British adventurer Ben Fogle has successfully scaled Mount Everest – with a little help from an initiative founded by Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, the wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
Fogle, 44, reached the summit on Wednesday, dedicating the journey to his third child Willem, who was delivered stillborn eight months into his wife’s pregnancy in 2014.
“His loss changed our lives and I think about him daily. Losing my little boy made me reevaluate life. Not only do we hold our two beautiful children closer to us but it was a reminder to live life for the now. Don’t waste it,” wrote the broadcaster on Instagram.
“Cradling little Willem to say goodbye, I made a promise to him to live my life brightly. To embrace everyday. To always smile. To be positive and to inspire.”
Double Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton CBE was supposed to accompany Fogle on the ascent, but she was forced to drop out earlier this month after suffering from the effects of oxygen deprivation.
The pair, who made the climb to support the work of the Red Crescent Movement, among other charities, were sponsored by Anything is Possible, a global initiative founded by Princess Haya.
"Anything is Possible has an innate desire to discover extraordinary people and unique projects around the world that break boundaries, showing unrivalled determination and inspire future generations,” said Princess Haya in a statement released on Wam, the UAE’s state news agency.
“By realising a life-long dream, one which many would consider to be beyond their reach or potentially impossible, Ben has lived the values of our initiative and shown that anything really is possible."
Fogle said achieving his childhood dream of scaling the world’s highest peak safely successfully had been extraordinary.
“I am eternally grateful to Princess Haya and her global initiative, Anything Is Possible, for making this entire adventure possible and providing the opportunity for us to help promote the work of the British Red Cross and my work as a UN environment patron of the wilderness,” he said.
“I could not have done it without the support of my family, my training partner and guide Kenton Cool and Victoria Pendleton."
