Hubbard Ice sponsors Himalayan cancer relief challenge
18 August 2010
Hubbard Ice Systems is sponsoring a two-man team undertaking the amateur mountaineering challenges – The Island Peak Challenge 2010
Following in the footsteps of Hillary and Tensing, Darren Nolan a 34-year-old Midlands-based Refrigeration Service Engineer for Flowrite Services and his climbing partner Scott Bushell of Northampton are aiming to raise funds for Cancer Research by climbing the 20305 ft Himalayan peak, which sits alongside Mount Everest, in October 2010.
Hubbard Ice System’s £1,000 contribution has enabled the fearless duo to commence early training for the gruelling 17-day challenge. The test of stamina and mental endurance will require the pair to trek through the Himalayas for nine days before stopping at Everest Base Camp in Nepal to acclimatise at an altitude of 5,360 metres (17,590 ft).
They will then set out on the four-day ascent of Imja Tse (Island Peak) at temperatures of minus 15 degrees Celsius and little oxygen due to the thin atmosphere.
Imja Tse, known as Island Peak, is set in eastern Nepal. The peak was named Island Peak in 1951 by Eric Shipton’s party acknowledging its appearance as an island in a sea of ice. The peak was renamed Imja Tse in 1983.
Imja Tse was first climbed by a British team in 1953 as a training exercise for the conquest of Everest. Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was one of the members of the first ascent team.
From base camp the Hubbard Ice sponsored pair will move on to high camp through a broad open gully. At the top of the gully a glacier begins and proceeds up to a steep snow and ice slope. Here an exhausting ascent of nearly 100m (330ft) to the summit ridge begins.
The climb to the summit is known for its difficulty owing to the steepness of the climbing. At the summit Mount Everest is ten kilometres to the north but the pair’s view will be blocked by the massive wall of Lhotse, towering 2,300 m (7,500ft) above them.
Tem leader Darren Nolan says; “I have been a refrigeration engineer for 6 years and with the cold climate in the Himalayas expected to be between minus 10 and minus 15 degrees my day-to-day working experience in and out of cold stores and freezers is going to be very useful in helping me to acclimatise quickly.
We hope to raise a substantial sum for Cancer Research, which is a charity close to my heart as my wife successfully beat breast cancer in 1993 and made a full recovery. We will be keeping all of our supporters and sponsors updated on our progress through ‘Twitter’ and ‘Facebook’ which can be found at www.hubbardicesystems.co.uk/islandpeak as long as our fingers don’t succumb to frostbite’.
Hubbard Ice Systems, which is the UK distributor for Scotsman Ice-Making Machines, says it's pleased to be sponsoring this cause and anyone else wishing to support Darren and Scott can make donations to Cancer Research Island Peak Challenge 2010, online at www.justgiving.com/islandpeak or by visiting www.hubbardicesystems.co.uk and following the progress of the pair on the Island Peak News page.
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