Planning summit special
Ben Lawers peak aim
Determined Perthshire youngster Alex Medley is out to prove living with a disability is no barrier to enjoying the great outdoors.
The 12-year-old, who lives near Auchterarder with his family and has Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, is aiming to conquer Ben Lawers on Sunday.
Accompanied by mum Sam and dad Phillip, intrepid Alex will tackle the 1214-metre Highland Perthshire Munro with the help of charity Joelette and People Experiences otherwise known as JAPES.
The good cause – a nonprofit social inclusion project that aims to allow people of all ages who live with mobility challenges to experience mass participation events – is familiar with the Medley family as Alex recently teamed up with JAPES to complete eight miles of May’s Stirling Marathon.
The memorable moment was achieved using a Joelette, a speciallydesigned wheelchair, supported by a team of volunteer JAPES runners and crew.
Sam knows the impact JAPES has had on Alex’s life and is delighted to be working with them again.
She said: “As a family, we first got involved with JAPES when Alex did the first eight miles of the Stirling Marathon this May.
“It was a fantastic experience for him and Alex Medley
one he still talks about! A great bunch of people got four mobility restricted young people and adults over the Stirling Marathon course.”
Alex is set to complete the hike three days after his 12th birthday, and Sam admitted she can’t wait.
She continued: “I casually mentioned to Nelson Liddle, the brains behind JAPES, that we’ve always wanted to get Alex up a Munro.
“Philip and I were keen hillwalkers before having kids and it has always been on our bucket list to try and get both Alex and his younger sister up a hill as a family.
“JAPES have taken the challenge on and the team and us in tow are attempting to get Alex up to the top. Alex is medically one in a million, but these people truly are too.”
As well as helping Alex realise his dream, the charity’s founder Nelson Liddle is also hoping to break new ground by taking the equipment offroad – something for which it was originally intended.
He said: “The Joelette was actually designed by a French inventor to be used on mountain terrain, so I’m looking forward to testing it.
“We’ve got seven volunteers going up the mountain and I know this will be a dream come true for Alex. I can’t wait for the expedition.”
Nelson bought the Joelette last October and is keen to get as much use out of it as possible.
“I completed a sponsored five day run in Dunbar to buy the Joelette, and it breaks my heart to see it not being used.”
To find out more about JAPES, visit www.japes. scot.