MP celebrates 40th anniversary of Everest climb

Macclesfield MP, David Rutley, attended a dinner to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the first ascent of the South West face of Mount Everest – often referred to as “The Hard Way”.

David joined Sir Chris Bonington and Doug Scott – members of the party who completed the historic expedition in 1975, at the dinner.

David had followed the progress of the expedition with keen interest as a teenager.

The expedition is legendary in mountaineering circles, having been attempted, unsuccessfully, by a number of expeditions in the early 1970s from across the world, including Sir Chris in 1972.

David, himself a keen mountaineer, is the co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Mountaineering, which aims to promote the benefits of outdoor recreation. This work has recently included asking the Government to integrate outdoor recreation in the national sports strategy, during a Parliamentary debate.

Speaking after the dinner, David said, “It has been a tremendous honour to be in attendance at this dinner to celebrate such a remarkable achievement in the mountaineering community. As a youngster, Sir Chris and Doug were heroes to me and inspired me to climb in mountain ranges throughout the world, so to be able to help them mark this milestone is a real honour. Their bravery and spirit of adventure are rightly recognised to this day.”