Adra by Trintech Sponsors the Ascent on Mount Everest

Ireland on Everest is a team of like-minded people who have come together to work toward a common goal – climbing Mount Everest. Rather than aiming to climb Everest as individuals, they wanted to be a part of a team, collaborating, training together, and supporting each other with a common purpose. Adra by Trintech is a proud sponsor of this initiative. “Their journey has so many parallels for what we are doing with Trintech’s Adra business that it creates a great partnership opportunity,” said Darren Heffernan, President, Mid-Market at Trintech. “We are at the start of our journey expanding into new geographies, and we have many mountains to climb. There will be always be challenges along the way, however as long as we both fulfill our potential and have fun along the way, it will be an exciting journey – It is a privilege to be a sponsor.”

We recently interviewed Séamus Lawless, one of the members of the Ireland of Everest team, to understand a little more about this journey.

Kelli: What was the motivation to climb Mount Everest?

Séamus: I’ve always had an interest in hiking and have always been drawn to the mountains and to the wilderness. My father gave me a pullout of the route up the south face of Everest from National Geographic when I was young, and I had it on the wall of my bedroom for years. I think the stories I read about Everest as a child and the documentaries I watched made it iconic in my mind and is always something I aspired to see in the flesh. I’ve got into high-altitude mountaineering over the last 4 years with my favorite climb, and most challenging, being Denali in Alaska. It is a stunning wilderness and a wonderful expedition, although a very tough slog over the course of three weeks.

Kelli: Who is embarking on this journey with you?

Séamus: I’m climbing with Jenny Copeland, my teammate on the Ireland on Everest team, and our guide, Noel Hanna, an Irish climber who has summited Everest 8 times.

Kelli: What has the training process looked like to prepare for this climb?

Séamus: Most of our training took place at home. General cardio and weight work in the gym, jogging and lots of hiking, mostly in Wicklow but also in the Mournes, Kerry and around Ireland. I started to carry heavier packs on hikes, using weights to work up to about 22kg. In addition, we did technical ropework, climbing in quarries and on indoor walls. We also went to Scotland to complete winter skills training at least once a year. Lastly, we have completed a number of high altitude climbs as we worked towards Everest, including European mountains, Himalayan Mountains (Mera and Island Peak) and Denali in Alaska.

Kelli: When do you begin the climb on Everest?

Séamus: We’re in the Khumbu Valley as we speak, making our way towards Everest base camp. It takes about 9 days to walk from Lukla up through the valley to base camp.

Kelli: How long does the climb typically take?

Séamus: We landed in Kathmandu on April 11th and won’t leave until the end of May. When we get to base camp, we’ll spend about three weeks there acclimatizing on climbs before attempting the summit. The summit push will take about 4 days.

“I have known Séamus for many years and I am very proud of him for taking on an incredible feat like climbing Everest,” continues Heffernan. “It is one thing to think about your dreams but not many people have the courage to act on them and for Séamus and Jenny to fulfill their life long dreams inspires us all.”