EVEREST TWICE

It’s just over one year since the Nepal earthquake killed over 8,000 people and injured more than 21,000 as well as devastating the mountain kingdom’s fragile infrastructure.

Ever since then, the global climbing and trekking community have been trying to help – both on the ground and by fundraising worldwide – as well as trying to ensure that vital climbing and trekking tourism revenue continues to flow into Nepal.

Rupert Jones Warner, aged just 24, was in Nepal when the earthquake happened last year and is now back in the country attempting to set a new record by becoming the first Briton and the youngest in the world to climb Mount Everest twice.

In order to break the existing record, Rupert will need to climb both the Nepalese and Tibetan sides of the Earth’s highest mountain consecutively. This attempt has only ever been accomplished once before, by a Mexican named David Liaño – who was then 33. Rupert was trying to set this same record, aged 23, a year ago when the earthquake struck, but he is back to try again.

Fundraising

Rupert is taking on this challenging task in the name of charity and has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise an ambitious £50,000. The money raised will help raise funds for Chestnut Tree House, the children’s hospice for East and West Sussex and South East Hampshire, as well as covering the cost of essential equipment for his Everest 2K16 expedition.
“I am very passionate about supporting the only children’s hospice in Sussex as I feel my family would have greatly benefited from such a service when my younger brother was receiving treatment for a life-threatening heart defect as a child,” said Rupert. “I am so grateful to everybody who has already donated to my GoFundMe page, and although I am nervous about taking on a challenge that many view as impossible, I know this great cause will keep me motivated.”
Rupert’s Everest 2K16 expedition is already underway and will last a total of 70 days. Temperatures will drop below -40°C, winds will reach up to 100mph (160kph) and Rupert will be tested by an altitude of over 8,000m, which is now universally known as the “Death Zone” due to the effect it has on your body. If he’s successful, Rupert will return in early June.

Everest Twice, Take Two

Rupert’s Mount Everest expedition began a year and a half ago; however, six weeks into the initial expedition in April 2015, Rupert was caught up in the devastating Nepalese earthquake which was the worst to hit the country in 80 years, and considers himself lucky to have come out alive.
Although that experience was incredibly tough, Rupert has come back fighting and is determined to re-attempt breaking this world record.
“At Chestnut Tree House we are familiar with young people tackling the unimaginable; we help children and young people to make the most of their lives, however short. Rupert is an amazing young man and we wish him all the luck in the world for his incredible challenge,” said Linda Perry, Director of Children’s Services at Chestnut Tree House. gofundme.com/everest2k16

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