‘Lifechanging’ Everest Basecamp trek sees friends raise thousands for Portsmouth based charity Friends Fighting Cancer
‘It’s just the best feeling in the world’
A Hayling Island man has returned from a “life-changing” trek to Everest Basecamp in Nepal where he and his friend raised nearly £3,000 for a Portsmouth cancer charity.
Lea Jackson, 58, undertook the gruelling 13 day trek last month to raise funds for Friends Fighting Cancer and he found the challenge much tougher than he expected. It was all worth it though as he stood at the peak of his ascent on Kala Patthar, just shy of 5,700 metres above sea level, and watched the sunrise over the mountains.
Lea said: “It was a life-changing experience. It was tough but brilliant.”
Travelling with his friend Brannen Sime, the duo are no stranger to tests of endurance having already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro together. However, Everest proved to be a different beast.
Lea said: “Once you get above 4,000 metres it affects your breathing. As you get higher you are almost on half a breath. I tried putting some videos on socials for Friends Fighting Cancer and when people heard it they said my breathing sounded really bad, but you just have to get used to it.”
One of the main dangers when climbing at that height is altitude sickness and unfortunately for Brennan it started to affect him ahead of three tough days of climbing. On the way up the mountain they passed climbers who had not heeded the warning and were receiving emergency treatment at the side of the path. On advice, Brannen made the sensible choice to stop.
Lea said: “When you are around the 5,000 mark you know there is a good chance of altitude sickness and your breathing gets worse. There is no air so it is what it is. Bran did amazing on Kilimanjaro so he had experience of what it was like and he made the right decision. There was three massive days ahead of us and the air was only going to get thinner.”
Having made friends with the group of climbers they were heading up with, Lea pushed on to reach basecamp.
He said: “It was a surreal moment to get to Everest Basecamp. The following day we had to get to the top of Kala Patthar which was without doubt the toughest day. That took us to just below 5,700 and it was the only time the sickness hit me badly. Half hour from the top I had the dizziness but we made it.”
The view from the top made the struggle worthwhile.
Lea said: “It is hard to describe, it is unbelievable. Anyone that can do anything like this has got to do it, it’s just the best feeling in the world.”
It was made all the sweeter knowing that he had done it for a good cause, one that is close to his heart. His fundraising challenges started eight years ago when his dad was diagnosed with cancer.
Lea said: “It was a proud moment. For me it is about the mental strength of getting things done. With cancer at the moment and how it has affected me and my family, I have close friends going through it at the moment as well. My children have lost both of their grandads, so to help raise money to fight it is good.”
To donate to Lea’s JustGiving page click here.