ON June 8 1924, two mountaineers disappeared on their third attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Much debate continues to this day as to whether George Mallory and Sandy Irvine made the summit or not with the discovery of Mallory's body in 1999 failing to provide any conclusive evidence as to whether the summit was reached.

Both men had strong links to Wirral: Irvine was local to Birkenhead, having grown up in one of the original villas surrounding the historic Birkenhead Park while Mallory spent time in his childhood in Birkenhead, where his parents lived at St Johns' Vicarage, on Slatey Road.

Now, a century later, two more men from Wirral have followed in Mallory and Irvine's footsteps, finishing the job the mountaineering pioneers started all those years ago. 

"It was amazing to stand on the so-called second step where it is thought Mallory and Irvine got to," said Paul Anderson, who along with his son, Aaron, reached the top of Everest late last month. 

"Just below the route we took was where they found Mallory's body - it was very surreal to think we were taking the same route and standing on the same parts of the mountain they did."

Paul and Aaron, who are from West Kirby, took on the incredible challenge of scaling Everest to raise vital funds for Dementia UK, the specialist dementia nursing charity. 

The father and son team are aiming to raise enough money to fund two new Admiral Nurses – specialist dementia nurses who offer life-changing support to families affected by all forms of dementia.

They have dedicated their achievement to Paul’s mother, who has vascular dementia and lives in a care home in Hoylake.

"I'm feeling a little bit tired I have to admit," said Paul, 56, speaking a few days after his return from Tibet. "Everybody has been asking what's next but it's time for a definite time out for me and definitely no more high-altitude mountains! 

"The altitude is so taxing on the body, even at base camp you're at 5,300 metres above sea level, which is higher than anywhere in Europe, and the body just doesn't take too well to it and the longer you are there the more worn down you get, so it's time to recuperate and take it easy for a bit." 

(Image: Dementia UK)

Both Paul and Aaron, 23, have had extensive climbing experience in the UK and Europe and had both previously visited the Everest region in Nepal, climbing Mera Peak (6,476m) and reaching the North Col on Everest at 7,100m.

"Everest is the top of the world and has been a fascination since I was a child," said Paul. "Aaron has inherited that interest so climbing it was something we had talked about for a long time. 

"Covid prevented it from happening for quite a while but when we knew mum had dementia we knew we wanted to raise money for the cause and thought about putting the two together.

"It takes a lot of planning but if you're with the right outfit of Sherpas over there they can put most of that together for you - thankfully we had most of the kit from previous trips we had done and from there it's about getting yourself into shape which involved visiting Snowdonia a lot - it's great to have that on your doorstep in the Wirral."

Over 340 people have died attempting to reach—or return from—the summit of Everest and just a few days before Paul and Aaron's attempt, British climber Daniel Paterson and his Sherpa, Pas Tenji, fell to their deaths.

"You really need to be with the right people who have a proven track record," said Paul. "We knew these Sherpas personally very well and they knew us and we had done stuff with them before. 

"When you are climbing at those elevations it is so easy for things to go wrong very quickly - I think 80% of accidents happen in the way down because you put everything into summiting. You've been thinking about it and dreaming about it for so long and then you get there and you're exhausted and have nothing left to get back down. 

"The Sherpas are just incredible people - they are physiologically different because they are mountain people who can cope a lot better than westerners who have grown up at sea level."

As an incredible bonus to what was already a momentous feat, The Chinese Tibetan Mountain Association confirmed that Paul and Aaron are the first ever father and son to summit Everest together from Tibet.

"It was really special," said Paul. "It was also a real advantage for us to be together as a team and sleeping in the same tent together. Quite often on these trips you're put together with complete strangers and that puts an added stress on things that you don't really need because you're trying to concentrate on the physical side of things."

Trying to put the feeling of reaching the summit alongside his son into words is understandably difficult but from the videos and pictures the duo have shared on social media, the joy is obvious. 

"It was surreal to be there having seen so many pictures of other people do it, " said Paul. "It still seems surreal now we're back that we were actually stood there. It's the top of the world. 

"You've thought about it and dreamt about it for such a long time and then when you get there you're totally exhausted. It took us 12 and a half hours to get to the summit so it was a really long slog."

So far, Paul and Aaron's efforts have raised an incredible £83,000 for Dementia UK. 

"There were thoughts about my mum all the way up and the especially when we reached the top," added Paul. "Mum's at the end stage of dementia but she's comfortable and content and that's all we can ask for. 

"Dementia is a cruel disease and its something that touches everyone and that's really come though in the messages from people who have donated. I'm so pleased we've able to raise what looks like quite a considerable amount of money."

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