Rob left Heathrow on Friday, May 27, and flew to Abu Dhabi airport before taking a connecting flight to Kathmandu. The group stayed at Kathmandu overnight before making an early start - 4.30am - to catch a flight to Lukla.
 JP on his way to Lukla
" We had to make such an early start to try to catch the good weather in Lukla. It was twin-engined airplane and it was tiny. JP could have filled one on his own. And Lukla airport's runway is only 200 metres long on the side of a hill. The planes land uphill to slow them down and take off downhill to get them going."
 Lukla airport
The flight to Lukla took the party up to 2,800 metres, so the group spent half a day acclimatising themselves to the conditions. Despite being a small place, it was a busy place, as it is widely regarded as the gateway to the Himalayas and many climbing parties make use of the airport. It was also the first place that Rob and his partners-in-crime met up with the mountain Sherpas and porters.
"We pitched up in our climbing boots, trousers, special rucksacks, etc and and there were the porters in shorts and flip-flops carrying 95kgs of beer on their heads! There are no roads, just 1,000-year-old trails. The only way to get stuff up is to carry it. You are constantly amazed by the people who carry these things up and down all the time. We were constantly amazed by the people full stop. They were so friendly, so helpful, so polite and so incredibly strong!"
From Lukla, the group headed to Phakding. It was just a three-hour walk and a short introduction to walking at altitude.
"I felt fine but you had to walk very slowly. We were given the advice that if you were out of breath or could not walk and talk at the same time, then you were walking too fast."
The camp were all in bed by 8pm after night fell at 7pm. They were up at 5am the next day to set off to Namche Bazar - the Nepalese Sherpa capital.
"It took us all day to get there and was a significant climb in altitude - up to 3,400 metres. It was one of the best days and was an unbelievable trek along gorges and valleys. It was a really steep climb though and everyone found it hard. We got our first real taste of shortness of breath and headaches."
The group stayed in Namche Bazar overnight and spent another acclimatisation day there before setting off again. Just 20 minutes out of Namche, the group got their first real glimpse of Everest.
 The camp at Namche
"It was just incredible. You got a real idea of how hard it is to get close to Everest. It is part of a group of major mountains."
In the foreground of Everest was the Teng Bosche Monastery where the group were fortunate enough to meet the Teng Bosche Rinpoche - the high lama, who blessed the expedition.
 Rob and the Teng Bosche Rinpoche
The climate and the weather changed the following day when the party climbed above 4,200 metres. The group trekked through the valley below Amadablam (which means mother's lap). At that height there are no trees or shrubs as the geography becomes glacial moraine, and the change meant another day was needed to acclimatise the group. The day was put to good use though as the teams were formed for the record-breaking Tag rugby event that would take place later in the week. The group also took the opportunity to teach some of the locals their skills.
Rob remarked: "They were ridiculously quick and were never out of breath!"
The followinng day took them to Dughla for lunch where the weather began to close in and snow began to fall. After lunch, the group trekked to Lobuche but on the way they stopped at a field of cairns - piles of rocks dedicated to dead climbers.
 Cairns
"It was a really, really poignant place. They were memorials there for people from all over the world. They had a very moving and emotional affect on everyone in the group. It gave the mountains a more menacing feel about them."
By that time, Rob and the rest of the group were beginning to meet people who had climbed Everest and were making their way down. One of the people Rob met was Apa Sherpa, who had climbed to the summit 15 times - a world record.
But the party had a world record of their own to attempt but that was not until they had walked from Gorakshep, which was above 5,000 metres amd was the site of the original base camp, to the modern day base camp. The round trip from Gorakshep to base camp and back again took the party 11 hours.
"It was a long slog and it was not very pleasant weather and we could really feel the altitude. When we got there it really rammed home how it is for people who spend two months there while they try to attempt the summit."
 Rob at bleak base camp
There was no time to feel fatigued by their 11-hour trek...match day had arrived. The party got up in the morning and marked out the pitch. They then donned their kit, which in line with Guinness Book of Records rules they had to carry up the mountain themselves, and got ready for Reds v Blues. The Blues, led by John Steele, won the game 4-2.
"It was a lung-bursting 14 minutes. Everyone really threw themselves into it. At first we were just going to walk through it, but as soon as a ball was introduced, it got very competitive. So competitive that I got sin-binned! John did too, but I think that was just because he needed a breather."
The game took place at 5,115 metres, which should be enough to take the record. The kit was shared out among the Sherpas and porters afterwards and a signed shirt was also left on a wall of a local bar to commemorate the event.
Apart from shedding six kilos apiece, Rob, JP and Steeley have returned safe and well with many more stories to tell than what can be crammed onto this website. Hope you enjoyed what we could fit in. (We will load up some of the record-breaking pictures when they come through.)
 Rob and Everest
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