CORE CONGREGANTS TO CLIMB EVEREST

Two congregants from CORE Church of Ireland Church in Thomas' Street are going to attempt to scale Mount Everest in May this year to raise money for Fields of Life. If Graham Kinch and Ian Taylor succeed they will be the first Dubliner (Graham) and the first Kildare person (Ian) and the youngest Irish Males to stand on the top of the world.

The two have already undertaken several climbs in preparation for the attempt including Mont Blanc in the Alps, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Cero Aconcagua (the highest mountain in the world outside of Asia). They hope to raise over €86,000 (€1 for every foot of mountain climbed) for the Kitandwe school project in Uganda under the auspices of Fields of Life.

Graham Kinch said, "Sitting in a bus high in the Peruvian Andes in October 2005 Ian and I started talking about the lack of oxygen and the conversation lead onto the idea of climbing Everest. We discussed for an hour or so about the history and how one would start to climb. One girl on the bus mentioned there were companies running treks to base camp and climbing in the region. The seed was planted and once we came back to Ireland we starting looking at other high altitude climbs we could do and ways in which we could actually test ourselves mentally and physically to see if we could possibility take on a giant like Everest."

"We have now climbed around the world under the guidance of some of the best. We have climbed all around Ireland and in the UK and feel we have a great chance of climbing Everest. We started recruiting climbers interested in this challenge in November 2006 and at one point had twelve people with their sights on Everest. We did climbing trips, weekends away and took people out of their comfort zones to find climbers up for the challenge. As it turns out we are now just two climbers; Ian and I, friends since we were ten embarking on the biggest climbing adventure known to man."

The pair will leave for Everest in mid-March. After allowing time to acclimatize they will undergo six weeks of training which will include climbing up and down part of the mountain, going further each time. They expect to be making an attack on the summit as part of a group of six between the 16th and 29th of May. Regular updates will be available online at their website at www.everest2008.ie.

The two are philosophical about the dangers of a tackling a mountain that has claimed many lives down through the years. Graham remarked "I think it's something you need to be aware of without over dwelling on it. I don't think you do yourself any favours by over dwelling on it. But we've spent over two years preparing for this, planning for this and I think with any activity, be it driving, walking across the road or climbing a mountain, if you understand the risks and prepare for them then you're always minimising them and its just a matter of being smart all the time."

When reflecting on whether or not to take on the challenge it wasn't, according to Graham, the physical danger than caused him to pause. Rather, he said, "it was the time commitment that I'd make for it and the sacrifices that I'd have to make in my personal life etc. I was thinking, 'is it right to put life on hold to a certain extent when the outcome of it is actually quite a selfish one, that I get to the top and enjoy the success of that?'...I prayed a lot about it and I felt the Lord saying...'I will bless you if you make it mine.' So we decided then to get Fields of Life on board at that stage and make it much bigger than what just the two of us were doing and make it a lot more lasting and I believe that although I've got to stay safe I know I have his backing and the protection that comes from that." Ian added, "And that doesn't necessarily mean we get to the top, it just means that we have a successful journey and I just hope myself that whatever happens we come out with a year to remember."

Donations to Fields of Life can be made through the Everest 2008 website at www.everest2008.ie. The two are also currently seeking sponsorship for their expedition. Both also asked that people would join their fellow congregants in CORE and remember them in their prayers during their trip.

For further information contact: Graham 087-4199519.

- ENDS –