I am delighted to write that at 6 o’clock this morning (Nepal Time), 5 of our climbers stood on the top of the world! Raymond, Steve, Jonathan, Neill and Fergal set off on their epic journey at 10 0’clock the night before in minus temperatures as low as 25 degrees. They had all felt very strong the day before when they reached the final campsite on the mountain at 8300m. They only had time at this campsite to rest for awhile before melting enough snow for a litre of water each for their summit push, and to try and eat something.

Raymond radioed me after he had climbed the notorious second step, which he reached with Dahwah Sherpa in good time at just after 3 o’clock this morning. He sounded in good spirits, and felt that the supplementary oxygen was helping him. He radioed again from the summit at a quarter to 6, where we had an emotional conversation through his whoops of delight at being on the summit of Mount Everest. He had reached the top of the world just as dawn had broken and he described one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. The other climbers were not far behind, with Jangbu Sherpa and Lila Tamon, both high altitude climbers. The team only had time to briefly take in the view and pose for photographs before they started on their journey back down past the campsite at 8300m to the more comfortable camp at 7700m. They have reached this campsite and so our families, friends and supporters can all breathe a large sigh of relief! The team hope to take 2 days to reach ABC, where they will rejoin with Geoffrey Weir. Geoffrey, who has been suffering from a bad head cold and slight altitude cough, made the wise decision not to go any higher on the mountain.

I am so proud of each of the 6 climbers, they have made wise decisions, climbed into the unknown and achieved greater heights than most people will ever dream of. -