Rhys Jones

Considering it was such a hot day the turn out to hear Rhys Jones was good. Those who did not go missed an exciting description of Rhys’s scaling of Everest. We had many questions afterwards such as how much the Sherpa guides got - they are the elite and get paid handsomely compared to the Nepalese national average. After two short seasons they could retire. A dangerous job though as three were killed during the time Rhys was attempting to get to the top. We found out that the ladders spanning the ice gaps were placed by the Sherpas at the start of season and removed at the end. The climb is not straightforward and it is preceded by short climbs to the next base and then back - this is done several times to climatize the climbers and get them ready to make the final push to the top. Rhys was asked would he do it again and his answer was no as he realized it is too dangerous. The pictures he showed of the frost bitten hands and feet were pretty bad, perhaps sailing, his next ambition to go round the UK is a better option.