Andrew leads Nevis challenge
A group of kind-hearted former Stonelaw High pupils have helped raise thousands of pounds for a good cause by climbing Ben Nevis.
The idea started when Andrew Kier, 19, decided he wanted to take on the challenge of the highest mountain on the British isles.
After roping in some of his pals, the 14-strong group decided they would earn money for Cancer Research UK from the climb.
Now they’ve completed the task, the friends had raised around £3500.
Andrew, from Burnside, said: “Earlier in the year I decided I wanted to climb Ben Nevis and I thought why not make it worthwhile and do it for charity?
“So I proposed the idea to my pals and they were all up for it.
“I hadn’t really done anything like this before so it was a case of being thrown in at the deep end but I really enjoyed the challenge.”
The group had good reason for choosing Cancer Research.
Andrew said: “One of my pal’s mum has breast cancer so obviously he’s directly affected by it – and we all know someone who’s had cancer.
“My uncle, James Shaw, died about eight years ago from cancer, so that was a big part of why I picked it.
We’re still collecting money but it looks like it’s in the region of £3500.
“We did it the old fashioned way, we just got sheets from Cancer Research and have been going around collecting.
“And I stuck the sheets up at my work and we’ve had family and friends online.
“I’ve thanked everyone since we got back, it was really great.”
Andrew admitted the toughest part of the climb was just getting used to the rocky terrain. He said: “It’s a real rocky trip – most of the walkers there had all sorts of expensive equipment to help them but we were just there with our trainers and bags, so the rocky terrain was hard.
“You couldn’t take your eyes off the ground or you’d fall so it was mentally tough because you had to concentrate all the time and physically going up the hill was hard too.
“There was no way that one of us wasn’t going to get up Nevis. However long it took, we were all going to eventually make it.
“The worst part was actually coming down because the motivation had gone and you’re just wanting to get back down.
“You’re just wanting to get to level ground and it was tougher because of that.”
The group were Adam Drummond, Ben Graham, Ben McLean, Calum Wray, Craig Howie, ‘Davie’ Strang, Fraser Wells, Harry Mitchell, Joshua Hurley, Kieran McKenzie, Krissy Strang, Rory Davidson and ‘Sebo’ Clark.