Everest beckons for charitable Wigan climbers

Student James Fairhurst, from Standish, along with dad Neil, uncle John and cousin Patrick, will venture to the base camp of the world’s highest mountain next month, and are using the trip to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society.

Everest has two base camps, one on its north side in Nepal and another on its southern side in Tibet.

Both are more than 5,000 metres above sea level and are used as campsites for climbers during their ascent and descent, and are also popular among tourists who are not taking on the summit.

And while the thought of Mount Everest’s base camp alone - never mind the summit - is an understandably daunting one for most people, James and his family are taking it all in their stride.

James, 22, said: “We did a trip about five years ago around the Alps, and we really enjoyed doing that.

“It was really challenging, but we decided to take it a step further and go for what we considered a bigger challenge.”

He added: “The next step now is getting all our kit and all the gear we need to buy.”

The group will set off for base camp on March 20, and will spend two weeks reaching base camp and spending the night there, before heading home in early April.

The daring family members had decided on visiting Everest as a personal challenge, before James decided they should use their adventure for a good cause.

James, who is studying business management at Edge Hill University, said: “At first it wasn’t meant to be a charity thing, it was just a challenge for us.

Me, my dad and my uncle like doing this stuff.

“We decided to do it for charity because my nan has suffered from vascular dementia for the past 10 years or so, and it’s slowly getting worse.

“I thought that because the Alzheimer’s Society is doing a lot for people in similar positions, it might be good to give something back.”

Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or a series of strokes.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common, but others include Vascular dementia and Frontotemporal dementia.

The Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading dementia charity.

It funds research to find a cure for the disease and supports people living with it.

Someone develops dementia every three minutes in the UK and there is currently no cure.

Donations can be made to the fund-raising page at justgiving.com/fundraising/fairhurst2everest