Going to extremes

On 15th September 2007, Philip Clark, from Suffolk, along with five medical consultants from the University Hospital of North Staffordshire left the level lands of England to ascend the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest point in Western Europe.

Philip and his wife Sarah, who lost her 16 year old cousin Talisa to acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, wanted to raise money for CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA in her memory.

Sarah completed the Great North Run in the 2006 as part of our Mr. Men and Little Miss running team.

In light of this achievement, Philip wanted to do something extraordinary, thus the Mont Blanc expedition was born.

The team trained for three months before setting off on their epic journey and were well looked after by John Taylor of Mont Blanc Guides during the expedition.

For the first three days on the mountain the team learned vital techniques including the crucial acclimatization.

Two very cold nights were spent in mountain huts at around 3600 metres. Philip describes the physical affects of the cold, thin air on the body as ‘not very pleasant’.

Philip recalls the final summit day:“After our 3.45am wake-up call in our base camp refuge hut at 10500 feet, we set off on our epic climb, and at 12.30pm, after a long hard slog, and with a great deal of pride we raised our flag on the summit.

The weather was clear and sunny, but at -10oC (-18 with wind chill) it was bitterly cold; everything froze solid, and with a 5 hour descent back to the hut ahead of us, we had to wait a while before we could celebrate”

Reflecting on his experience, Phillip says

The trip was rather more emotional than I expected as, by pure chance, the summit day coincided with the second anniversary of this sad event.

To date, Phillip and his team have raised over £800 and we thank them for going to extremes to help us save young lives.

You can still make a donation to Philip's expedition - visit their bmycharity website.

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