In the spring of 2008, Sebastien Sasseville became the first Canadian living with Type 1 diabetes to summit Mount Everest. In an effort to prove that diabetes is not a limitation, the young climber hopes that the historical event will inspire every Canadian living with the disease. A fundraising goal of $100,000 to go to diabetes research also has been set. You can follow his journey as it unfolded in the updates below.

Mount Everest has fascinated the world for many decades. At 8850 metres tall (29,035 feet), it is the highest point on earth. This expedition was a grinding 65 days long and the mountain was approached from the Nepalese (south) side. Crevasses hundreds of metres deep, temperatures reaching minus 30 degrees, furious winds, lack of oxygen, and technical terrain are a few of the many obstacles Sebastien faced.

Climbed by few and conquered by even fewer, Mount Everest comes with many challenges. Throwing diabetes into the mix certainly did not make it any easier. Keeping insulin warm to avoid freezing, testing in high altitude on frozen fingers and constantly reprogramming his pump were just some of the extra challenges Sebastien had to deal with. If any of the above went wrong, his life would have been in serious danger...

Committed to finding a cure for his courageous young friends and future generations, Sasseville's involvement with JDRF is far from new. In 2005, the climber took with him a group of 9 teenagers living with Type 1 diabetes to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, a world premiere. In July 2007, 8 young adults joined him on a trek to Mount Everest base camp. Both trips received a lot of media attention and inspired people with diabetes across the world. Combined, the two projects raised over $130,000 for diabetes research.

I personally thank you for being part of this campaign. Not only does your donation help fund crucial diabetes research, you are also supporting the fact that with the right attitude, management and persevere can live a full life living with diabetes. See you on summit!

Sincerely,

Sebastien Sasseville

Donate to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Sebastien will be leaving Canada and heading to Nepal on March 22.

Sebastien has made it to Kathmandu with what he calls his smoothest arrival and transfer to the city ever. He is hoping that this may be a sign of a successful climb. It is his fourth time in Kathmandu, a city he still finds fascinating each time.

The political situation there will define a lot of the climb, and he should know more over the next few days. There are still no guarantees that they are going to be able to climb as negotiations between tour operators and government officials are still going on. Sebastien did meet up with the rest of the team this morning, and they are keeping their fingers crossed. The whole team looks to be in great shape and the mood is quite jovial. They are expecting to stay in the city for gear review and strategy planning for the next three days.

The rumour says that communication equipment may not be allowed on the mountain this year -- except for emergencies. This means the web updates by satellite phone may not be possible during the expedition. We will have to wait to find out more; any news that is available will be posted on this website.

There are still a lot of unknowns around the climb due to the political situation. Permits have now been officially issued, which is excellent news, though closures on the mountain are still unclear and communications from the mountain may still be banned. Sounds like everyday will be a surprise. They will be flying to Lukla at 6:30 in the morning tomorrow. From there they will start a 10 day walk that will take them to base camp at 5300 metres.

Sebastien has made it to Namche Bazaar at 3400m. He was blessed with his first views of Everest this morning. It is an acclimatisation day today, but they will be trekking again tomorrow. He has been quite sick with a bad cold for a few days, which did not make the hike any easier. He felt a lot better this morning, but because he will not be able to get better at higher altitude, he will have to stay in Namche until he gets his health back. There is still a lot of uncertainty about the regulations on the mountain and potential closures, the latest info can be found on everestnews.com.

Sebastien has now reached Dingboche, which is at 4250 metres. His cold is much better, and they will be there for about there days to acclimatize. Base camp is about five to six days away.

The team arrived at Base Camp two days ago in heavy snow and cold weather. Temperatures reach -15*C at night, and about 5*C during the day. The trek in went pretty well, though it was by no means easy with the increasing altitude.

Other teams are still arriving at the camp, and the community there is shaping up. Sebastien will be helping others to build the helicopter pad, and soon his team will begin exploring the ice while testing out their gear.

The Khumbu Icefall is not yet open, though it should be ready by next Monday. Once they are able, the team will start moving equipment up to higher camps.

