THEY did it! Three brave men, Grant Edwards, his brother Scott Edwards, and Richard Cosgrove made it to Everest Base Camp all in aid of local children’s hospice, Hope House.

The men set off on the adventure of a lifetime on April 12 and after a shaky start (upon landing at Lukla when the plane behind them crashed, resulting in the airport being shut for two days) they began their trek through the Himalayas to Everest base camp.

The 140 kilometre round trip trek took them to the Everest base camp and back to Lukla over a period of nine days.

During these days they experienced hard trekking through rough terrains, rugged valleys, a succession of Sherpa villages with incredible mountain views and over high suspension bridges.

The group battled altitude sickness, near misses and extreme temperatures and conditions with 60 per cent less oxygen than at sea level but remembering why they were doing such a challenge kept them going in difficult times.

“It took us nine testing days but after over 5,400 metres of climbing we dropped down into Everest Base Camp,” said Grant Edwards “The feeling was amazing and we were so proud to put Hope House on top of the world and to have been able to make a difference to so many local children and families”

Hope House is close to our hearts as many of our friends and families have received care and support from them when they really needed it,” said Scott Edwards and Richard Cosgrove.

“We are honoured to have made a difference to these incredible families with our challenge. Thank you so much to everyone who generously donated and for the wonderful messages of encouragement throughout”.

The adventurers chose to self-fund their trip therefore every penny of the £3,716.80 that they raised will ensure that every child and family who needs support from Hope House receives just that.

“What an achievement! We enjoyed following the guys progress on social media and felt really emotional when we saw they have reached base camp,” said Lynsey Kilvert Hope House fundraiser.

“The amount the team raised is amazing and we cannot thank Grant, Scott and Rich enough for their support.”