Peak of Ambition
Above: Mountain
Above: Having a rest
Sussex Life
TWELVE years ago, inspired by Rebecca Stevens the first British woman to climb Everest, Mike Davey had a dream – to reach the summit of Everest.
In 2005 he almost made it but following the tragic death of fellow climber Rob Milne, just 500 metres from the top, he was forced to abandon the trip, leaving his friend on the mountain.
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Now Mike and his team of ten are going back, determined to make it to the top. “Our main objective is to get to the top but we think it’s important that we pay our respects to Rob by helping to build a monument. I didn’t know him before the trip but I tented with him the night before the ascent and you do get quite close to people in these situations.”
Mike, from Burgess Hill, leaves for the climb on April 3 and Sussex Life is proud to support him and his chosen charity, CHASE. Mike’s from Burgess Hill and is a seasoned climber who has climbed all over the world. He has tackled peaks in North Wales, the Alps, Tibet, Elbrus in Russia, and Cho Oyu – the sixth highest mountain in the world, just 20 km west of Everest. Cho Oyu was his first exposure to really high altitudes. “It is the altitude that makes climbing dangerous. You have to go up, then come down again, go up a little higher and then down again, in order to acclimatise your body. If you went straight to the top without acclimatisation you would die.” The last time Mike tackled Everest was much the same time of year - he joined an expedition and moved into base camp to wait for the right weather conditions. This time will be the same. He will wait with the Sherpa guides until the time is right. There is no certainty that the expedition would have reached the summit in 2005 but they were only 500 vertical metres away from their goal when Rob collapsed. Having spent one and a half hours on the mountain with him – it was by then 6am and the weather was beginning to deteriorate – they had to head back down the mountain.
Click here to read the full article in the Sussex Life digital archive
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