UPDATE 24th Nov 2023 ------

Apologies for the slow updates but internet up the mountain wasnt very good, sorry.

We did it. The 3 of us along with the rest of our hiking team, walked the full distance from Lukla to Mount Everest base camp and then back again. Taking just over 2 weeks to complete, we are so proud to have completed this challenge, and a challenge it was. Was the toughest thing we have ever done, both physically and mentally, but we dug deep and pushed our bodies beyond anything previously experienced to make it. I'm so proud of our 2 sons for their completion of the trek, considering their added reduced eyesight issues, they were amazing and such an inspiration.

The mountains were amazing and beautiful and so peaceful. Nepal is an amazing country with fantastic Nepalese hospitality.

Highlights were seeing sunset of Mount Everest from Kalapather mountain, standing at base camp early one morning after setting out across boulder fields and glaciers on an extremely cold morning, the tiny plane flight into and out of the worlds most dangerous airfield in Lukla, and the final few steps back through the entrance arch into the National Park.

Support has been amazing and along with offline donations we are very close to reaching our target for Guide Dogs which is amazing and we are so thankful for all support from you all on justgiving platform.

We have added a few new photos to track our success which we hope you enjoy.

Again, so many thanks for your support.

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Original Story -

In November, myself joined by our 2 sons Matthew and Luke will be taking on an amazing and exciting challenge of a lifetime – Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal. We will be trekking over 17 days to the base camp summit at 5364m above sea level.

This will be a physical challenge, climbing the route up the mountain, following the steps of Sir Edmund Hillary. Not just having to deal with daily trekking in challenging grounds, but the added issues of walking at high altitude and lack of oxygen.

If this wasn’t challenging enough, both my sons are visually impaired, so even more challenges for them both, with limited eyesight. We will be part of a team with others with visual issues, so we will also be guiding and assisting other, as well as the personal challenges with such a trek.

Doing such a challenge, we wanted to also help others, and will be fundraising for Guide Dogs for the Blind, a charity that has meant so much to our family.

We first started to have support from Guide Dogs when Luke was 9. Luke was struggling with his eyesight at junior school, and lack of confidence. Luke was paired up with a Buddy Dog from Guide Dogs called Rags, whom did an amazing job in transforming Luke’s positive outlook, giving him confidence and self-esteem, and helping create the man Luke has become.

We are so grateful for Guide Dogs support and helping our family, hence why we wanted to fundraise for Guide Dogs during our venture. Our aim is to raise enough money to name a guide dog puppy in training, to help start their journey of becoming a life changing guide dog for someone with sight loss.

Almost two million people in the UK are living with sight loss that has a significant impact on their daily lives. Of those, around 180,000 rarely leave their homes alone and lead lonely, isolated lives.

Guide Dogs works for a world where people with sight loss are never left out of life, for a world where being blind or partially sighted is not what defines you. A world with enough support to make the challenges of sight loss no barrier to fulfilling hopes and dreams.