A father and son from West Kirby are attempting to climb to the summit of Mount Everest to raise vital funds for a dementia charity.
Paul and Aaron Anderson, an aspiring mountaineer and guide, will attempt to reach the summit on Monday 27 May in aid of Dementia UK.
They are planning to take the same route as George Mallory and Sandy Irvine did in 1924, just days before the 100-year anniversary of the British mountaineers’ final and fatal attempt at reaching the summit.
The pair, aged 56 and 22, are avid and experienced climbers. They have both previously visited the Everest region in Nepal, and Paul has previously been part of a team that reached the North Col on Everest and set the Guinness World Record for the highest dinner party in the world, raising over £250,000 for Community Action Nepal.
Paul and Aaron decided to take on this fundraising challenge in honour of their mother and grandmother, who has vascular dementia and is living in a care home on the Wirral.
Paul said: “We have witnessed first-hand the daily challenges of living with dementia. That’s why we are taking on the ultimate challenge of climbing Everest to raise enough money to fund two new dementia specialist Admiral Nurses who offer life-changing support to families facing the condition.”
Admiral Nurses are continually supported and developed by Dementia UK, to provide life-changing advice and support to anyone affected by dementia, whenever it’s needed. They work on the free national Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline, in face-to-face and virtual clinics, and in the community, in GP practices, hospitals, and care homes.
Joanna Sullivan, Head of Community Fundraising, Events and Innovation at Dementia UK said: “We are so grateful to Paul and Aaron for taking on this awe-inspiring challenge for Dementia UK.
“One in two of us will be affected by dementia in our lifetime – either by caring for someone with the condition, developing it ourselves, or both. It can be exhausting and overwhelming, not only for the person with dementia, but also for the people caring for them, and their wider family and friends.
“Thanks to the hard work of our amazing fundraisers like Paul and Aaron, more families than ever will be able to access the life-changing support offered by our Admiral Nurses.”
Paul and Aaron will be attempting the route first taken by Mallory and Irvine in 1924 on the north side of Everest, beginning in Tibet and climbing to the summit at 8,849m.
To sponsor Paul and Aaron, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/paul-aaron-anderson-1688718853209.
