getinvolvedatwww. ntualumni. org. uk19 whatisknownasthe' DeathZone'- above 8,000mwheresupplementaryoxygenis needed- tomakethefinalsummitattempt. Itwasat5.37amonMay24thatLee finallyreachedhisgoal. Hesaid:" Thewind at30- 40mphwassostrongandthecoldso painfulthatIfeltlikeIwasinanacidbath. Butlookingaround, Iwasblessedwithan awesomeview. Cloudsbelowme, withonly snowymountaintopspokingthrough- like somenewly- discoveredalienworld." Therewasnotimetorevelintheprecious momentsoftriumph, however. Leespent onlyaroundten minutesonthesummit beforestartingthe exhaustingdescent. " Theyalwaysremind youthatreachingthe summitisonlyhalfthe journey," heexplained. " Manypeopleareso exhaustedonce they'vereachedthe top, andso overwhelmedbythe thoughtofwhatthey needtodotogetback down, thattheyjustsit downanddie. ThisiswhyEverestislittered withsomanybodies- Ipassedtwomyself whileIwasupthere- butyoujustputitout ofyourmindandpresson. " Iwasexhausted, andsufferingfrom dehydration, butIjusttookthedescentone stepatatime. Beingveryfitwascrucialto mysuccess, butIwasalsomentallyvery strong, whichishalfthebattle." Infact, LeereturnedfromhisHimalayan odysseysufferingfromlittlemorethan slightnervedamagetohisfingersandtoes. Itwasonlywithhindsightthatherealised whathehadachieved:" Itookmyboyhood dreamanddaredtowalkinthefootstepsof myheroes: HillaryandTenzing. Itwasa trulywonderful, humblingandinspiring mountaineeringexperience." ConqueringEverestisafarcryfromLee's ' otherlife'inthelandanddevelopment industry. AftergraduatingfromNTU'sBSc ( Hons) ResidentialDevelopmentin1996, he workedforfivenationalPLCsandbecame HeadofResidentialLandatleadingreal estatepracticeKnightFrank. But, whenthe chancecamealongtotakepartinaprivate invitation- onlyexpeditiontoascendEverest -" everymountaineer'sdream"- hedecided totaketimeoutfromhiscareer. Forhisarduous preparationshewould carryupto80lbsof wateronhistraining route- orevenpulla tractortyre! More importantly, heraised thousandsofpoundsin sponsorshiptocover essentialsforhistrip. ThoughLee'sgoalisto climbthehighestpeaks inallsevencontinents-andhehasjusttwoleft-thelureofEverest remainsstrongasever. Henowhopestostageanothersummit attemptfromthenorthnextyear, thistime followingtheroutetakenbytwomoreofhis heroes, MalloryandIrvine, onthedoomed 1924ascentfromwhichtheynever returned. Ifsuccessful, Leewillbeonlythe fifthBritonevertoreachthesummittwice. Untilthen, heisagainseeking sponsorshipbutisalsoindemandforpublic appearances, after- dinnerspeeches, media workandhisroleasamotivationalspeaker, bridgingtheworldsofmountaineeringand businesswithadviceonissuesliketeam-buildingandgoal- setting. * FormoreinformationaboutLee's exploits, see: www. leefarmer. co. uk Itwasatruly wonderful, humbling andinspiring mountaineering experience Lee'sfamily, friendsandsupporters trackedhisprogressthroughlive dispatcheswhichhewroteonaPDA andtransmittedtohiswebsiteviaa satellitephone. Extractsfromthediaryofhis incrediblejourneytellanenthralling taleofhumanendeavour: May23 " Fearbegantoriseupinme, as nightbegantotakeoverfromday. ThenIrememberedthatpeople closetomebelieveinme– believeI canclimbthehighestmountainin theworld. Iturnedthesebeliefs intomyownstrengthsandthefear slowlydissipated. Maybeforthe firsttimeinmylife, Iwasready, focusedontheHerculeantask ahead. Ifeltlikeagladiatorinthe Colosseum, thesnowbeingthesand ofmyarena. Readyforanything thatwasgoingtocomeoutofthe blacknessofnightatme." May24 " There, 50feetaway, wasthe summit. Iwastired, Iwantedto stopandrest, butIwasawareof someonebehindme. SluggishlyI raisedeachfoot, gainingalittle moreheightinaHermanMunster style. SuddenlyIfeltahugeslapon mybackandahandgripmyarm; itwasthepersonbehind congratulatingmeforsummiting. Ipulledmyselfoutofthe drunkennessofexhaustionand realisedIwasactuallyhere. At5.37 amon24thMay2008, Iwasontop oftheworld! Igrabbedhisarmand shookitback, congratulatinghim also." June3( backatthehotel) " IrealisenowthatwhenIreached thesummit, Iwasnumb. Numb withthepainfullyfreezingcoldand numbemotionally. Iwasontopof theworldbutdidn'tfeelelation, happinessorsatisfaction. Wewere intoomuchofadangerous situation, withfrostbiteanddeath ourpotentialbedfellowsloomingon thenextfreezinggustofwind."

