Very many thanks for taking the time to visit our Just Giving page. The event may be over but the fund raising goes on.

On 13^th March, 2010 the 2^nd Coeur Blanc Ski Challenge took place in the Méribel Vallée. This was an all day ski event requiring ski teams to complete a full journey on every ski lift in the valley, before the lifts shut. There were 52 lifts open in the valley, some very long and some very short including all the “bunny lifts” in the kindergarten ski schools. In total we travelled in excess of 80 miles, rising in metres more than twice the height of Everest. The conditions were near perfect, clear skies and good snow, with some runs being groomed specially for us by the local authorities (very much appreciated).

It was certainly a test of stamina and of course strategy (route planning). Grateful thanks to Martin Hemsley (our ski instructor) for taking on that mighty task. Fitness and skiing ability became more relevant as we travelled through the magic 3pm time zone - tough long runs with the end not quite in sight. Great news, we finally finished at about 4.15, taking just over 7 hours 20 minutes to complete the challenge.

There is a very real issue behind the event, Information sharing is paramount in all forms of cancer treatment, but no systematic data collection in a single place has ever been achieved for Melanoma in the . 10,000 people are diagnosed each year – a quadrupling since 1970s. It is the most common cancer in young adults.  Cancer treatment is often based on predictions of spread rate and responsiveness to types of treatment. Without the raw data, too much is left to chance, in what is a very difficult cancer to treat. What the database will facilitate is a significant increase in the number of studies regarding epidemiology and outcomes that has not been possible up until now. The source of much success in cancer treatment has been based off rigorous and high quality clinical trials.

The database will be a unique and defined project. The total cost will be approximately £200,000. The treatment centres in the are also defined and limited.  Hence the impact this project can have is substantial, and has the support of all the major treatment centres in the . The project will be co-ordinated and supported by the UK Melanoma Study Group. The funding raised by the Coeur Blanc Ski Challenge will establish the database, and maintain it for the first two years. Thereafter, individual Trusts and Cancer Networks will commit to the ongoing success of the project.  

So in anticipation of your generosity, many thanks from us all.