Alan Slade was born to do two things: Cheer for the Rabbitohs and scale some of the world’s most treacherous peaks. Now he plans to head back to the Himalayas to plant a Rabbitohs flag for the whole world to see!
The boy from Maroubra recalls his early days of heading to Redfern Oval with his mother, getting a taste for altitudes by climbing the light towers to get a better view.
“I grew up in Maroubra, Rabbitohs heartland, and mum wouldn’t let us support anyone else,” said Slade.
“I remember going to games at Redfern Oval and climbing the light towers to sit on the electricity boxes to get a better view.”
From those humble beginnings, Slade turned his attention to the Himalayas where he combined both his love for the Rabbitohs with his desire to push himself to the limit.
Donning his Rabbitohs hoodie, Slade made his way to Everest base camp before moving on to attempt an ascent of Mera Peak.
“In 2004 I walked to Everest base camp. It was one of the toughest things I’ve done, mentally and physically,” said Slade.
“Mera Peak was even tougher. I came down with altitude sickness and didn’t make it to the top, I was about 5,600 metres up and wore my Souths hoodie with pride.”
Slade plans to head back to the Himalayas and fly the Red and Green colours once more, just as a reminder to everyone that there are Rabbitohs in every corner of the world!
“I hope to one day get back to Nepal with a flag and my jersey and plant the flag on top of one of the peaks. I’ll leave it there just to remind people we are everywhere!”