Happy Birthday Steve Williams!

15th April 2011

Steve Williams is spending his 35^th birthday preparing to climb the highest mountain in the world alongside Richard Parks and his world first 737 Challenge.

Steve and Richard fly to Kathmandu in Nepal tomorrow to start their epic quest to climb Mount Everest, less than a week after successfully reaching the Geographic North Pole in conditions of -40c and dicing with the constant danger of the ever moving sea ice.

Steve is spending his birthday packing and organising gear to take on the 8,850m, 29,036ft giant.  He said; “I am used to being away or in race mode on my birthday.  When I was rowing, this time of year was the trialling process or when I was younger I spent it in training camps so I have rarely been home for a normal birthday so to speak since I was about 12!  I had a couple of year’s worth of birthday’s at home after the Beijing Olympics but being in preparation mode on my Birthday is a pretty normal thing for me!”.

As well as packing his gear, Steve is spending the day shopping for essential food for Everest, he added; “If there’s one thing we have learnt so far from our own experiences or from others it’s that by the time you get to camp 3 and 4 on Everest, at that altitude you just don’t fancy eating the freeze dried food, so I am off to the shops to stock up on sweets, noodles, food that I will genuinely want to eat at that height”.

The two-times Olympic gold medallist and former Welsh rugby international are hoping to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sir Ranulph Fiennes by reaching the summit of the world’s highest mountain.

They will follow the famous South Col route, which Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary used when they became the first climbers to reach the summit of Everest 58 years ago in 1953.

Mount Everest marks the 7th leg of Richard Parks’ 9-leg challenge.  So far he has been climbing, trekking and skiing for over 4 months and has travelled an amazing 244,635 metres.  He’s successfully conquered 4 of the famous 7 summits and 2 of the 3 poles on his challenge (Everest is considered the 3^rd pole as the roof of the world).

A LOOK BACK AT THE NORTH POLE

Click below to view some of the pictures from Richard and Steve's amazing ski of the last degree to the North Pole.

Also click below to listen to exclusive interviews from the North Pole as well as Richard and Steve talking about the dangers they faced in the Arctic.

Richard and Steve would like your help to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care.  The 737 Challenge is aiming to raise £1 million pounds in aid of Marie Curie and your help or donation really can make a difference to people’s lives so please donate now to support Richard and Steve as they begin their quest to climb Mount Everest.

View pictures from the North Pole
Listen to interviews from the North Pole
Donate now and help Richard and Steve raise funds in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.