Presentation June 30

Slide show presentation at Suede Lounge June 30th

Domhnall and I will be putting on a slide show presentation of our Everest expedition on June 30th at Suede Lounge in Edmonton. We have the whole place reserved just for us from 6pm till closing. There is lots of room for everyone, so bring your friends and family and join us for a great evening. The slide show will begin around 7:30pm to allow those working days to join us. Suede lounge will be serving their entire food/drink menu throughout the evening, so come early for supper and some socializing or enjoy some tapas during the presentation. Some of you have heard some of our stories, but come join us to see all the spectacular summit photos and hear all our stories. Location is 11806 Jasper Ave. Check out their web site at: http://www.suedelounge.ca/

Admission is free and there will be a raffle for some fabulous prizes in support of Learn for Life. Details can be found on the side bar to the right.

Something special came in the mail

The next time I am in Kathmandu, either one of these should get me a free meal at the Rum-Doodle. I'm looking forward to it.


On the medal along the top it says "Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) Summiters Medal" In the Center, a map of Nepal with Everest over top, and the date 29 May. Then along the bottom "International Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) Day".



The rear of the medal has the Nepal flag, with native script that I cannot interpret. I assume it says the same thing as the front.

Peace River

Today I presented my slide show in Peace River. Although we were a small crowd, every one was interested and asked many questions. After the slide show many stayed behind to ask more questions and look at my equipment. This was also a fund raiser for Learn for Life and through the raffle of a framed summit photo and donations we were able to raise $170!!!! This is about half the cost of the school books for one candidate for one year.
For those who would like to learn more about Learn for Life, there is a button on the right of my blog. Go and have a look, and if interested follow the links to the donations page. Learn for Life pays for the post secondary education for Nepalese children. Every year many volunteers from all over the world go to Nepal and donate their time and expertise. While this is great and important, it is also important to educate the locals as they will be staying and helping out their own.
I would like to thank Simonne for organizing this event, the museum staff for helping out, FCSS, and Gord from Tim Horton's for the coffee and donuts. It was a great evening made possible by everyone who came out.

I would like to take this time to thank all the teachers who have invited me to share my story with the children in their schools. All the teachers have done something different with their class, incorporating parts of my experience into their classroom, and it has been fun and interesting to speak with the teachers. I have met some fabulous teachers that will use whatever means they can to keep their students engaged. I have also been very impressed by the students that I have met. They were very respectful, staying quiet during the presentations, the questions that were asked at the end, and many thanked me personally for coming to their school or classroom. You have all made this expedition worthwhile by allowing me to share it with you.

I have always said that it is the journey, not the destination that is the most important. While the summit was spectacular and took my breath away, it was nothing compared to all the experiences that I had leading up to the summit, and all the opportunities that I have had since. I had no idea that so many people were watching and following along, wishing us well as we were off to achieve our goal, and this has made all the sacrifices worthwhile. I will be presenting my expedition to three more schools next week, along with one evening presentation for the parents, and then it is back to work and back to training for the next expedition.

Stay tuned for the date of the presentation here in Edmonton.

Michael A. Kostek School

Today I went to visit the Michael A. Kostek School in Edmonton. I found all the students to be very attentive and respectful. The entire gymnasium was full and I was able to make the presentation without the use of a microphone.

I have to thank Ms. Millican and her class for inviting me to their school, and for inviting the entire school. I was not aware of this, but her class followed my entire expedition, and in particular Amber would not let the school day start until they had checked my blog to see how I was doing.

St. Edmund School

I enjoyed by visit with the St. Edmund School this morning, and Ms. Taylor's class. I presented my slide show to 3 classes, and approx 75 students today. Thank you very much for the pen and school cup.

Elmer S Gish School

Today was another school visit. This time I visited Ms. Saipe's grade 6 class. Time was a bit limited, but we had a good time and the students were very gratious thanking me individually after the class. Many of the students were able to get the tibetan singing bowl to sing the first try which was amazing as it took me quite a while to master. Thanks for the opportunity to come visit.