Mountain trek raises funds for friends

A Karratha man is taking on a Himalayan mountain to raise money for two friends’ fight against cancer.

Damien Muller is in Nepal on an expedition to reach the summit of Ama Dablam, a 6856m mountain in the Himalayas which stands alone in the famous mountain range.

However, he and wife Joanne Waterstrom-Muller are also using the trip to raise funds for friends Leah Black and Ed Stevens in their battles against cancer and have committed to dollar-matching donations to the sum of $10,000.

Also included in the drive is Nepalese eye health program the Himalayan Cataract Project.

An experienced mountain climber who has scaled peaks in Peru and New Zealand, Mr Muller said he saw Ama Dablam as a new mountaineering challenge which could also help others.

“The mountain side of things is absolutely selfish, it’s a personal thing, but I have been for quite some time wanting to do something to support Leah and Ed,” he said.

“It’s awesome to be here, and being able to couple that with the ability to donate to friends makes it even better.” The 35-day expedition will involve Mr Muller trekking through Nepal to the Ama Dablam base camp and making the very technical climb with a guide.

Ms Black said she was grateful for the support through herbreast cancer treatment process.

“I was very blown away and very humbled by his wanting to do the climb, and matching donations as well,” she said.

“For our family, it just takes the financial burden off, because cancer treatment is expensive.”

About $7000 of the expedition’s $10,000 donation target had been reached at time of print.