Peter O’Connell on Mount Everest for Pieta House

THIS WEEK, Peter Oâ€â„¢Connell continued his expedition up Mount Everest to raise awareness for suicide prevention and funds for Pieta House. Peter conquered the famously difficult Khumbu Icefall which boasts treacherous ice and cavernous crevasses and makes the icefall one of the most difficult parts of the route. [private] On Tuesday, 23rd April Peter was able to give this update: â€Å“Hi guys, making great progress, I spent the last week getting up through the icefall to Camp 1, then on to Camp 2 for a couple of nights and on to the lhotse face at 6,700m. Only 2,148m from the summit! We came back down to Base Camp as the bad weather came in, through the icefall, first a crevasse field, then weaving down through the â€Å“popcornâ€Â ice blocks the size of buses shaped like popcorn! Then down through huge gorges and pits crossing crazy ladders and navigating the glacier, but it is safe enough! We are at Base Camp for a few days now to rest, we go back up on Friday to make it as far as Camp 3 with all our summit gear and set up camp. After a few nights there, we will return to Base Camp and wait for a weather window for summit bid, which will take 5 days from Base Camp. Really enjoying it. Itâ€â„¢s tough enough but I guess itâ€â„¢s Mount Everest!â€Â All the images of the camp are to be found on the facebook page â€Å“PeterOConnellEverest4Pietaâ€Â. These photos are a great indication of the conditions Peter is living in. You can find Peterâ€â„¢s location through his GPS tracker on http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=BcPUk and donations can be made online at www.idonate.ie Over €20,000 has been raised to date. Peter, everybody back home is thinking of you and wishing you well, and safe climbing. [/private]