Everest challenge for students

The attempt to reach the base camp of Mount Everest late next year is the most ambitious project ever developed by Northallerton College.

Those selected will also be given the opportunity to reach the summit of the 20,000ft-high Imja Tse mountain, better known as Island Peak.

Headed by former soldier Dave Bunting - a veteran of ten Himalayan trips and the leader of the Army's recent attempt to conquer Everest via its notorious West Ridge - the journey has been designed to offer an experience that money cannot buy.

The pioneering project is a partnership between the college, Leeds Metropolitan University - which will also send a group out to the mountains - and the organisation MyPeakPotential.

A selection day will be held next month and once the small group considered capable of tackling the challenge has been chosen, the students will go through a demanding 18-month training programme to prepare for the expedition.

They training will take them to the Bavarian Alps, as well as the Lake District and the Peak District.

The students will also have to raise the necessary funds, which have yet to be determined.

They will be supported all the way by famed mountaineer Alan Hinkes, a college old boy and the first British climber to have conquered all 14 of the world's highest mountains, who is accompanying them all the way.

The college's joint head of PE, Matt Uffindall, said: "The scale of this project is absolutely immense. We've never done anything like it before.

"We're now beginning the process of selecting our team and the students who are chosen will go through a real life-changing experience."

Mr Bunting added: "Nobody should be in any doubt that this will be challenging for people, maybe even a little scary.

"But this is not just about four weeks in the mountains next October. It is an 18-month project that will require real qualities - commitment, teamwork, loyalty, honesty, communication, physical fitness and many more."