If you thought it was cold here, you haven’t been to Everest! Years 5 to 8 substituted spending an hour in prep to attend a fascinating and inspiring lecture by Dom Faulkner titled ‘Everest – The longest climb’. In 2006 Dom Faulkner led a team of fifteen individuals from the lowest point on Earth to the highest. The expedition named EVERESTMAX starting on the shores of the Dead Sea in Israel and cycled to the base of Everest and continued on foot at the summit of Everest in Nepal, the world's highest peak at 29,029 feet (8,848m). The journey took the group around 6 months to complete and saw them faced with many challenges throughout the dangerous 8000km journey; these included political issues whilst passing through country to country, and weather conditions ranging from sand storms to -40 degrees temperatures! Although the group encountered these challenges, their determination, self motivation and teamwork spurred them on. The boys were engrossed in the talk and had lots of questions to ask at the end, including “Did you see the abominable snowman?!”. The expedition raised over £50,000 which was split between three charities, SOS Children's Villages, Practical Action and Merlin.