UPADATE: Michael successfully climbed ben Nevis on the 21st July. It took 17 hours and 40 mins and was an amazing achievement. Not only that, but two members of our team, Meg and George, stopped to give emergency aid to a severly ill elderly man with diabetes and probably saved his life. Stars the lot of them. Well done team, and esp Michael.I'll update with photos etc when I can. :-)
I'm climbing Ben Nevis for charity, please sponsor me!
Ok so that doesn't sound like a very big challenge for someone who works as a mountain leader does it?
So why am I asking you to support this fundraising event, why am I involved, and where exactly is the challenge for me?
The Cause:
I am part of the volunteer support team for Michael Anderson, who is deaf and blind, and climbing Ben Nevis for his 70th birthday on the 21st July. He is raising money for DeafBlind Scotland, which is a charity that supports people in Scotland with dual sensory impairment, a very isolating disability. The charity hopes to build a centre of excellence for training and supporting people wth deafblindness, their families, carers, teachers, colleagues and guides.
Why am I involved?
I got involved initially because of my professional expertise with the mountain and I wanted to help. However, becoming part of Michael's team immediately struck a very resonant chord with me, because Gaffen, my grandfather, was deaf and blind in the later years of his life. He battled bravely with this disability, and very often the people around him did not appreciate just how isolating an experience this could be. He came up against barriers that did not need to be there, in hospital, at home, and with the people he met who were supposed to be helping him. Deafblind Scotland helps to break down those barriers and can have a hugely positive impact on peoples lives. I think it is a brilliant charity and I want to help them reach their goal of building the support centre.
I've been up Ben Nevis dozens of times via lots of routes, but even though we are heading up the "tourist path", this will be my hardest yet. I can only imagine what a massive challenge it will be for Michael. To climb Ben Nevis, he will have a small team of friends and family acting as guides- who will lead him up the mountain. We expect to be on the mountain for 18+ hours. It is a huge physical challenge for all involved.
So, it will be a huge morale booster for us when we are on the hill to know that we are raising money for a good cause.
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