There Ain't No Mountain High Enough....

... that will stop me from getting out to poor shot selection and have my bowling (allegedly)spanked around more than Max Mosely in a strange (alleged) Nazi-Themed orgy.

Anyway, let's get the introductions out of the way, my name is Nick, I'm a 27-year-old ex-pat Aussie living in London, and I have been accepted to partake in The Everest Test. For those that don't know, of which there are plenty, I've managed to stumble across a pretty amazing expedition involving trekking to Base Camp of Mt Everest, playing a game of cricket at Gorak Shep, hopefully getting my name in a book sponsored by a beer company, and come back down rich and famous and ready to be photographed with an angry look on my face in-between Abi Titmus and Rebecca Loos. I assume the fame will arise since the game itself, if completed, will officially be the highest game of sport ever played. I don't want to go on about life changing experiences etc as that all seems obvious... and maybe even a little cliché. For all the info you need on the who, why, where, what, and when of the trip, it can currently be found at http://www.atestabovetherest.com/

If you can't be bothered with that, you should know that this isn't just for personal gratification/a chance to bore the hell out of everyone who isn't there with self-righteous personal anecdotes... A fundraising goal of £250,000 (£Shitloads in the old scale) has been set, which will be split between Comic Relief (The UK equivalent of Red Nose Day in Oz), and The Himalayan Trust

Each participant has been set a minimum goal of £1500 (please take into account the unfavourable exchange rate whilst donating). Once the official donation method is decided, I'll be sure to pass it on. There are several fundraising initiatives that are in the pipeline before the trek kicks-off during April 2009, with the jewel in the crown taking the shape of a sports auction and gala dinner in Feb/March next year.

There are some obvious logistical requirements to undertake a trip such as this, with the main question marks hanging over my fitness and ability to commit to a long-term goal. The fact that I was 20 minutes late to the first meeting and struggled to walk up a set of stairs sounded some fairly ominous warnings... And the result from my first-ever bleep test further enhanced those fears. Adding to that was the fact that Wes seemed to take an almost sadistic delight in keeping his handicam trained on me throughout the entire ordeal. Whilst not completely embarrassing myself, 9-6 is not a result to be entirely proud of and needs some work. On the commitment front, I have already proved myself a valuable team member during the boat-races on our first pub crawl (clad entirely in cricket whites), so maybe things are on the up.

So there is a hell of a lot to achieve between now and 'go-time', which you will be kept up to date with diligently over the next 9 months. As you'll find out, there is no subject I love talking about more than myself.

Tooves