IN less than six weeks, this group – including the Welwyn Hatfield Times’ news editor – will be starting a challenging endurance trek through the Himalayas in aid of a Welwyn Garden City hospice.

Members of the Isabel Hospice’s Team Base Camp met for the last time before they depart for Nepal last week to take on the 12-day Everest Base Camp trek.

The 17-strong group will be dodging yaks and scaling mountains between Lukla and Base Camp, reaching a top altitude of 5,554 metres.

The trek team boasts members from a wide range of jobs, including a fundraiser from the hospice, a solicitor, roofer, nightclub promoter, nurse, plumber, and a publisher.

Each member of the intrepid group has agreed to raise a whopping £3,600 for the Isabel – which gives end-of-life care for patients across Welwyn Hatfield and East Herts.

The team will leave Heathrow Airport for Nepal on November 2, after months of gruelling training to prepare them for the challenge.

Emma Lippiatt, the hospice’s corporate relationship manager, who will be one of the trek team, and who organised the challenge, said: “It’s not going to be easy, although we have all prepared as much as we can.

“What I do know though, is that everyone is 100 per cent committed to completing the challenge, and that whenever we may be having a hard time on the trek, we only need to think about the hospice patients and their family members and we will be spurred on with some extra energy.”

Dave Burke, the Welwyn Hatfield Times’ news editor, who signed up for the challenge earlier this year, said: “It’s scary how quickly this has come around, and it’s been a lot of hard work for everyone to get fit for the challenge.

“Meeting up with everyone last week was great – the team’s gelling really well, and we’re all doing this for a fantastic cause.

“A lot of the people I’ll be trekking with have been directly affected by the work the hospice does, which speaks volumes.”

Dave, 31, was shown around the hospice in his first week on the WHT, and saw the important work it does, and jumped at the chance to join the trek and help raise money.

He added: “A lot of my mates have been sending me YouTube links of the planes we’ll be taking from Lukla.

“I think I’d be a lot happier if I hadn’t seen them.

“But it’ll be worth all the pain, moaning, and sheer blind terror if we can turn this into a successful fundraiser for the hospice.”

The team members are Richard Stangroom, Rob Hughes, David West, Emma Lippiatt, Matthew Aubrey, Robert Johnston, Bradley Palmer, Chris Walters, Jonathan Anstey, Phil Massetti, Mark Massetti, Dave Burke, Georgi Pease, Kirsty Hill, Michael Clifford, Sue Allison, Michael Petchey.