A STRATTON resident is hoping to reach new heights as he takes on Everest while raising money for charity.

Alongside three of his friends, on September 20, 2026 Danny Thompson will be pushing through one of the toughest challenges he’s ever faced as he treks to Everest Base Camp to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, an idea which grew from his own experiences with cancer.

“We've been talking back and forth because we really wanted to do some sort of big trek together,” Danny told the Post. “The other guys have done Snowden, and a few other mountains and we've been discussing, doing one more. Then one of my friends came up with the idea of doing base camp, which is a hell of a task.

“So we suggested doing it for charity, and in the end, we settled on Macmillan because a lot of personal reasons.”

Danny says that he and his family have been greatly impacted by cancer.

“Personally in my life, cancer has has been quite a big thing,” said Danny. “From the age about like 12, I've always done charity event for Cancer Research because I lost my cousin when she was about 12 years old because she had leukaemia.

”Again, very recently, I lost one of my close friends to a form of brain cancer. So, it's been quite quite prevalent. I've lost a few people I love and I know that Macmillan do a lot help out.”

It is this cause, close to his heart, which is set to push Danny to complete this challenge, something which he says will be like ‘jumping in the deep end’.

“I have never been on any mountain in my life, to be honest,” he explained. “So this will be quite a big shock, culturally and also physically, as I'm quite inexperienced, however, I've been getting a lot of training in, so later on in the year before we go to base camp, me and those friends will, be going to Snowden together to have some practice hikes.”

Alongside this, Danny has been putting in the work locally to prepare ahead of the challenge.

“Obviously, I know we're still a little way out, but every minute counts. So I’m lucky enough to live near the Coastal Path. Um, so from, uh, you know, from around like, Boscastle to Bude, and then another one from Biddeford to Heartland.

“Recently, I did about a 10 mile trek on the coastal paths, which was actually quite hard because the, total incline managed to be around just over 2,500m which is a bit mad. So for the minute, I've just been doing coastal paths. We've got a few plans to go Dartmoor and get some camping and trekking experience there, before heading to Snowden.”

Danny hopes that between now and September, these efforts will get him ready for the 13-day trek.

So far the group has raised nearly £600 but they are hopeful they can raise even more!

Donations can be made via: www.gofundme.com/f/the-base-camp-boys-rjv7z