i’m not sure what’s more bizarre, the fact that i am leaving for nepal in less than a week, or the fact that i am blogging.  (i feel like doogie howser and carrie bradshaw rolled into one).  i am not sure if we’ll be able to update these posts from the trek, but if so this is where i will leave reminders, instructions and messages for you all as i remember things i should have told you before you left.

physically, i think i am ready, (thank you cuz james and john), packing is a whole different issue. there’s always monday.   i really hope we’ll sucessfully be able to post video podcasts every night for you all to see…editing on a mountain using solar power will be a new experience.

oh, and ignore the link to my website above, the site won’t be up for months.

feel free to post messages for me here, i am not sure i will get them on the mountain, but i imagine i can check when we get back to kathmandu.  as a back up, call kate in my office.  she’ll be bored and mastering spider solitare in my absence.  

Matt and Kris both grew up in the South of England – Matt on the Kent/Sussex border near Tunbridge Wells and Kris near Abingdon in Oxfordshire. They met at University in Durham and then worked in London for four years before moving to Sydney, Australia in June 1995 after getting married earlier that year. Initially on an 18 month secondment with Matt’s job, this quickly turned to 2 years, then a bit longer and then permanently! The lure of the outdoor lifestyle that the Sydney climate permits was just too much for them.

Matt is a partner with international accountancy firm Grant Thornton and Kris works in the Treasury department at Westpac, one of the Big Four banks in Australia. They have two children – Scott, aged 7 and Daniel aged 5. Matt still plays rugby at the age of 38 and has recently taken up surfing. Kris is a keen tennis player and played lacrosse at national level in her youth. Both enjoy working out at the gym (when time permits between work and parenthood) and skiing is also a passion.

Whilst their lives have not been as closely affected by cancer as some of the other trekkers, as with most people it has touched their lives a number of times over the years. Both Matt’s paternal grandparents died of forms of cancer when he was younger and more recently, since becoming parents they have watched the mother of one of their son’s friends die from breast cancer and also helped support another family through their young daughter’s successful fight against Leukaemia.

Matt is a big rock music enthusiast and is a long time fan of The Alarm and was inspired to join the trek and help James Chippendale set up Love Strength Foundation Australia after seeing James and Mike Peters launch the charity at The Alarm’s “Gathering” weekend in Llandudno, North Wales earlier this year. By participating in the Everest Rocks trek and the ongoing running of the Australian arm of the charity, Matt and Kris hope not only to raise money but also give something back to the community by supporting such an important fight!

Well, this time next week we’ll be saying goodbye to the kids (leaving them for three weeks with their grandparents - the longest we’ve ever been away from them for) and heading to the airport for the start of our massive adventure.

The gear supplied by the clothing sponsor Marmot arrived yesterday and looks fantastic. It’s all starting to feel like we’re really going, having been far off for so long. We’ve collected donations of more than our fundraising target (US$50k or AU$60k) and we’ve still got a few more pledges to collect.

Thanks to all those who have so generously supported us.

If anyone else wants to support us you can do it in three different ways depending on where you live:

1. Australia - click on the following link to our website where there is a Visa Donate button to donate to the Australian charity: www.adam-smiths.com

2. UK: Click on the following link to donate to the UK charity via Just Giving (who will automatically forward the gift aid to LHSF): www.justgiving.com/everest-rocks

3. Rest of the world: Click on the Visa Donate button at the very top of this page to donate to the US charity.

We’ll post some more blog once we’re on our way.

Cheers

Matt

I am so excited! I’ve got this incredible opportunity to join an amazing group of people on a trek to the Everest base camp . . . how did this come to be? I received an anonymous email regarding the Love Hope Strength Foundation and it turned out that I knew the sponsor, Peter Braun. I was like, “I know this guy”! As I read further, I realized that this is an organization I would love to be a part of. I called LHSF and spoke to Shannon Foley inquiring whether they had space available on the trek. I was in luck, someone just backed out and they had an opening. What a whirlwind! I learned of this excursion on September 19th and made a decision to join on the 21st! Good thing I’ve been training for the Chicago marathon. The marathon is October 7th, I leave for Nepal on the 8th!

I am ardent about getting the word out about cancer awareness.
My first experience with cancer was when I was 8 years old. My 3rd grade teacher, Miss Schlect had Leukemia. Within the year that she was diagnosed, cancer had taken her life. Years later it entered my life again. When I was seventeen my grandma Maria was diagnosed with lung cancer, within six months she passed. Five years later Grandpa Ralph was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he went through chemo and was in remission, a couple years later it came back and he passed.

My passion for the outdoors started when I was a child growing up in Wisconsin. Many summers were spent in Prairie Du Chien canoeing down the Mississippi River, Wisconsin Dells, and hiking around Devils Lake. As an adult, my interests have evolved into much larger expeditions, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Torres Del Paine-Patagonia, Chile, the rice fields in Sapa, Vietnam, and others. Some of my other active pursuits are training and competing in triathlons. I competed in my first ½ ironman this summer, next year I am competing in WI ironman! When I am not traveling the globe and competing in triathlons, I headhunt for the financial markets.

This will be a remarkable journey…