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Time to Sweat !

At the end of August 2023, just before I turn 50, I’m going to fulfil a lifelong dream to stand at the top of Austria’s tallest mountain called Grossglockner (3798 m !!!), and raise vital funds for NYHO, a UK charity close to my heart working with talented young harp musicians. 

The NYHO* Charitable Trust’s mission is to bring harp music to the attention of the wider public. As well as concerts, NYHO has several outreach programmes. Past events have involved members playing for patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital for sick children, and care homes for the elderly. They also support harp students fulfil their potential regardless of their economic background by offering a bursary fund.

My daughter Alice was offered a place in the NYHO Senior Orchestra in September 2019, and has been with NYHO ever since. Raising funds for NYHO is my way of saying thank you as a harp parent, to conductor Luisa-Maria Cordell, her husband Jamie Cordell and the team of volunteers supporting them. Luisa and Jamie are the heart behind NYHO and made it to their goal to give young harpists so many opportunities to perform on stage and grow in confidence; not to mention all the charity work and outreach programmes NYHO does. 

I’m very excited, but also aware of the perennial risks of what I’m going to do in August. After all, that sacred and legendary Austrian mountain has taken hundreds of lives, since it was first conquered in 1800.

I know it will not be a walk in the park, since it is going to be a high altitude 2-days climb with a number of technical challenges and significantly less oxygen than at sea level. But I feel ready, as I trained hard towards that goal, since the start of the year. 

Please take a look at this video on YouTube; I’m going to climb up the same route in August - https://youtu.be/d0GLT17Evaw

I’m especially pleased that daughter Jenny and son-in-law Pete will also be joining me during this epic climb - before I’m getting too senior to keep up with the youngsters 🫣😉. All 3 of us will be in safe hands with local mountain guide Mich’l, who will guide us to the top @ 3 798 m (12 460 feet), and take us safely down again. 

You can also click onto ‚view gallery‘ to see the team, and more pictures of the challenge ahead 🏔️.

Please donate what you can – it is for a very, very good charitable cause.

My fund raising target is £ 1 for each meter I‘m climbing up (£ 1900). As a ‚stretched target’ I‘d like to raise another £ 1 for each meter coming down safely again. Many climbing accidents happen on the way down!

Wish us luck, fair weather, and that I don’t run out of air up there (quite literally 😂).

Ewald & the summit push team

* NYHO - National Youth Harp Orchestra of Great Britain

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