The first man with cystic fibrosis to complete Everest has found a use for the snow he collected on the mountain’s peak six years after his expedition – having it set behind a sapphire for his wife’s engagement ring. Nicholas Talbot, 46, chief executive of an international not-for-profit organisation from Durham, met his wife, Nour, 38, a lawyer for a solar panel company, on Tinder in the spring of 2021.
He surprised her with the ring on her birthday in September 2022. When climbing Everest, he faced an avalanche on his first attempt and an earthquake on his second, causing him to break his ribs and a climbing partner to pass away.
Nicholas has conquered five more of the seven summits – the highest mountains on each of the seven continents – since, with the final climb being Antarctica’s Mount Vinson where he plans to end his journey by skiing to the South Pole. When climbing Everest on May 13 2016, he wanted something to remember the trip by, other than photographs.
He decided to gather snow from the top and put it in a flask. He said: “I’d always had it in my mind that should I get married, I might use it as part of an engagement ring.
“But I’d also thought at some point that I might use it to create some form of jewellery to sell to benefit one of the cystic fibrosis charities.” After meeting Nour on Tinder in the spring of 2021, marriage was soon on the cards.
Nicholas eventually found a specialist jewellery company, Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery, to set the Everest water behind a deep blue sapphire stone. Nicholas said: “Nour knew that I was going to have a ring made.
"But she had no idea what was going into it or anything like that. I’d told some white lies as to when we would be getting it, and for her birthday celebration, I surprised her with it.
“I hid it with her present. So I got her diving cameras as a present, which I’d left in an Amazon box.
"She unwrapped it in the restaurant whilst unpacking the camera. When she got it, she was just so surprised by it.
"She just burst into tears, which wasn’t exactly the reaction I expected, it was good tears.” After saying yes on September 17 2022, the pair got married at an intimate ceremony on September 24 on Le Morne beach in Mauritius, which the couple had already booked in the summer as a holiday.
Nicholas said his wife "feels supportive" but she’s also "a little bit sad” about him going on such long but rewarding expeditions. He added: “She knows that it’s something I’ve done for years and she expects me to do this kind of thing.”
Explaining how he first got into mountaineering, Nicholas said: “Growing up in the middle of nowhere, where there’s nothing to do, over the years, I used to get dragged out by my parents and sisters to climb mountains. I quickly started to like it.”
Nicholas reached a point where he had taken part in plenty of drug trials to help advance the medications for cystic fibrosis. He wanted to give back in a different way and decided to take his hobby to the next level to raise money for cystic fibrosis charities by climbing Everest.
Part of Nicholas’ training involved carrying heavy weights while walking. He said: “I look like a crazy person as I’m carrying 25 kilos on my back and then dragging a tyre through London to Greenwich Park to go up and down the hill for hours at a time.
“Because of my experience, I felt like it was something I could attempt. I wanted to do something that was a bit of a crazy idea for someone with cystic fibrosis.”
Nicholas first attempted Everest in 2014, but plans were scuppered by an avalanche. Determined to complete the challenge and thinking lightning does not strike twice, he tried again the following year.
This time, he got further up the mountain, but another earthquake occurred which killed approximately 9000 people across Nepal. Nicholas was taken out by an avalanche, which came tumbling through the middle of base camp, breaking his ribs.
He explained: “I was covered in blood and suffering from hypothermia, so I was very lucky to escape that. One of my teammates sadly died on that one.
"There was so much death across Nepal. So I am hugely lucky.”
In 2016, he finally got to the top with his friend Pem and raised around £120,000 for cystic fibrosis charities. He said: “It felt amazing to be on top of the world, just the two of us, and I also felt a sense of relief because it was the third attempt.”
But he did not stop there. Nicholas wanted to push his limits, not just from a cystic fibrosis point of view, but also to raise awareness.
Nicholas decided to take on the seven-summit challenge, climbing the highest mountains on each continent. He has completed all but Mount Vinson in Antarctica.
Reminiscing about the challenges, Nicholas said: “I suppose I’m less afraid of failure now and more willing to try things from a work and personal perspective because I’d prefer to live a life with no regrets.” To find out more about Nicholas’ fundraising, visit www.justgiving.com/page/cfv7summits.
