This year our sales manager, Nicola Marriot, will be taking on a massive challenge of trekking the Himalayas.
Nicola decided to take on this challenge as she’s enjoying a milestone birthday this year (but she’d prefer to keep which one under wraps!).
The challenge will involve a six-day trek of 6-8 hours a day ascending to 10,500ft through the Annapurna region of the Himalayas.
Raising money for National Autistic Society
Not only is this a fantastic life affirming experience for Nicola to be taking part in, she also wants to raise £1,500 for the National Autistic Society.
There are over 700,000 people in the UK who are on the autistic spectrum. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others. Autistic people see, hear and feel the world differently to other people.
Dealing with the normal things in life that most of us take for granted can be a real challenge for autistic children and adults. That’s why organisations like the National Autistic Society play such an important part throughout their lives.
So far, Nicola has raised £577 and hopes to raise the rest before she leaves in October.
Last month we helped Nicola to raise money by holding a fundraising day where some of us dressed up as heroes. We had a few Supermen and Superwomen, Batman, Wonder Woman, an Elvis and Nicola dressed up as Black Widow.
We managed to raise £147.22 from our hero day, whilst other employees have donated to her Just Giving page individually.
What Nicola has to say…
Here’s what Nicola has to say about her training, what she’s most excited for and her worries:
I’ve taken up Pilates which puts me in positions I never thought I could do! I have many plans for my training, from walks along the Cornish coast, to hiking through Snowdonia, going over the O2 in London and building up to longer 6-hour walks.
I am most looking forward to meeting the Nepalese people and taking in the breathtaking scenery which is a world away from our rat race life here in the UK.
My biggest worry is the 25-minute internal flight which will take us over the Himalayas to where we will begin our challenge. I must admit I’m not the greatest flyer at the best of times and I’ve seen plenty of disaster movies to feed my fears!
Whilst walking up the Himalayas I will have a Sherpa carrying the majority of my luggage, so I face the challenge of having to pack lightly. Weather conditions range from a nice warm 20C in the day to below freezing at night, so this is something I’ll need to think about.
To finish off here’s what Nicola has to say about gaining life experiences (we hope you’re as inspired as us!):
Even though we all want the nice things in life like cars, holidays, nice homes and other material things, what we should always endeavour to achieve is life experiences and adventures.
The world is so accessible now. Also, cultures and places are changing rapidly, so it’s important to see as much as possible before the mass of tourists take over the world! And why not do these challenging adventures for worthy causes along the way.
We’ll keep you posted with how Nicola gets on with her training, challenge and fundraising in the weeks ahead.
