Fundraising Appeal
Brothers’ Bid for Everest
Ruairidh and Fionnlagh raised a total of £2,520
Brothers, Ruairidh and Fionnlagh Finlayson have climbed some of the highest altitude peaks in the world.
Their successful ascents of high peaks, include:
- Stok Kangri (India, 6,114 m, 20187 ft)
- Cotopaxi (Equador, 5,987 m, 19347 ft)
- Mont Blanc (highest in Western Europe
4,810 m,15,781 ft)
- Aconcagua (highest in South America,
6,962 m, 22,841 ft)
On 24th September 2009, the brothers set their sights even higher and summited Cho Oyu (Nepal/Tibet). At a staggering height of 8,201m/26,906 ft, Cho Oyu is the 6th highest mountain in the world.
Recollecting their victorious ascent, “We had a few issues with oxygen masks; otherwise it was a luckily uneventful night and a beautiful morning. We got to Camp 2 (7,100 metres/23, 3000 ft) at 3pm, where we melted a few precious litres of water and grabbed an hours sleep.
We left for the summit at 10pm and it took 8.5 hours to reach the summit.
We have no idea what kind of time it took to get down. Exhaustion had got the better of us by that point! Put simply, that was by far the hardest expedition we have ever undertaken.”
This, whilst being a severe challenge in itself, was a means to an end – the end being an attempt by the brothers to summit Mount Everest in May 2010, the highest mountain in the world at 8,848m (29,029ft)! The brothers were able to see their next target from the summit of Cho Oyu, which they both described as “slightly surreal”.
Training Plan
This expedition will involve the brothers living for two months on the mountain in a tent, whilst enduring temperatures of below -30°C and extreme altitudes. Although they are joining one of the best expedition groups on this amazing expedition, the threat of serious injury from crevasse breakthrough, avalanche, frost bite or altitude is very real.
“Since returning from Cho we have been to France to rock climb. Next we are off to Patagonia for load training and the Antarctic to ice climb. After that we are travelling in Africa, finishing with ascents of Kilimanjaro via the Western
Breach and Mt Kenya, a high altitude technical rock and snow climb. Hopefully all this will be ideal training
and preparation.
Why We Chose CAIRN?
"During our recent visits to Nepal and Tibet, we witnessed the poverty suffered in particular by the children of the area. If we manage to reach our target, The CAIRN Trust can build a library to further child education in Nepal, so please donate as generously as possible. Every penny goes to the charity as we are financing the expedition independently.”
