photo credit: Joe HastingsRay White real estate principal Stephen Bock is preparing to conquer the world’s highest mountain to fulfil a lifelong dream and honour his late father.

Mr Bock is a member of an Australian expedition team including Seven Network television presenter Peter Wells planning an assault on the south side of Mount Everest in 2010.

“Everest is something I’ve wanted to do my whole life,” said the director of Ray White Team Bock at Manly in Sydney.

“My father Robert died aged 60 last year from bowel cancer and I’d like to climb Everest as a tribute to him.”

The expedition is raising awareness of bowel cancer, Australia’s second biggest killer, and funds for Bowel Cancer Australia.

The Ray White Group is sponsoring the expedition and Mr Bock is seeking more corporate support with the incentive of the company’s logo to be photographed on the top of Mount Everest.

“To have your logo carried to the top of the world is something special,” Mr Bock said.

The expedition is being led by South African mountaineer Ronnie Muhl and also includes Sydney recruitment consultant Darren Robertson, of Cadden Crowe.

“Pete, Darren and myself are three corporate guys who share a passion for climbing Everest,” Mr Bock said.

“Ronnie climbed Everest in 2007 a year after having to turn back just 150m from the summit. The opportunity to climb Everest has come through Ronnie, who we met when he was in Australia promoting a book and DVD of his expedition.”

Mr Bock, 38, has extensive mountaineering experience but nothing of the magnitude of Everest, the world’s highest peak at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft).

“I have been up to 23,000ft in the Andes and it doesn’t sound like a big jump to 29,000 but it is,” he said.

Mr Bock has taken on an exhausting five-hour a day training regime while continuing to run his hectic real estate business and spend time with his partner Linda, her 20-month-old daughter Jazmin and his six-year-old daughter Georgia.

The expedition team is also competing in endurance events such as next month’s 100km ‘Trailwalker Event’, which travels along the Great North Trail from Brooklyn north of Sydney to harborside Mosman.

“I’m training to the point of exhaustion,” he said.

“To climb Everest, whatever you thought your barriers were you’ve got to smash through them.”

As well as plans to display sponsor’s logos on the summit, video cameras will be attached to the mountaineers’ equipment to allow live footage of their progress to be web streamed back to Australia.

“There will be a DVD of the expedition and talks about the climb when we return,” Mr Bock said.

“We are also offering trekking opportunities for up to 40 people to meet the team at our base camp at cheaper than the normal cost.”

The team plans to start the expedition in late March 2010 and will spend at least 10 weeks on Everest.

Support for the expedition can be registered online at www.everest2010.com.au