Auckland teen Jack O'Halloran hopes to follow Sir Edmund Hillary to The Roof of the World. Photo / Supplied
Auckland teen Jack O'Halloran hopes to follow Sir Edmund Hillary to The Roof of the World. Photo / Supplied
An Auckland teen hopes to follow in the footsteps of legendary mountaineer Sir Edmund Hilary and climb high into The Roof of the World by scaling a 6000m Himalayan peak for charity.
Sixteen-year-old Jack O'Halloran flies to Nepal next month where he will trek to Everest Base Camp before turning his sights on the 6119m Lobuche East peak.
The trip is part of the Himalayan Trust Summit Challenge in which Kiwis climb 8848m - the equivalent of Mt Everest - during March in a bid to raise money for "life-changing" projects in the mountainous region.
Jack was a toddler when he first met legendary mountaineer Sir Edmund Hilary. Photo / Supplied
Almost 200 people have signed up for the challenge, with O'Halloran acting as its Youth Ambassador.
The Auckland teen will climb most of his 8848m while trekking to Everest Base Camp and climbing to the summit of Lobuche.
"It won't be quite enough though, so I'll need to gain the rest of my elevation through training here in New Zealand before I go," he said.
His attempt on Lobuche comes as 2019 marks 100 years since the birth of Himalayan Trust founder, Sir Edmund.
O'Halloran was a toddler when he met Sir Edmund and has spent much of his life inspired by the world famous mountaineer, who along with Tenzing Norgay was the first to reach the summit of Mt Everest.
Now 14 years later, O'Halloran is raising money for the Khunde Hospital, the first hospital built by the Himalayan Trust in 1966.
Jack O'Halloran is already an accomplished climber having scaled the 3033m South Island peak, Mt Aspiring. Photo / Supplied
Having visited the Khumbu valley area near Everest twice, he said he had made many great friends.
"The people were so welcoming and generous, even though they have so little," he said.
"I was really inspired by Sir Edmund Hillary's legacy in the region and I want to give back as best I can."
Himalayan Trust general manager John Loof said he hoped O'Halloran's story inspired "other young people to challenge themselves to make a difference".
O'Halloran is already and accomplished climber and hopes to make a career as a mountain guide.
He recently scaled Mt Aspiring and in 2017, climbed the four highest peaks in the North Island in just four days with fellow young explorer Brando "Wildboy" Yelavich.
Together they raised more than $10,000 to help a remote community in Nepal recover after the 2015 earthquakes.
