Thrilling and enthralling - scaling the heights with writer Matt Dickinson

Beaumont pupils were treated to a fascinating, first-hand account of an Everest ascent when writer, film-maker, climber and adventurer Matt Dickinson visited us last week. Matt summitted Everest in 1996 and has used his climbing experiences as the inspiration for his series of young adult books The Everest Files.

Addressing Year 7 and 8 students in the hall, Matt promised to take us on an adventure up the deadly North Face of Everest, a trip from which we would 'hopefully come back alive'! Matt describes Everest as 'an alien world where humans don't belong'. His story-telling, breath-taking photos and video footage brought gasps from the audience.

Matt took us deep into this world where the glacial ice 'creaks, grinds, groans and shatters'. He told stories of his journey through 'The Death Zone', of crevasses 300m deep, of crumbling blocks of ice the size of buildings, of fingers frozen as solid as fish fingers and of 250 exploding bars of Toffee Crisp!

We learned some mind-blowing facts: did you know that Mount Everest is still rising, pushing up at the same speed that that our fingernails grow? Or that, at minus 72 degrees Fahrenheit, a hot cup of tea thrown into the air will freeze immediately and disappear into a cloud of frozen particles? Or that over 150 climbers have not made it back down from Mount Everest and remain frozen where they died?

Matt's enthusiasm for climbing and travel is inspiring. He is heading back to Everest next year to attempt an ascent via the South Face. Matt encouraged our students to 'think adventurously' in life and also to 'think of books in a positive way'. After all,it was by reading a book on mountaineering as a boy that Matt first got hooked on the idea of climbing...and look where that has taken him.

Matt Dickinson's books are exciting, fast-paced, full-of-action thrillers. A wide selection are available from the Beaumont library, including Matt's latest book Lie Kill Walk Away.