Newbury four climbing Everest to raise money for charity

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FOUR friends of Newbury will take on the extraordinary challenge of climbing the equivalent height of Everest to raise money for charity.

Four friends Harry Jack, Dominic Ward, Rob Sugden and Rupert Elwes had planned to take part in the annual Everest challenge in the Alps, scaling the height of the iconic mountain on skis.

They called themselves Team Sáhasa, which means to laugh in Sanskrit.

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic prevented the event from occurring. The team had traveled hundreds of miles and were not discouraged and persevered in their training, hoping for a similar challenge.

Travel being limited, they decided to hike the height of Everest on Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales.

The team began their journey in late 2020, hoping to take part in the ultimate endurance ski touring challenge, Everest in the Alps, by climbing to the top of Mount Everest, the equivalent of running 12 marathons in just four days.

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The team will start their challenge today (Wednesday 9 June) and raise funds for Parkinson’s UK and The Brain Tumor Charity.

So far they have raised over £ 128,000.

Their goal is to climb the height of Everest, which stands at 8,848m, on Snowdon, which means they have to climb Wales’ highest mountain at least nine times in three days.

Harry said: “Throughout the recent shutdowns, training included running two ultra-marathons, one marathon and at least 15 half-marathons. Everything looked promising, but Covid had other ideas. Travel restrictions meant Switzerland was banned. Frustrated but undeterred, we moved our endurance challenge to wonderful Wales.

“On June 9, 2021, the four of us will walk to the equivalent summit of Everest (8,848 meters) on Mount Snowdon. In three days, we will climb Mount Snowdon ten times.

“Every day, as we walk 12 to 16 hours, walk the distance of a marathon, climb 3,000 meters and burn around 10,000 calories. It’s going to be pretty hard. ”

Rupert added: “Stupidly, I was responsible for initially suggesting the idea for this event.

“For some reason, I asked three younger and infinitely more capable friends.

“Since they weren’t enthusiastic, I ended up with Harry, Rob and Dom.

“Despite many obstacles, we desperately wanted to support the charities we chose and therefore designed a unique and empowering event that we believe would allow us to raise much-needed funds for two incredible causes.”

Team members have a personal connection to the two charities, Parkinson’s UK and The Brain Tumor Charity.

Dominic said, “This is indeed an epic challenge and most importantly, it’s for great causes.

“The Brain Tumor Charity and Parkinson’s UK are two amazing organizations that have a huge impact in their respective fields.

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“The bigger the challenge, the more incentive there is to work harder and achieve our fundraising goals and there are few challenges as demanding as this.

“On a personal level, friends of ours lost their seven year old son Alfie last year after a three year battle with a brain tumor, so I couldn’t imagine a better cause to support. .

Harry said: “Fifteen years ago my stepfather David was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Symptoms, which vary from person to person and change over time, include stiff muscles, tremors, body freezing, swallowing problems, anxiety, and dementia.

“Five years ago, David underwent deep brain stimulation, brain surgery that changed his life and extended his quality of life in ways we never could have imagined. Parkinson’s disease is unfortunately a one-way ticket and it’s heartbreaking to watch him suffer.

“Currently there is no cure, so medication, surgery and therapy are only slowing this debilitating disease. Funding research to improve the results of these treatments is essential, but the main objective of the association is to find a cure remains at the forefront of its research ambitions.

“For more than three years, he had undergone more than 90 general anesthesias, 60 radiotherapy sessions and more than 30 hours of surgery. Unfortunately, none of this was enough to save him.

Donate to help vital research for Parkinson’s UK and The Brain Tumor Charity: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TeamSahasa.



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