I first heard about the trek last June from Former Friends’ pupil Dr Roger McMorrow and decided that it was something that I would really love to do. Once that decision was made I set about trying to get myself as fit as possible. To help keep me motivated I decided to raise money for two charities – Cancer Research and Marie Curie. I ended up raising a total of £4300 with Year 8 helping to raise £800 of that by taking part in their Big Everest Climb in the West Wing.
I left Lisburn for Kathmandu on Saturday 31st March taking with me a newly designed Friends’ School Flag. The flag was designed by Alyson Clarke from Year 8 and was painted onto silk by Art teacher Ms Paula McPoland. The idea was to hand this flag over to Roger McMorrow at base camp before he departed for the summit of Everest.
The actual trekking started from Lukla – a little village in the Himalayas which is at a height of 2800m. I was with a group of 17 others – we were Trek Group A. Along our route we were to be tested by teams of doctors/nurses calling themselves Xtreme-Everest who normally work in Intensive Care Units. The tests that they carried out were looking at how we were affected by low levels of oxygen as we gained altitude and involved taking blood samples, blood pressure, heart rate to name just a few. A lot of readings were taken while we cycled on a bike wired up to computers. The results of these tests will ultimately help critically ill patients who suffer from low oxygen levels. Over 200 trekkers will be tested in this way.
The trek to base camp took 10 days although 4 of these days were resting days to help with acclimatisation and to do more tests. The trekking itself was not too difficult but coping with the altitude was. The higher up we trekked the worse it got. Most of us suffered from bad headaches, nausea, loss of appetite. The scenery, however, was stunning. From the lower valleys where we were walking through Rhododendron forests to higher up where all vegetation just disappeared and you were left walking along dusty, rocky tracks surrounded by snowy-capped peaks. The people we met were very friendly and welcoming. They don’t have much by way of material possessions but they make up for that by their gentle and peace-loving nature.
Arriving at base camp was really exciting. It’s a desolate place but it was just teaming with people and activity – little tents dotted all over the place in between mounds of ice and rock. Some of the Xtreme Everest team were there to meet us including Roger. I handed the flag over and we were interviewed by the BBC Horizon film crew. Base camp which is at a height of 5300m was to be our home for the next 3 nights. It was quite warm when the sun was out but as soon as it disappeared then temperatures plummeted down to around -17oC. We were tested once more and spent the rest of the time exploring the Khumbu Icefall and taking photos. I went with 4 others up an extra 300m to the top of Kala Pattar which afforded great views of Everest. It was hard work but worth it. Then it was trek back to Lukla, back to Kathmandu and home. What an experience – one I will never forget. I would go back again tomorrow if possible.
Roger, meanwhile had a very important job to do. As well as continuing with medical research high up the slopes of Mount Everest he also had to take our school flag with him. On the 24th May 2007 at around 4 am our time Roger McMorrow was the first pupil from Friends’ to have reached the summit of the Worlds’ highest Peak and unfurled our special FSL flag. Mount Everest stands at a height of 8850m.
I first heard about the trek last June from Former Friends’ pupil Dr Roger McMorrow and decided that it was something that I would really love to do. Once that decision was made I set about trying to get myself as fit as possible. To help keep me motivated I decided to raise money for two charities – Cancer Research and Marie Curie. I ended up raising a total of £4300 with Year 8 helping to raise £800 of that by taking part in their Big Everest Climb in the West Wing.
