That Charlie Bathurst-Norman has had to leave The Everest Test is, I believe, the saddest news The Everest Test has had to bear since we began this journey in April 2008. However, it comes amidst so much good news and excitement that the man himself would not wish his own situation to overshadow it. So that won’t happen, but the story of why will be told in full in these pages in the next week or so.

In the meantime the below is a tribute to a man pictured with his hero…because to many of us he was perhaps the biggest unsung hero of the entire expedition.