Nicky climbs three peaks in memory of her mum

A NOVICE climber has raised more than £10,000 for Maggie’s Dundee in memory of her beloved mum by completing a feat that even seasoned Munro baggers would think twice about.

Nicky Wilson was a teenager when her mum, Aileen, was diagnosed with breast cancer and later lung cancer.

This week marks the fifth anniversary of Aileen’s death at just 51.

Nicky wanted to challenge herself to do something big. And what’s bigger than climbing three of the highest peaks in the UK in 24 hours?

Aileen was supported by Maggie’s Dundee so Nicky and friends set out on the “crazy” against-the-clock climbing challenge to raise funds for the centre.

The three peaks challenge involves climbing Ben Nevis, Snowdon in Wales and England’s Scafell Pike in 24 hours.

Nicky, 27, says: “For three or four years, mum did all the usual chemo and radiotherapy. She then went onto a drugs trial.

“Thankfully, she was able to keep working the whole time, at the Double Tree by Hilton in Dundee where she was food and beverage manager.

“It was a fairly full on job, so much so that after she died, a lot of her staff didn’t even know she was ill. She just carried on as if nothing was wrong.”

Nicky chose to raise money for Maggie’s Dundee in thanks for all the support both she and Aileen received.

said of Maggie’s: “Mum got a lot of support for worries about her finances, her health, hair loss. She’d be able to go in and just unwind.

“She was very conscious, especially when we were younger, that she didn’t want to burden us.

“She’d often go in to have a cup of tea and chat with the volunteers and support staff to discuss the best options for wigs or what to do post-surgery.

“Sometimes, she’d just go in and read for a while, to have a break from the hustle and bustle.

“Once she passed away, I went in for a couple of counselling sessions, to get a bit of extra support to process things in the six months after she died.”

Nicky, her brother Iain, and three friends took on their biggest challenge last weekend.

“We’re all quite outdoorsy. But we’re not really walkers – none of us had done a Munro before we started,” sad Nicky, from Cupar.

“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 so he offered to drive.”

Completing the challenge means 23 miles of walking, 10,053ft in ascent 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.” Iain had a stopwatch to keep them on track.

“We had a glass of champagne and went for breakfast.

We were really relieved and happy to have finished in such good time,” said Nicky.

They have raised the money with online and offline donations.

Nicky, centre, with brother Iain and their mother Aileen Wilson.