Just a little over a week into the Himalayan Trust Summit Challenge to climb the equivalent height of Everest in the month of March (that’s 8,848m – 29,029ft!). So far I’ve come in just under one third completed with 2,812m climbed as of Saturday.

The Himalayan Trust was set up by Sir Edmund Hillary himself (who with Tenzing Norgay were the first to summit Everest) as a way to provide education, clean water, and more to those in the Himalayan region. Funds raised this year are contributing to the building of a water supply system. The earthquake-resistant design provides safe, filtered water to every home in the village and provides a reliable source of water to irrigate crops. For women particularly, the new system means they no longer have to spend hours fetching water to meet their family’s daily needs and can increase their income by growing cash crops to sell at the local market.

Take a look through some pictures throughout the week of walking including climbing to the highest point on the Banks Peninsula local to Christchurch. More mountainous territory is on the books for the next few weeks. Keep up to date with progress highlights through Facebook. Please consider donating if you can via my challenge page!