“I didn’t think I would make it to the top”

Monday 05 December 2022

From washing with wet wipes and hand sanitiser to sleeping in icy teahouses and nearly bumping into Bear Grylls... A local air traffic controller has shared how he completed the "gruelling" challenge of ascending 18,000ft on foot to the base camp at Everest, raising £3,000 for charity along the way.

After six months of training long walks and exercise bike rides, Marc Hill set off on his 19-day trek last month after six months of training with long walks and exercise bike rides, with an aim of raising money for Every Child Our Future and Helping Wings.

The main challenge was the cold.

"There was one day when we had a 04:30 start - it was very cold, and my water bottle was freezing on our walk up to Kala Patthar," Marc recalled.

"I was already finding it hard to breathe with the altitude and the cold, and when I forced the bottle open to drink the freezing water it made it even harder. I didn't think I was going to make it to the top, but my fellow team members just said to keep going, and I'm so glad I did. We got to a height of 5,640 metres that day."

Pictured:  "It was very cold, and my water bottle was freezing," recalls Marc.

Overnight, Marc and his team stayed in teahouses - some of which were so cold there was ice on the windows.

"Our washing routine was restricted to wet wipes and hand sanitiser for four days, so a hot shower and a change of clothes back in Kathmandu was most welcome."

Limited communications also proved a challenge.

Part-way through his trip, Marc learned through a single text from work that a plane carrying two people he knew had ditched off Jersey. After receiving a second text letting him know the incident was "closed", but with no indication of the outcome, he borrowed the phone of a fellow hiker who had paid for Wi-Fi to find out what had happened.

The group Marc was with remained environmentally conscious throughout their trip, holding onto their plastic waste for two days and carrying it from Namche Bazaar to Lukla, where it was recycled.

The trip also provided an opportunity to observe how locals powered their homes.

Pictured: Marc carrying his bag of litter.

"We saw donkeys carrying two full gas bottles each, as gas is used to power appliances higher up the mountains where there is no electricity.

"Solar panels are also becoming more popular, and we saw an ingenious contraption consisting of a solar panel with a kettle dangling above it, ready to use the power of the sun to make a cup of tea."

While at Khumjung, the largest Sherpa village in Khumbu, the team came across a film crew who were working with the son and grandson of Edmund Hilary.

And they heard that they had missed bumping into Bear Grylls, one of the youngest climbers ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest, by just two weeks.

Pictured: Some of the solar panels Marc spotted.

Reflecting on the "trip of a lifetime", Marc said that it was "at times gruelling and incredibly tough", but noted that "the scenery and comradery made it all worthwhile."

"...The sense of achievement is unbelievable, particularly knowing that people have been so generous when giving to worthy causes, and that people in Jersey will benefit.  The only question is, where to next? The sky's the limit!" 

It's not too late to donate - you can still do so HERE.