Rothschild Foundation Awards are being administered by the Mount Everest Foundation, which was fortunate to receive a one-off grant from the charity to be used towards expedition projects in 2012-2013.

The Rothschild Foundation has provided a sum of £10,000, and this financial aid will be focused on just a few expeditions taking place in 2013.

There is no separate application form and while there are no strict criteria associated with the awards, only expeditions applying to the MEF, and broadly meeting its criteria, will be considered.

Expeditions likely to be considered favourably are those where the extra grant will be instrumental in making the trip happen, as well as highly significant ascents with which the MEF and Rothschild Foundation would greatly benefit from being associated.

It is hoped that these extra awards may prompt climbers to consider  adventurous, ground-breaking projects that they might normally view as  financially non-viable.

In 2012 a single award has been proposed; for the first complete ascent of the Mazeno Ridge on Nanga Parbat.

All team members had to make a high personal financial contribution for the trip to go ahead, and their success, on an international level, is being lauded as the greatest ascent in the mountains of Asia, or indeed anywhere, during 2012.

This was an astonishing feat of endurance that, apart from a few very short sections on the approach to the main crest (where ropes were left during the acclimatization process), was carried out in pure alpine style.

Perhaps even more impressive was that on reaching the Mazeno Col, the team still had the motivation to make an attempt on an unclimbed line to the summit, following the true crest of the southwest ridge throughout.

This failed due to lack of time and difficulty, but Sandy Allan and Rick Allen returned to their 7,160m camp, "rested" a day, and then followed variations to the upper Schell Route to the summit.

The deadline for next year's MEF applications is 31st January 2013. For more information on the MEF application process check out its information page

The Rothschild Foundation, with its eight-member board of trustees chaired by the former banker Lord Rothschild, supports a range of charitable initiatives, including sustainability and the environment, education, and heritage.

Apart from its financial activities, and a name famous to wine connoisseurs, the Rothschild family is noted in the world of art collection, and has a strong philanthropic tradition dating from the early 19th Century.  

The recently enlarged Rothschild Foundation was registered with the Charities Commission in September 2010.
 

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