Sebastien's cold is now completely gone and he is looking forward to going up

Excellent news from the mountain. After sitting at Base Camp for a week waiting for the ice fall to open, we have made two very successful trips in there on April 14th and 16th. We then have been able to reach Camp 1 (6100m) on April 18th and spent 2 nights there for acclimatation.

Altitude is taking its toll on us so we now have descended back to Dingboche (4400m) for a few day to get strong again. We should be able to reach Camp 2 within the next week. My health is pretty strong at the moment but we are living in a constant discomfort. The morale is very good. Home and the loved ones are definitely missed!

Diabetes-wise, I am doing quite good. It has been very challenging to balance carb's, insulin, etc. with altitude but so far everything has worked pretty well.

Sebastien would also like to thank everyone who has sent him an email. He has received many from people with diabetes across the country, and he will be answering every one when he returns

Sebastien is back in Gorakshep (5164m) for rest. The expedition is going very well so far, and he is feeling great. They have just returned from a very successful trip to Camp 2 (6500m), where they spent a few days for acclimatization.

Sebastien has had no problems with his diabetes so far, and the weather has been spectacular. The whole team is doing well, and they are planning to get to Camp 3 (7470m) during the next seven to ten days. Communication is still restricted, so we will not be hearing from him for another week.

The mountain is now fully open. On May 8, the team made it to Camp 1, and went on to Camp 2 the next day. On May 11, they almost made Camp 3, but reached just below it, at about 6900m. The day after that was for rest and acclimatization. On the thirteenth they attempted to reach and sleep at Camp 3, but only two of the members made it up and the rest of the team, including Sebastien, descended because of lack of energy and sickness.

They are now resting at Base Camp, and the next attempt will be a summit bid. There are now no restrictions on communication for the mountain, so Sebastien will try to make daily updates. The whole team is very excited and are all looking forward to touching the summit, which could happen anytime after May 20.

The team is currently at 6400m, Camp 2. They are on their summit bid, with an estimated summit day of May 23, for which they have a good weather window. Sebastien is very excited and nervous.

The team is doing very, very well. Tomorrow will be a rest day for them, and the next day they will reach Camp 3. They are going into a very hostile environment from here on, but Sebastien will try to keep regular updates.

Here is the actual satellite phone message from Sebastien: seb_2008-05-19.mp3.

No updates from Sebastien, but another team member's blog tells us that they had an unexpected setback. Their food store at Camp 4 was apparently raided by another group, requiring them to bring up more supplies.

Once that was done and they were rested, they set off for the summit at 8pm on May 24. The weather looks good and another update is expected soon.

Sebastien Sasseville, along with John Furneaux, Brian Jones, Then Dorje Sherpa, Minga Sherpa, Pasang Sherpa, and Chedden Sherpa, reached the summit of Everest at approximately 9:30am on May 25.

The weather was great, and they safely made it back to Camp 4, where they will spend the night. Tomorrow they will descend to Camp 2, and then on to Base Camp the following day.

They left the South Col this morning after 72 hours in the death zone (above 8000m), and are now safe and sound back at Camp 2. Sebastien reached the summit of Everest at about 9:20am on May 25, after a 13 hour push. He is thrilled, happy, and proud to be the first Canadian with diabetes to reach the highest point in the world.

The team will be back to Base Camp by tomorrow and Kathmandu in a few days. Sebastien will be sending an email then.

Even though I cannot think of a square inch on my body that isn't soar, never before I have been filled with so much joy. Summiting Mt. Everest is a day, a journey, I should say, I am not close to forget.

Sure diabetes made it a lot harder, but I don't think I could have made it without it. Today I look at Everest and Diabetes and both have been blessings. Never would I give any of them back.

Warm thank you to my precious sponsors, LifeScan Canada, Animas Canada, and Novo Nordisk Canada. Not only did they believe in the dream, they also stepped forward to make it happen.

Those I love have been missed since I left. It is now time to return home to them. After being in Nepal numerous times over the last few years, this majestic place also feels like home. Its land and people will forever have a special place in my heart and I will miss them deeply.

Last but not least, thank you to all who have sent words of encouragements. Thanks for being part of my journey. I hope my story will bring inspiration to all living with diabetes.

Sincerely,

Sebastien