The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Everest conquered . . . in Scotland
A team of north business people have raised the skyhigh figure of £180,000 with a gruelling cycle challenge which included the equivalent of ascending to the highest point on earth – all without leaving the Highlands.
The aptly named Everest Highland cycle team took on the 380 mile ride, including 25,500ft of climbing to raise money for the Highland Hospice.
The team left the hospice shop in Wick at the end of May and cycled to Durness, Ullapool and then to Skye as far as Broadford.
They then headed for Fort William before finishing with a ride along the Great Glen to Inverness and the main hospice base. Along the way, the team of 22 tackled a number of steep hills and some horrendous weather, including high winds and even hailstones.
The fundraising total for the group is still coming in but it has already passed £181,500, which will go towards Highland Hospice’s £4.5million Project Build appeal.
Norman Macdonald, owner of Cafe 1 restaurant in Inverness, was instrumental in bringing the group together after being approached by the hospice fundraising team back in 2013 to see if he was interested in taking on a Highland- wide cycle to help raise the profile of the Project Build Appeal.
He said: “We had all trained hard for the cycle as we knew the scale of the challenge we were taking on, but nothing could have prepared us for theweather we had during the week.
“We had it all – high winds, torrential rain, hailstones, close to freezing temperatures but spirits still remained high.
“It was extremely tough, but it was more than worthwhile when we see the figure that was raised.”
Fiona Patience, Project Build appeal fundraiser for Highland Hospice, said: “We cannot thank the “Everest Highlanders” enough for their hard work and commitment to our Project Build appeal.
“They are truly an incredible group of people whohave given up so much of their time to train and fundraiser for us over the past 12-18 months.
“They initially set themselves an ambitious fundraising target of £ 100,000 which would have been an outstanding achievement, but to raise over £180,00 is truly outstanding.”