'I'll climb Everest in memory of dad'

If that isn't motivation enough, Stephen Green need only remember the reason for his epic fundraising attempt to spur him on.

The 23-year-old has always dreamed of climbing Everest but never thought he would make an attempt so soon. Following the death of his father Raymond, Stephen has been spurred into action to raise funds for the charities which helped Mr Green in his last months.

Stephen has set up a website, stephengreen.net, where donations can be made, and he hopes to raise 8,848 – the cash equivalent of Everest's height in metres – to split between Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie, whose Edinburgh hospice provided essential care to Mr Green in the weeks before his death.

The law and economics graduate, from Newington, is setting off on 3 April and hopes that his months of training, and years of climbing, will stand him in good stead.

He said: "I started climbing when I was young when my dad took me to an indoor climbing wall. From then I was hooked.

"Climbing Everest is something I've always wanted to do, and I probably would've done it later in life but after my dad died I decided I didn't want to wait and thought it would be a good way to raise money.

"I had talked to my dad about climbing Everest and he was very much for it and I'm sure he will be very happy.

"I'm most worried about not giving it my best shot and not making it to the summit. It would be easy to get something like a sprained ankle and not be able to complete it."

The youngest Britons to make it to the top of Everest were aged 19, so at only four years older Stephen is set to join an exclusive club.

He has been sticking to a strict training regime since last August. Each weekday he runs round Arthur's Seat, does a session of hill training and completes a work-out at the gym to build up his strength and stamina, and at weekends he climbs in the Cairngorms.

Stephen, a former pupil of George Watson's College, has also climbed Ama Dablam in the Himalayas, which is 6,812 metres high, and Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.

Even with all the training, Stephen knows he cannot fully prepare for the challenge ahead, which will see him climb ten hours per day and 18 hours on summit day.

He said: "The thing I'm least looking forward to is the cold and the wind, as when you're in a tent with the wind battering off it and breaking the tent poles it can feel like you're in an avalanche."

Go to stephengreen.net to donate.