exceed this would be fantastic) and we are training hard for what will undoubtedly be a tough, physical and mental challenge (even for those who say they are fit!).  We thank you for taking the time to read about our cause and we’ll keep you updated on our training and trek in March… Donating through JustGiving is quick and totally secure. It is the easiest, most efficient way to sponsor us – you make a donation and leave us a supportive comment to keep us going; your money is then sent directly to School for Parents - it’s that easy! They also reclaim Gift Aid if you are a taxpayer, so we raise more.

Please give what you can to help children like Joseph and his friends at School for Parents get the best start.  Thanks!

Les, Keith, Mark, Niall and Martin