includedtheoverwhelmingsightsand soundsofthejungle, learningaboutthe herbalremediesusedbythelocalshaman, andtreatingbemusedvillageelderstoa traditionalBurns'nightsupper! HefoundtheCofantobe" wonderfully warmandextremelylikeable" despite theirtoughlivingconditions." Theyhave littleandyetinmanywaystheyhavefar morethanwedo," heexplained. Oneofthemostimportantoutcomesof theexpeditionwasthattheCofannow havecleandrinkingwaterforthefirsttime inmanyyears, helpingtoprotectthemfrom disease. However, asPhilsays, thebenefits gofarbeyondmaterialaid. Hecommented:" TheCofanandother indigenousgroupsarenotjustfightingto retaintheirtraditions, theirwayoflifeand theirhomeland, theyarefightingto safeguardforestswhicharevitaltothe wholeglobeandtoconservespeciesofflora andfaunawhichcouldotherwisebe completelywipedout. Itisveryimportant forthemtoknowthattheoutsideworld valuestheworktheyaredoing." * ForinformationabouttheScientific ExplorationSociety, seewww. ses- explore. org networktravelspecial 20getinvolvedatwww. ntualumni. org. uk NTUlecturerPhilSargentventureddeep intotheAmazonianjungleaspartofa scientificexpeditiontakingvitalsupportto anancienttribefightingtopreserveitsway oflife. LandandengineeringsurveyorPhil crossedtheAndesat4,000metres, dropped downtotheAmazonforestandtooka seven- hourcanoejourneytoreachthe 130- strongcommunitywhoarethelast survivingmembersoftheCofantribein Ecuador. AlthoughtheCofannationisoneofthe oldestintactculturesintheAmericas, the 17familieswhoremaininEcuadorare strugglingtopreservetheirtraditions, livelihoodandenvironmentinthefaceof forestclearanceandpollutionfromoil exploration. Atthesametime, theyarestrivingto promoteeco- tourismfullyawarethatthey aresurroundedbylargelyunexploredforest, hometoalmost1,000differentspeciesof mammalsandbirds. Tosupporttheirendeavours, a17- day missionwasorganisedthissummerbythe UK- basedScientificExplorationSociety ( SES) andledbyitsfounder, thefamous explorerJohnBlashford- Snell. Philandthe19otherintrepidtravellers selectedtotakepartcompletedawide rangeofprojects- frominstallingaclean watersupplytoprovidingmedical treatmentandschoolmaterials- tobenefit theCofanvillageofZabaloaswellasa Quichuacommunityfurtherdownthe Aguaricoriver. Theteamalsoundertookdetailed researchonthearea'sbotany, wildlife, archaeologyandanthropologytogather informationwhichwillformthebasisforan eco- tourismguidepromotingthearea. To contributetotheguide, Philhelpedproduce mapsoftheareaanditsforesttrailsvia compassandGPS. Despitelongarduousdaysinwetand humidconditions, sustainingthreeinjuries andbeingconstantlyalerttotherisksof encounteringrabies- infestedvampirebats orhighlyvenomousfrogs, Phildescribedhis experienceas" simplyincredible". " Ijustfeelprivilegedtohavebeena memberofthisexpeditionandtohave playedaverysmallpartinhelpingthe Cofanintheirstruggletosurvive," hesaid. Thenumeroushighlightsofhistrip Survival instinct Networkreportsonamissiontosafeguardthe flora, faunaandtribaltraditionsoftheEcuador forest- andhowNTUhasplayeditspart. PhotographscourtesyofJonathanHoodandPhilSargent