FOREST fund-raiser Glyn James will tackle a high altitude challenge in aid of the Great Oaks Hospice.

Glyn, of Bream, will take on a 12-day trek to Everest base camp – which, at a lung-busting 18,000 feet above sea level, is more than four times higher than Britain’s highest peak, Ben Nevis.

The trek is the fourth he has undertaken and the experience of the last – to Africa’s highest mountain, Kiliminjaro, in aid of Lydney Hospital gave him a taste of life at high altitude.

Glyn is also working with his local, the Rising Sun in Bream, which has the hospice as its charity of the year and has a specially-made Great Oaks ale with 50p from the sale of each pint going to the charity.

The engineer will board a plane for Nepal just a few weeks after his 63rd birthday with the ultimate destination being South Base Camp where mountaineers assemble for their attempts to climb the world’s highest peak.

He said: “The altitude makes breathing more difficult and, because it is 12 consecutive days of trekking, it is classed as an extreme trek.”

Glyn is walking around six miles a day and will also climb the Black Mountains near Abergavenny to improve his fitness ahead of flying to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, on March 17.

As Glyn is funding the £2,500 cost of the trip himself, all the money raised will go to Great Oaks.

Sponsorship forms are available at the Rising Sun in High Street, Bream or online at www.justgiving.com/Glyn-James.