On Saturday June 27th, a team of 7 members of the Smiths Medical UK Sales and Marketing team set off on a charity mountain climb to raise funds for the Intensive Care Society.

Team members were Cliff Pool, Jacqui Almond, Linda Smith and David Powlesland, all Product Managers, with Training Manager Linda Wilmin, Marketing Coordinator Gill Speechley, and Natalie Hershbein, PA to Chris Eaton. They were accompanied by Fudge, Gill Speechley's dog, and Natalie's boyfriend Chris Watkinson, who is a corporal in the Royal Marine Commandos.

Snowdon is renowned for its treacherous weather conditions and, as the team set off there was thick fog surrounding the lower slopes, and the visibility was down to about 50 metres. "In some ways, that helped", said Jacqui. "If I'd been able to see how far it was from the beginning, I might not have started at all!" But Snowdon rewarded their efforts later, as the cloud lifted and spectacular views from the summit could be glimpsed.

The team finally mustered at the summit some 4 hours after setting off, with no major incidents or injuries. Many of the team had gained a blister or two, and all were attacked by the voracious mountain mosquitoes and sand flies. They all agreed that it had been tougher than they had expected, but they never considered turning back.

"A great weekend, and a great experience" said Cliff, " but at the 6 km mark, I really became determined to complete this climb, because there was absolutely no way I was ever going to be doing it again!"

It's great to be able to support the important research ICS do. So, please sponsor me and my colleagues, it will be greatly appreciated.

Please support our team effort. Your donations, small or large, all count to prime the pumps of research carried by the Intensive Care Foundation.

Please make it worth our while, help raise money for patients, visitors, equipment and the medical staff for the intensive care units. Modern medicine is underpinned and made possible by intensive care…help save lives!!  

All your donations, whether large or small, will help. Thank you!