“It was awesome to see the sun creeping over the horizon. It made all the challenges we’d faced worth it”

Eamonn Gibney is an HR consultant based in Kildare. He took part in the First Light for Sight challenge in January 2023 and raised more than €5,000.

Here, Eamonn shares his experience of preparing for the Arctic challenge along with his highlights from the expedition.

Were you a Sightsavers supporter before you signed up for the challenge?

I wasn’t a supporter before the expedition, but I was motivated to sign up after reading about Sightsavers and the fantastic work you do worldwide.

What kind of training did you do before the challenge?

Although my hobby is walking, most people will know that getting out regularly is a challenge. I found First Light for Sight gave me a real focus and for three months leading up to the challenge, I was able to get out hiking twice a week. I found this really beneficial.

How did you feel in the lead-up?

When I told my family and friends about the adventure, they were all very excited. It was a fantastic thing to sign up for, notwithstanding the challenges of the environment and the temperatures that we could expect to encounter.
In the lead-up to the challenge I felt excited that we were all pulling together for a good cause and that our efforts would make a big difference to the people who really needed help.

A challenge like this really requires focus and effort to make sure that you’re physically and mentally ready for the harsh environment and the challenges ahead. With only a three-month window to prepare, I found this really helpful as there was no time to muck about.

How did you find the challenge?

I found it very rewarding. It was a challenge we built up to – spending 8.5 hours on skis, hauling our gear uphill in whiteout conditions. Moving at the pace of the group, you have to adapt. You have to learn how to cope with the temperature and the layers of clothing to prevent getting either too cold or too hot. As the Adventure. ie guides informed us, sweating in the Arctic isn’t good because the minute you stop, the sweat freezes and you end up wearing a shirt of ice!

The temperature on day three was -25 degrees Celsius during the day. It caused eyebrows and nose hairs to freeze and stick together the moment you went outside. Keeping hands and feet warm at that temperature was a challenge.
I didn’t find any aspect of the challenge particularly difficult, but getting used to shared accommodation again was a bit strange, and eating the amount of food our guides told us we needed was a feat.

What was the highlight?

The highlight for me was reaching the remote mountain cabin where we spent a night completely off-grid. The craic we had that night was brilliant. After our firewood was chopped, our food cooked and melted snow for water, one of the guys put a quiz together. We had two teams pitched against each other, all crammed into the small cabin. We laughed for about an hour solid before settling down for the night.

How did you feel when you saw the first sunrise?

On the morning of the first sunrise, it was awesome to see the sun creeping over the horizon and bathing the mountains in pink and blue. It made all the challenges and obstacles that we had to overcome worth it.

It was awe-inspiring to think about the people Sightsavers has helped to regain their vision. Sight is something we all take for granted. We talked about why we were there and the purpose of our mission, and I found it such a positive experience.

How did you find Adventure.ie?

Our guides from Adventure.ie were fantastic. They really took the time to teach us about the pristine environment of the Arctic Circle, the snow, navigation and how to plan an expedition.

What did you learn about Sightsavers throughout the challenge?

Learning about how efficient Sightsavers is with donations really gave me confidence that I was supporting a very worthwhile charity. I’ll support Sightsavers in the future.

The Sightsavers team who travelled with us was so inspirational. They took time out of their challenges, as they were part of the team too, to tell us stories about individuals who’d had their sight restored and about ongoing projects. Those personal stories really brought home the amount of good that the charity is doing.

How did you find the fundraising?

The fundraising was a challenge, but with the support and guidance of Sightsavers, I found the target very reasonable. I recommend the challenge to anyone who enjoys the outdoors and who can apply their efforts in preparing for an expedition.