RICHARD Ellison returned from Mount Everest with unforgettable memories of the people he met and the views he saw.
Limited Edition interviewed the Vale Royal Borough Council planning chief in November when he was preparing to scale the summit.
As part of a team of 20 trekkers, his expedition took him through Sherpa villages, lush rainforest, beautiful valleys and across glacial rivers.
His aim was to reach the base camp at 17,000ft, but Richard started to struggle a few hours before the final 600ft ascent when he suffered stomach cramps.
A doctor was summoned and he needed antibiotics and painkillers.
Richard said: "Despite the disappointment I was pleased to have conquered the altitude, survived the cold and the extremely basic and often frozen and smelly loos on the route as well as the meagre and carbohydrate focused rations.
"The accommodation varied from the basic to the extremely basic but at least it wasn't camping, which some of the groups had to endure.
"Your garden shed would have seemed palatial compared to one dark box trying to impersonate a bedroom in one location."
Richard said the Sherpa people were the most friendly he had met on all his travels.
