A 61-year-old Aldbourne man, who aims to become the first over-60 to climb the North Ridge of Mount Everest and only the second to reach the summit, is waiting for a ‘summit window’ to make his final ascent.
As well as entering the record books, company director Simon Knighton also hopes to raise £100,000 for the charity Age UK and local good causes during the 69-day challenge.
Simon and his fellow climbers (pictured) arrived at base camp – 5,200m above sea level – at the beginning of April, and have been acclimatising to the altitude before tackling the ascent to the summit – at 8,848m (29,029ft) – within the next few days.
Talking about the about the challenges of his climb before he left the UK, Simon said: “I’m by no means a professional mountaineer, and climbing Mount Everest will be the greatest challenge of my life.
“I’ve been training for the climb for a year and whilst I feel confident I can tackle Everest, I know that luck will have a significant part to play in my success.
He added: “I’m dedicating the expedition to Age UK and local charitable organisations as I feel that we should all have access to health and wellbeing services in later life.
“I’m also hoping my experience will inspire others to set themselves a personal challenge and do something extraordinary for charity.”
People can follow Simon’s day-by-day account of life on the North Face, where night time temperatures reach -20c – at www.myeverest.org.uk or via Twitter at @myeverest
To donate to Simon’s Mount Everest climb – which has already raised almost £4,500 – visit www.justgiving.com/simon-knighton