First married Brits on Everest

A husband and wife from Strathspey are in a race against the clock to become the first married couple from the UK to reach the summit of Everest. Phil and Pauline Sanderson hope to strike the peak from the Advanced Base Camp on the north side of the mountain sometime between 15 and 23 May.

Their expedition permit rules that they must be off Everest by 27 May. Mr and Mrs Sanderson, from Grantown-on-Spey, work at Glenmore Lodge Outdoor Centre near Aviemore.

The couple are with the Everestmax Expedition and the most recent e-mail from the team said it would most likely strike for the summit on 17 May.

In another e-mail, Mrs Sanderson, 41, said: "We are feeling in great shape and the team is ace.

"Phil and I plus two others have been chosen by the expedition leaders to be the first group to attempt the summit.

"We are off to Advanced Base Camp today with a view to waiting for a weather window which is forecast to be 15-23 May."

Unlike her husband, Mrs Sanderson is not a professional climber and works in administration at the lodge as its marketing manager.

However, she is one of a team of five attempting to complete the world's longest climb from the Dead Sea - the lowest point on Earth - a total ascent of 9,300 metres (approximately 30,250 feet).

The team cycled from Jordan to the Everest base camp. In Tibet, the cyclists were joined by six climbing specialists including 39-year-old Mr Sanderson.

Since leaving Grantown in early December, Mrs Sanderson has travelled from the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan through Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China and finally Tibet.

Problems with their support vehicle, visas, political turmoil in Pakistan and Nepal and health troubles have all made the journey more challenging.
They have also encountered a range of weather conditions from winter blizzards and sub zero temperatures to desert sand storms and highs of more than 30°C.

Everestmax, whose patron is Sir Ranulph Fiennes, is raising money for three charities that support causes in the developing world - SOS Children's Villages, Practical Action Bicycle Ambulances and Merlin, a medical emergency organisation.

The first married couple to reach the summit of Everest together were Slovenians Andrej and Marija Stremfelj in 1990.

A French couple, Roche Bertand and Claire Bernier Roche, reached the summit in 2001 and descended together in a tandem paraglider.