Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Kirkcaldy woman to return to Nepal for Everest trek four years after earthquake

Ann Varney is to trek to Everest Base Camp as she returns to Nepal four years after earthquake
Ann Varney is to trek to Everest Base Camp as she returns to Nepal four years after earthquake

A Fife woman trapped in Nepal during the devastating 2015 earthquake is to return to the country to trek to Everest Base Camp.

Ann Varney, from Kirkcaldy, was on holiday when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck, killing more than 8,000 people.

She escaped from a temple as the ground shook but watched in horror as walls of buildings around her crumbled.

In her challenge next September she hopes to raise £60,000 to help children and adolescents struggling with mental illness.

Ann, 50, said: “This will be the first time I have been in Nepal since the earthquake and I am both excited and a little nervous about going back but I am ready to embrace the determination that is needed for climbing Everest.”


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The Courier newsletter


Hypnotherapist Ann is to take on the hills and Munros of Scotland to build up her strength and enlist the support of a personal trainer to help keep her motivated.

Her mission will support the Children’s Meditation Hypnotherapy Centre, a non-profit organisation which she founded in Kirkcaldy just under a year ago.

Children can wait for months for mental health support on the NHS and Ann said she was astonished at the demand for the centre’s services, which she said provided hope families and children were desperate for.

She said: “I believe in pushing myself, especially for something I am very passionate about and that is helping children and young people transform their emotions into a more powerful states.

“The money raised from his climb will be fully invested in the centre and will allow us to extend our reach to more families, including those on lower incomes.”

Ann was among a group including Brits and Americans visiting a temple in the Nubri valley, a seven-day walk from the nearest road, when the earthquake hit.

They were the last ones out of the temple, which survived almost unscathed, but nearly 80% of homes in the valley collapsed or were badly damaged.

As surrounding roads were destroyed, she and her group had to be airlifted from the site to Kathmandu.

The earthquake also swept through the south base camp where Ann is headed, killing 19 people there.

Back in Fife, Ann raised money to send to the monastery which gave them food and shelter until they were rescued.