Two Hull men plan to take Netflix-inspired hike across 14 peaks
FUNDRAISING CHARITY TREK
TWO Hull men are attempting to set a new Guinness world record by scaling the UK’S 14 highest peaks in three days.
Luke Mitchell and Tom Conroy have launched a fundraiser for their challenge, raising money for the Jacobs Well Appeal to support the crisis in Ukraine.
The pair are keen mountaineers, hiking and wild-camping on a regular basis, who wanted to turn their hobby into something that could help those who need it most.
They are also aiming to raise awareness for the work done by mountain rescue teams.
Their trek will see them navigate the tricky terrain of the Scottish highlands, including the UK’S highest mountain, Ben Nevis.
By the end of the challenge, Luke and Tom will have scaled the height of Mount Everest - twice.
The pair will begin their hike with Ben Lawers at Loch Tay, before making their way up seven peaks throughout the Cairngorms.
Luke and Tom will then scale Carn Eige and Mam Sodhail, before taking on Ben Nevis and finishing the challenge with Aonach Beag, Aonach Mor, and finally Carn Mor Dearg.
Speaking to the Mail, Luke said: “Tom and I started hiking a few years ago and now we’ve just got the bug, really.
“We go on hikes and go wildcamping most weeks now and it got to a point where we thought, what else can we do?
“After watching ‘14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible’ on Netflix, we were inspired to do something similar.
“We’re aiming to scale the UK’S 14 highest peaks in three days, which has never been done before.
“We’ve been in touch with Guinness world records and we will be aiming to set a new record.
“They’ve given us GPS trackers and asked us to record video diaries every six hours to track our progress.
“Our planned route will take us all over the Cairngorms and then up Ben Nevis.
“To fit it all in in three days will mean that we’ll have to do some wild-camping and have some tactical sleeps in the car.”
Speaking about their fundraiser, Luke said: “We wanted to do something to help Ukraine as they are in dire need at the moment.
“Tom’s mum does a lot of work with the Jacobs Well Appeal so it made sense to raise money to support their relief efforts.
“We also want to raise awareness for mountain rescue teams who do amazing work and don’t get enough credit.
“Mountaineering can be very dangerous and some people think they can just go and do it without any preparation, which is when you can end up in trouble.
Luke and Tom will begin their challenge on Monday, May 23.
Luke said: “Tom is really excited, but I’m a little bit anxious as well as being excited. It’s the fear of the unknown and needing to be realistic about what we’re doing.
“We need to make sure we’ve got everything before we go, that we have enough food, etcetera.
“It’s mixed emotions, but I’m still looking forward to it.”