Story
Hello and thanks for visiting my fundraising page.
"Jump off Mt Everest!? You must be bonkers!"
Well, perhaps I am. But it's gonna be fun!
And it was fun! It was amazing! We had all sorts of adventures, including saving the life of a local boy with acute appendicitis, and the jump itself was mind-blowing. Taking off from 12,500' it took about 45 minutes to get up to the exit altitude of 29,500'. We flew right up close to the south face of Everest and then buzzed the other high peaks as well. Eventually we could see right over the top of Everest into Tibet - mountains from horizon to horizon - then we opened the door and stepped out into it! We had a minute in freefall with Everest dominating the view and then about 7 minutes under canopy, gently floating through the mountains to get back down to the airfield at Syangboche, just above Namche Bazaar.
It has been a fantastic adventure and I am very pleased to have been able to use it to raise funds for the FPO. Thank you to everyone for all your support and donations.
Original text continued:
Actually, we don't jump off the mountain itself. We exit the aircraft at about 29,500ft and freefall for a minute or so with Everest just nearby. The landing area is at 12,500ft, the height we normally jump out at! So that's a drop of about 17,000ft. At that altitude we will be falling very fast - probably more than 200mph. We'll need oxygen, whacking great parachutes and very warm jumpsuits.
Nobody has ever done this before. It will be a world first and will go down in the record books. It is being organised by 'High & Wild'.
This is probably one of the most challenging things I have ever done and I am working really hard to do all the training. I need to have done a total of at least 200 jumps by the end of August, so I am at it pretty much flat out at every opportunity.
I am covering all the costs myself. So every penny I raise goes to the FPO.
The FPO (see the panel on the left) does a lot of really great work for babies, children and their families. Taking children from pain and misery to health and happiness has been one of the most rewarding things for me as an osteopath, especially when it also gives the exhausted parents their lives back. The FPO quietly helps many, many families and provides excellent training for graduate osteopaths. Please donate as generously as you can - even if it's just a fiver! Thanks.
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Foundation for Paediatric Osteopathy gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.
Thank you for your help - and keep spreading the word!