Many of you will have heard news from the Everest 2006 Expedition with the fantastic reports that five of the six climbers reached the summit. They deserve the highest praise but Geffrey Weir had to return down with a cold. Geoffrey had no other option as the reality was the cold was severe and after two weeks led to a chest infection and the coughing at high altitude resulted in four cracked ribs. He left the team at the North Col on Monday to descend to Advanced Base Camp 6,300m on his own having difficulty walking due to the pain in his ribs and back. It was very difficult for him to leave them as they made the final push for the top but he did not wish to hinder their progress. It is a heartbreaking situation and Geoffrey still has to make the 22Km journey to Base Camp in considerable pain. All our best wishes go out to Geoffrey and Gillian.
