As many of you know, we lost our wonderful friend Julie to aortic dissection in March 2023 at the age of 42.

As a tribute to her and to raise awareness of aortic dissection, a group of us -her oldest school friends, will be attempting to climb the 3 highest peaks of the UK (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon)

Aiming to complete the trek in 15 hours or less (climbing time), we will cover approximately 22 miles and climb around 9,500 feet.

Julie would have thought us completely mad to attempt such a feat, but had it been a different one of us, she would have turned up with bells on (or possibly her fur coat with integrated flashing lights!!) and there is no doubt that remembering the energy and enthusiasm she had for life will get us through this gruelling challenge!

2000 people per year lose their lives from aortic dissection in the UK.

The Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust is the UK and Ireland charity uniting patients, families and the medical community in a shared goal of improving diagnosis, increasing survival and reducing disability due to aortic dissection.