After Going Nearly Blind During MT Everest Climb Man Raises $1 Million in Charity

The summit to the peak of Mount Everest is arguably the toughest expedition to exist. The sheer willpower, determination and perseverance it requires has made many tremble and walk back.

Speaking to the media after completing the summit to the peak, Iceland Foods Managing Director Richard Walker, recounted his experience and narrated the ordeals he faced in his journey.

Climbing Everest for a good cause

The business mogul embarked on the journey to the summit during the spring break. In order to raise £1million for the Iceland Food Charitable Foundation (IFCF), which is building the world’s first Rare Dementia Support Centre, he set foot for the toughest challenge of his life until then.

The expedition was not a smooth ride by any means as Walker described his magical, dangerous journey to the media. He set foot for the climb with veteran mountaineer Kenton Cool, a man who has climbed the peak over 17 times. After months of rigorous training and unending support from the people around him, they were able to reach the summit of triumph.

Reliving it while he spoke to the media, Walker mentioned that when they reached the peak of the summit, in the coldest May of his memory, the water in his bottle was frozen solid. The temperatures were at a whopping –50°C (–58F) and the summit posed some of the most extreme conditions to survive in.

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Walker relives the horrors

The summit of Mount Everest has the magnetic ability to draw people towards it but often, the extent of difficulty and sheer weight of the situation is lost on people. According to the media reports, Walker’s vision deteriorated about 60% as they reached the peak due to a retinal hemorrhage and he sat next to a completely preserved dead body from 2021, trying to gather himself and catch some breath.

The descent from the peak is perhaps as physically draining or far greater due to the waning energy, strength of the climbers.

The father-of-two said: “I still had another eight hours of descent ahead of me, with no water, and I just lay there, next to a dead body, utterly terrified.”

‘The wheels came off, emotionally, I was scared, and losing a lot of energy.”

Just 3 weeks after completing the mammoth feat, Walker was back to the headquarters and welcomed with resounding applause and cheer. Buoyed with new confidence and vision after his climb, Walker promised to use his position and company to create a bigger impact and make a difference in several avenues. But the mountaineer also argued that his return to work was a tad bit rushed, with his body still coming to terms with the entire expedition.

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