Trek for Life
39 members and 1 visitor attended our May meeting when Tina Oldfield gave us a talk on “Trek for Life.” Tina’s daughter was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2004 at the age of 24 having been told on 3 occasions that it was nothing to worry about. She fought the disease for 2 years before dying at the age of 26 leaving behind a husband and 2 young children.
To help with her grief and to do something in her memory Tina and 3 others decided that they would do the challenging “Trek for Life” to Everest Base Camp. After 13 months of training, obtaining sponsorship and equipment from companies like Rock Face they set off in the Easter Holidays of 2006.
She showed us slides of the various basic lodges they stayed in along the way together with the incredible landscape and birdlife. Their two porters carried their equipment and clothing which they needed as they climbed to higher altitudes and their guide mapped out their route. At various times they suffered with altitude sickness and found it difficult to even eat (apart from Mars bars which never posed a problem) and supplemented their meagre diet.
At just 500 meters from Base Camp they got snowed in and upon the advice of their guide that it would be impossible to continue in the time that they had allocated for this trip they had to go back down. It was just as well they took the advice as they heard that 3 Sherpa’s had died in a landslide the next day. However there and then they made a pact to come back the following year to complete the walk that they had begun and indeed successfully completed it then. It was an amazing feat and something we all thought was fantastic. Tina continues to raise money for breast Cancer and, on this occasion, she is donating half her fee to the Nepalese Earthquake cause.
Our next meeting is on June when Chris South will give us “A Masterclass in Propagation.”
Details of all our meetings and speakers can be found on the diary of the home page of the Winstred 100 website. If you would like further information about P.A.W.S please ring either of the following committee members: Alice Holmes 01206 735510 or Jane Anderson 01206 735505.
