A KEIGHLEY dad conquered the slopes of the world's tallest mountain to raise money for charity.

Mohammad Sharif made the gruelling 17,000ft-plus climb to Everest base camp in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care's Bradford hospice.

He was accompanied by friend Iqbal Singh, and the pair's energy-draining efforts have coined-in more than £5,200 – with funds still coming in.

They were part of a group from across the world which tackled the 11-day expedition.

Their Himalayan adventure began in Kathmandu, with a 14-hour off-road ride by 4x4 to Salleri, starting point for the old trail.

Carrying rucksacks weighing 10kg and surviving mainly on a diet of lentils and rice, they then traversed 130 kilometres of rugged terrain – led by an expert Sherpa guide – to reach their destination.

Once at base camp, the duo proudly flew a Yorkshire flag.

Father-of-three Mr Sharif – an engagement officer for Bradford City, District and Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven clinical commissioning groups – said the experience was like nothing they had encountered before.

"We're both fairly fit but nothing can really prepare you for how your body responds to hiking in high altitudes," he said.

"It was fairly warm during the day, but the temperature dropped drastically at night.

"Everything takes a massive amount of effort when your body isn't getting enough oxygen; eating and drinking was difficult and staying warm when the sun went down was a challenge for us both.

"Having the chance to meet people from all over the world along the route was one of the really great things about the trip.

"It didn't matter who you were or where you came from, we all had one thing in common and that was to reach the base camp."

Mr Singh, a dad-of-two from Wibsey, said they were delighted to complete the challenge.

"We persevered and dug in," added the security supervisor.

"We hadn't gone all that way to not reach base camp – and we had our white-rose flag in our backpacks to celebrate once we made it!"

The friends had the idea for the expedition while on a walking trip in the Lake District two years ago.

They trained around the Lakeland fells and in the Yorkshire Dales, Peak District and even Spain.

Self-funding their venture, they chose to donate all the money raised to the Marie Curie hospice – a relative of Mr Sharif received care there and Mr Singh's mum is a breast cancer survivor.

Their original target was £1,500, but massive support saw the total soar to £5,264 and people can still donate online at justgiving.com/fundraising/icky-sharif-rana-mohammed.

"We're overwhelmed with how generous everyone has been," said Mr Singh.

"Every penny donated is going to the hospice, and we're hoping we can make one final push."