A WESTBURY couple faced battling winds, minus temperatures and an emergency evacuation helicopter during a fundraising trek to the Everest Base Camp, which raised over £1,000 for Dorothy House.
Setting off, with the adventure ahead of them, Jon and Julie Street’s trek over 13 days was to raise money for Dorothy House, a charity that is close to the couple as Julie works as a first contact triage nurse at the Winsley Dorothy House Hospice.
They began with an eventful flight into Lukla airport in Nepal, but were diverted to another airstrip as Lukla was closed due to high winds, giving them a sense of what was to come during their trek.
They then spent many days enduring steep climbs and cold weather. However, the couple were stopped in their tracks when trouble struck, as Jon was diagnosed with acute mountain sickness and possible high altitude pulmonary oedema during the final approach to Base Camp.
Jon was administered oxygen for seven hours via a mask and then was evacuated by rescue helicopter to a hospital in Kathmandu.
In the meantime, Jon’s wife Julie continued on her trek and reached Base Camp on Wednesday 14th February battling temperatures approaching -20 celsius at the summit.
The journey back was a further 45-mile trek on high altitude mountain passes, before catching a flight out of the Himalayas.
Jon Street told the White Horse News, “We had a wonderful time, raising over £1,000 for Dorothy House. Julie made it to Base Camp, helped along the way in my absence. My experience was all very exciting but nothing compared to the efforts of those who reached the camp. We had a wonderful time but will think twice before embarking on such an arduous venture in the future!”
If you would still like to donate to Jon and Julie’s efforts, visit their JustGiving page at https://www.just giving.com/fundraising/jonathan-street2.
