Everest hike to site memorial sculpture

Everest hike to site memorial sculpture

Names of 150 people who have died on Everest are on the piece

A sculptor from Kent is setting off for the Himalayas on Thursday to put up a work of art dedicated to those who have died on Mount Everest.

Oliver Barratt, an art teacher at Sevenoaks School, was chosen to create the piece by the Everest Memorial Trust.

He designed a 2m high stainless steel split cone built to represent a mountain which consists of two halves that stand 70cm apart.

Inside the gap in the sculpture are engraved the names of the 150 people from all over the world who died trying to reach the summit.

Mr Barratt is an art teacher at Sevenoaks School

Now Mr Barratt is making the trip, which includes five days trekking in the mountains, to put up the art work.

He said: "It has to be flat packed so once you have designed it you have to work out a way where the whole thing can be unbolted then put in packs small enough for a Sherpa to carry on his back for the five-day trip."

Mr Barratt said when he was picked to make the sculpture he travelled to Nepal and was overwhelmed by the mountains and native people.

The memorial will be sited close to the Himalayan Rescue Association Hospital at 15,000 ft and a day's walk from base camp.