Thanks for taking the time to see what Jen and I are upto.

We will be trekking from Jiri to Everest Base Camp in 26 days for the Motor Neurone DIsease Association in memory of my mum Gloria Stuart who passed away on August 22nd 2012 after battling MND with all her strength.

Last August Jen and I set off around the world to travel, explore, meet people and perhaps more importantly spend some quality time together away from the pressures of home.

We have had an amazing trip and seen some amazing sights and met some truly amazing people. All of this could never have been done without my mum. Unfortunately for all of us, it was her death that gave us this opportunity and so we want to end our trip with our way of saying thank you and to hopefully make a difference for other families facing their own battles:

We want to raise as much as we can for the Motor Neurone Disease Assocaition to ensure that all families who are struck by this terrible and incurable disease receive as much care, help and attention as is possible.

With so many people doing so many amazing feats and asking for donations to support their causes we realised we would have to come up with something special and we think we have...

We will be following in the footsteps of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay and treading the very path they trod all the way to Everest Base Camp (EBC) from the trailhead at Jiri (and back again!). This is not the usual Everest Base Camp Trek!

In 2011 over 33,000 people trekked to EBC but only 318 walked in from Jiri

It is an additional 160km compared to the usual Namche Bazaar to Everest Base Camp trek

This leaves us with a total of 280km in total

It will be an effective 10,000m elevation gain as we cross the valleys – just to get to Namche Bazaar (the usual start point for EBC treks)

By taking the long, slow walk in we will be helping communities and teahouses in the lower Himalayas who see very few visitors now that the popular trip is flying in and out of Lukla. Personally as well, we will be able to enjoy the spectacular rhododendron forests that bloom in March and April and will remind us of mum at home in Appin Lodge.

So that's why I am here today to ask you to please dig deep in your e-pockets, unclasp your e-wallet and please donate today to help support an incredibly important charity who can help families like mine through what is an incredibly difficult time.

If you do feel able to make a donation then Jen and I would really like it if you could share a memory you have of mum or just a few words about her. It will help make this a wondeful adventure for us.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story and if you have any questions or anything you'd like to say then please drop us a line at nickandjen4@gmail.com - Thanks!

And now a quick message from Just Giving about the donation process:

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