David wasn’t alone in his journey as he was joined by a group of walkers who completed three high pass treks and a visit to a base camp at 5,364m high - a height slightly higher than six Pen-Y-Fans.
When they reached their destination point, David, who is a member of Brecon Male Voice Choir, celebrated his achievement by singing the popular Welsh hymn Calon Lan.
As he was suffering badly from altitude sickness which led to a lack breath, he could only manage the chorus but was delighted with the rendition of what he thinks may be the highest ever peformance of the hymn,.
In a video shared on Facebook, David, 55, explained, “I’m raising money for this wonderful charity, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, very underfunded, and for those people interested there is a JustGiving page. Please give what you can, when you can.
“Why did I sing all the chorus to Calon Lan? Because I am betting that this is the highest Calon Lan ever!”
He went on to say, “Five thousand, three hundred and sixty-four metres, up and I can’t manage the verse because I can’t breathe!”
David’s wife, Anna, who didn’t manage to speak to David during the 15-day trek as there was no phone signal, told The Brecon & Radnor Express, “It was quite scary not having contact for 15 days, but we are now back in contact over WhatsApp, and he’ll arrive back home on Friday”
Anna continued, “I’m so proud of him and the whole family is proud of him. He’s never been the fittest, so we are incredibly proud.
His whole trip was self-funded, and he had to deal with altitude sickness as well as the challenge itself. It’s the one thing he couldn’t prepare for, as you never know how the altitude will affect you until you’re up there. I think most people would have been airlifted off.”
Before Covid struck, David and a team of walkers took on the Sahara Desert in aid of the charity that is within his line of work, which he is so passionate about. David had trained for around a year for Everest and will be glad the challenge is completed.
If you would like to donate to David’s challenge for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, follow the link below: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-shepherd-hh
Everest and the Crickhowell connection
The world’s highest mountain is named after George Everest, who lived at Manor of Gwernvale - now The Manor Hotel - as a child and was probably born there.
The property was bought by solicitor Tristram Everest (pronounced ‘Eve-rest’) George’s father, in the 18th century and George was born in 1790. As a teenager he trained for a military career and was posted to India, then under British colonial rule.
He soon became involved in surveying, and became Surveyor General of India in 1830. His name was given to the highest peak in the Himalayas after his retirement. He died in 1866.