Port Glasgow woman rescued from Mount Everest during charity hike

Debbie Crighton-Barnes, originally of Port Glasgow, had to be helicoptered off the world’s highest peak during an expedition to raise funds for local rugby club Greenock Wanderers.

The 39-year-old was taking part in an eight-day trek to the mountain’s base camp alongside her mother Jillian Crighton, her mother’s cousin Jackie Graham and her close friend Outi Kylmälä.

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After contracting food poisoning, Debbie lost seven pounds in just two days and medics decided that she could no longer continue with the climb.

Debbie told the Tele that the group had originally decided to attempt the hike to fulfil a shared dream, but decided to raise some cash for youth development at the club in the process.

She said: “It was a trip we’d all had on our bucket list, and we just decided to give it a go.

“My mum and dad have good ties with the club, so we wanted to raise some money for them.

“We did quite a lot of long walks and were in the gym doing lots of cardio work to get fit because at altitude there’s less oxygen.

“I had never climbed a mountain before, so I was right in at the deep end.”

But before the group even set foot on the peak they faced a bumpy landing at one of the world’s most dangerous airports.

Debbie added: “We had to fly into Lukla airport, which a lot of people call the most dangerous airport in the world.

“It’s only a 527-metre runway and it’s carved into the side of a mountain, on top of that the weather can change very quickly.

“When you’re flying in you can hear the instruments on the plane telling the pilots to pull up because it thinks they’re going to crash into the mountain.

“The pilots have to guide the plane in by eye.

“Before we’d even landed, we were risking our lives. It was so nerve wracking flying in and being that close to the mountains.

“The scale of the place was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, I struggled to take it in.”

Once the party set out on their trek, they were faced with sub-zero temperatures, volatile weather and the constant threat of altitude sickness.

Debbie said: “During the day at the bottom of the trek it was warm enough that you could wear a t-shirt, but at night the temperatures ranged anywhere from minus 12 to minus 25 degrees without wind chill.

“I’d never experienced anything like that in my life.

“When you make a big jump in height you need to stop and take time to acclimatise so you don’t climb too high too quickly.

“They would walk us up for a bit and then we would come back down again to help our bodies settle.

“It was a mental challenge as much as it was a physical challenge.

“It was quite hard to keep going at times.”

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As the climb continued, Debbie’s condition worsened and on day six of the hike she was told she would have to turn back.

Debbie said: “I got food poisoning so badly I had to be helicoptered off the mountain.

“I wasn’t well enough to walk back down.

“I couldn’t eat so I had to do two days of trekking on an apple and a bit of water.

“The medics told me I would have to turn back, I knew I had nothing left to give.

“The helicopter ride back down was dangerous, but the scenery was incredible despite the sickness.”

While Debbie and Outi were forced to turn back, Jillian and Jackie made the base camp, with the group’s donation drive raising more than £1,000.

The mum-of-two says that she wouldn’t change anything about the experience despite its dramatic ending.

She added: “It’s exhilarating to think of but I keep saying that’s only because I survived.

“I’ll go back one day and give it another bash, but I got to see some incredible sights.

“Nepal was a beautiful country. There are no words to describe how beautiful the Himalayas are.”