Wigan duo prepare to take on Mount Everest

Steven Spicer and Matthew Smith will trek to Everest base camp next year, a trip which they hope will raise much needed funds for Alzheimer’s research, and also a borough care home for residents with dementia.

The lifelong friends, from Winstanley, were inspired to take on the gruelling challenge after learning the devastating effects of dementia.

Steven, 26, said: “Randomly, an advert come up on my facebook from the Alzheimer’s society to walk to Everest base camp.

“After clicking on it and reading up, I learned that it’s is now the biggest killer in the UK. After reading that, I 100 per cent wanted to do it.”

And when he turned to 25-year-old pal Matthew to travel to Everest with him, the former RAF servicemen-turned-personal trainer immediately said yes.

The trek will not take place until April 2020, but it is a challenge the pair are already preparing for.

“During the summer we’re going to be doing more training, climbing Snowdon and Scafell to get more experience,” said Steven, who works at Manchester Airport.

“I’ve always wanted to do something challenging and set myself a fitness goal such as Machu Picchu or Mount Kilimanjaro,” he said.

“It would be a massive achievement and something you could look back on proudly - which walking to the base camp of the world’s tallest mountain would be!

“It’s something you can tell the grand kids about when you’re older. As soon as I saw it, I thought I had to do it.”

Steven and Matthew have lined up a series of events to kickstart their fund-raising, including auctioning signed sports memorabilia, sponsored bag-packing at supermarkets and even a karting event at the Three Sisters race track in Ashton.

Should they successfully reach their goal, they will donate £9,400 to the Alzheimer’s Society.

Any additional cash they generate will be going to the Woodlands Court care home in Aspull, which looks after residents with dementia, where Steven’s mother-in-law Mikinda is the manager.

“She’s always trying to raise money for her home to enable her residents to live a better quality of life and enable them access the local community,” said Steven.

“Last year alone they raised nearly £2000 and this went towards trips to Blackpool and Southport, taking the residents swimming on a weekly basis and to dementia cafes. Their biggest expense is the transport.”

To find out more information about the Everest base camp expedition, and to donate to the cause, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/wigandementia