18 Jun 19
Walk for Nepal 2019
This June, we ran our fourth Walk for Nepal challenge. Having already scaled Britain’s three highest peaks, we decided to cross the sea to Ireland, to tackle Carrauntoohil. We have put together a short photo-journal, documenting the journey from start to finish. Our challenges help us raise funds to support our work in Nepal, if you are interested in getting involved next year, keep reading to the bottom of this page.
We assembled at the foot of Carrauntoohil after breakfast. The weather was looking good and spirits were high. Some people were meeting each other for the first time, others after a long time apart; our awnings were full to the brim with smiling faces.
After a briefing from the mountain guides, we set off on our first ascent of the day. The earlier part of the walk took us by some beautiful lakes.
With the lakes behind us, it was time to tackle ‘Devil’s Ladder’, a scrambling section which felt like proper mountaineering. Lorraine, our Trusts and Foundations Officer, wishes she had taken more photographs at this point, but she was too busy climbing! We’ll have to make do with the view from the top. We then stopped off to have a well-deserved rest, and some Jelly Babies. The guides told us that they were impressed with our snack provisions, we do like to be well prepared.
But we weren’t there yet. The team set off again on our next ascent, lead for a stretch by our Trustee, Margaret Lally. This time, to the top of Carrauntoohil.
We were very lucky with the weather. A little bit of mist near the peak was the most we had to worry about. Spirits were high for the final push; teammates were sharing stories from their previous hikes and climbs all over the world. The entire team made it to the top by 1pm, there we were presented with badges and posed for the obligatory group photo.
Although we had reached the summit, the uphill climbs were not quite over. We headed downhill for a while before ascending yet another peak. The guides assured us that the views were worth the climb, they were! We had one final group photo, this time without any mist.
Whilst we rested, the guides told us about some local history and other good walks nearby. From here, we started heading downhill and finally made it back to the campsite for 4.30pm. Certificates were presented alongside cups of tea, and the team unwound after another successful Walk for Nepal. We were gifted with another amazing team of people this year. We would like to thank everyone once again for helping make this year’s challenge one to remember.
If you have been inspired by this photo-journal, then chances are that you would enjoy the real thing even more! Our spring 2020 Walk for Nepal is aiming to be bigger than ever. To celebrate 15 years of PHASE Worldwide, we will be hosting a special challenge which aims to bring together teammates from our previous four walks. If you would be interested in getting involved, please email Ben at: ben@phaseworldwide.org. If you have any recommendations for where we should walk next, please let us know.