So it would appear that I'm not very good at crafting a message that will cut through the noise of social media channels. I've been embarrassed to discover that a number of people have interpreted my shares of this blog and my progress reports on the Himalayan Trust Summit Challenge as evidence of me actually being in Nepal and actually climbing Mt Everest.
While I am flattered that people think that I might be capable of such a feat, it was not my intention to mislead. I had thought that it would be cool to give my personal experience of the parts of the journey that I have done (which is just the trek to Everest Base Camp) as I was reaching the equivalent altitudes on my virtual climb. However, make no mistake, trekking to Base Camp is not the same as climbing the actual mountain, and I don't want to disrespect the incredible individuals who do this for a living, and those they assist to do this climb for recreation - if that's the right word.
I did recognise this problem of misinterpretation early on and try to address it in one of my earlier posts, but this message has clearly got lost in the fog.
For sure all of us have had more important personal matters to take care of in the last week. However, I have always believed that thinking of others less fortunate than ourselves helps us to put our own challenges in perspective, and for that reason I was determined to complete the summit challenge before we all required to go into lockdown in NZ.
I keep in touch with friends in Nepal regularly and the COVID-19 situation there is as serious as it is everywhere. However, their GDP is a tenth of New Zealand's, there is no social welfare system, and despite them closing the borders and implementing measures very similar to what is happening here, there is no sign that the Nepal government will be providing the kind of assistance that we are seeing in the developed nations, so some people will be in very desperate straits very soon.
So if in all of your personal worries you could spare a dollar - which will go very much further in Nepal than it will here - it just may help you to feel better about things. My fundraising page will remain open for another month or so.
Thanks a million again to all of those people who have donated to this cause. On behalf of the people of Nepal who will benefit from this, I wish you good Karma and Namaste.
I'm going to shut up now.
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