The Dukes Club was honoured to host adventurer Mike Trueman at Radnor House this week.
After a brief drinks reception to dry off from the November weather, Mike gave a captivating account of the history of mountaineering in the Himalaya - from early Western and Nepalese naming conventions of the peaks to tales of the early pioneers and photos of their historic attire. Everest is a task enough to climb without imagining doing it in cricket whites and tweed jackets!
After talking the audience through an illustrated camp by camp journey to the summit of Everest, Mike delved into his dual-career personal story. Decades with the Gurkhas lead to a fluency in Nepalese which naturally drew him to mountaineering and attempting his own mission to summit. Throughout his account, emphasis was always on the pivotal and humble role the Sherpas and people of Nepal play to support each attempt up the mountain.
On Mike’s first attempt in 1996 his team was forced to abandon plans to lead the rescue mission for 2 other teams trying to climb off the mountain, who now were caught in a tremendous storm. As we learned, you do not conquer the mountain, you sneak up on it while it’s not looking.
The audience made up of parents, pupils, Dukes staff, and at least one other Everest summiteer(!) then learned about plans for the Dukes Club pupil trip to Everest Base camp in half term October 2023. As Specialist School Trip hosts True Adventure explained, the acclimatisation to adventure, Nepalese culture, altitude, and teamwork will surely make for a once in a lifetime experience.