AN intreped hiker is heading off for his fifth trek to Mount Everest base camp, aged 60.

Alan Grego, of Crown Street, Dedham, will face altitudes of more than 18,000ft on the 15-day hike in the foothills of the highest mountain in the world.

He flies to Kathmandu, Nepal, today, where he will begin the adventure to raise £2,000 for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.

Mr Grego said: “Every time I do something like this I say never again.

“The last time I did it I got altitude sickness and I’m hoping that doesn’t happen this time around. There’s not a lot of oxygen up there.

“It’s going to take about ten days to walk six miles because it is all up and down.

“Then it should take us another five days to come back.”

Mr Grego said his hardest challenge would be climbing Kala Patthar, an 18,007ft peak, near Everest base camp.

From there he will be able to get the clearest view of Mount Everest.

Mr Grego will be doing the trek with friend Tony Howard, 72, of Holton St Mary, in Suffolk, Mr Howard’s son David, and Daniel Lambert-Gorwyn, from London.

The group has hiked together before, most recently completing the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, in Peru, last year.

Mr Grego’s adrenaline addiction has also seen him bungee jump off the 216 metre high Bloukrans bridge, in South Africa.