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Latest News
A huge thank-you to my colleagues in Vodafone Ireland Technology Operations for their generous donations in support of the Kitandwe School Project. We would also like to thank the Vodafone Ireland Foundation for their much appreciated significant support for the charity.
We've been back in Ireland for nearly 2 weeks now and have been mad busy meeting with supporters, sponsors, stakeholders and the media as well as sorting out things like car tax, bin charges, NCT, dental check-ups and x-rays! I've finally gotten round to uploading some short video clips so follow the links below.
The final leg of our great adventure is today. We are due to touch down at Dubllin Airport tonight at 9.05 p.m. (Flight BD 133 from Heathrow.) It would be great to see you all there to thank you for your support over the past months - it meant so much to us.
We have now trekked down to Namche Bazar and are feeling stronger with every foot dropped.
Today we will trek on to Lukla (about 4 hours) with the hope of getting a flight in the morning to Kathamandu where we'll rest by the pool in the Summit Hotel and buy some cheap climbing gear for those at home.
On Friday we have a football match (with a rather varried assortment of players from Sherpas to international climbers) against the Nepaleese Special Forces (thanks to our great Liaison Officer Major Rana), apparently the winning team gets a goat?!
Irish on Everest 2008 - duo complete their year long journey
Irish climbers Graham Kinch (29) and Ian Taylor (29) today returned to Base Camp after 10 weeks climbing on Everest. Kinch was forced to turn around just above The Balcony at 8600m, finally giving in to a torn chest muscle that had plagued him for weeks. Taylor however went on to reach the summit (8850m) at 12:02am Irish time on Friday 23rd May. (See photo.) In doing so he has become the youngest Irish man and the first Kildareman to stand on the top of the world.
Just to let you all know, we have arrived in the South Col. The main objective at the moment is rest, food and brewing tea - and of course reviewing the situation and finalising plans.
I guess it will be a little while before my next posting.
We are now in Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face. We climbed through the early hours of this morning, and are now settling into the routine of cooking, resting and rehydrating.
We will spend the night on oxygen, and when we move up to the South Col, we will be using the TopOut system to ensure maximum flow and intake. This hopefully will speed our ascent to Camp 4, and help keep us warm against the fierce cold we would experience otherwise, just because of the extreme altitude alone.
Tues May 20th. We are currently safely in Camp 2. Today is a rest and ‘eat and hydrate as much as possible’ day. Tonight @ about 10.30 p.m. Irish time (4 a.m. local time on 21st) we plan to head up to Camp 3 (7,150m) expecting to arrive there at about 4 a.m. (Irish time) - 9 a.m. local time - assuming conditions etc. allow.
Recent news:
Over the past week there have been a number of Irish people passing through our camp, notably Stuart and Padraig Halligan. They came in on a trekking group. Stuart enjoyed a birthday cake made by our Sherpas and then we brought them to the edge of the icefall and showed them the start of the route. Hopefully they enjoyed their time here in base camp.
Tuesday 13th May
Fundraising / Donate
There are 3 ways that donations can be made;
- By electronic funds transfer to account number 42792240, sort code 93-33-92
- By sending a cheque made payable to Fields of Life No 2 Account, to Everest Project, Fields of Life, Tree Tops, Brides Glen Road Shankill, Dublin 18.
- By clicking the mycharity.ie link below
