The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Woman’s charity mountain trek to honour late mum
Awoman raised more than £10,000 for Maggie’s Dundee by completing a feat even seasoned walkers would think twice about in memory of her mum.
Nicky Wilson was just a teenager when her mum, Aileen, was diagnosed with breast cancer, and later lung cancer.
This week marks the fiveyear anniversary of Aileen’s death aged just 51.
To honour the date, Nicky wanted to challenge herself to do something big. And what is bigger than climbing three of the highest peaks in the UK in 24 hours?
Nicky, 27, chose to raise money for Maggie’s Dundee in thanks for all the support both she and her mum received.
Nicky and friends set out on the against-the-clock challenge, to raise funds for the centre.
The three-peaks challenge involved climbing Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell Pike in just 24 hours.
Nicky, her brother Iain, and three friends took on the challenge last weekend.
Nicky, from Cupar, said: “None of us had done a Munro before we started!
“My three best friends said ‘you sound crazy, but let’s give it a go’.
“Iain was keen to get involved but with work commitments, the walking wasn’t really doable for him, so he offered to drive.”
Completing the challenge meant doing 23 miles of walking, 3,064m in ascent over the three mountains and 462 miles of driving.
Nicky added: “We drove to Wales on Friday night and started Snowdon at 10am on Saturday.
“After that, we drove to Scafell Pike and started that at 5.30pm, finishing just after 8.30pm.
“Then, we started Ben Nevis with head torches at 2am and finished around 8am on Sunday.
“When we got down, my auntie and uncle – my mum’s brother – met us at the bottom with a glass of Champagne.”
The effort has raised more than £10,000 for Maggie’s Dundee.
Nicky said: “Mum would have thought we were bonkers, but I think she’d have been really proud that we stuck to the task.”
To donate to Nicky’s fundraiser, visit her JustGiving page.