Articles

Calton Athletic begin journey to Everest

Written by Mungo Ross, March 2014

Last week in Scotland, Jagged Globe Instructor and expedition leader, Mungo Ross, worked with a group who hope to complete the Everest 3 Peaks 3 Passes trek in spring 2016.

" I have just had a brilliant day out on the Wee Buchaille in Glen Coe with seven members of this group from Glasgow as an introduction to our preparations for their planned trip to Nepal the year after next."

John Ferns, their spokesman, explains the background; "We are a self-funded and self-supporting group of reformed alcohol and drug addicts who have discovered hillwalking and mountaineering as a source of real inspiration and motivation to help keep us focused in our determination to lead our new-found lives. Calton Athletic is there for anyone who is looking for help with the nightmare of drink or drug abuse, and we as a group are committed to helping and supporting each other out of the dark and into the daylight. Discovering the hills has been absolutely brilliant, whether walking the West Highland Way, ticking off the Munros (some of us have done around 18 so far), or just enjoying the views and fresh air so near to Glasgow. We were lucky to come across Heather Morning who did some basic training with us, and organised a trip to the Austrian Alps last summer where we got a taste of glaciers and higher peaks. Now we are setting our sights even higher and are planning an adventurous trek over high passes to visit Everest Base Camp in the spring of 2016. Meeting Mungo has got us in touch with Jagged Globe who we will be using for all our planning and support."

Mungo goes on to say " Our walk up Buchaille Etive Beag last Sunday was an opportunity for us to start to get to know each other and brush up on Winter Mountaineering skills; the next thing will be a bothy weekend and at least a couple of camping trips before we commit to three weeks together in the Khumbu Valley below Everest. This is a massive dream for all of these guys and such a positive story out of the all the negativity of the Glasgow drink and drugs scene. What has impressed me most is their utter determination to reform themselves and to support each other while they�re doing it � Colin had to dig so deep on Sunday to get to the top, but it was clear that if he hadn�t, none of the rest of the group would have gone there without him. They are going to have to fund-raise, save and train hard to be able to make this dream come true, but the members of Calton Athletic are survivors and they are on their way to Everest!"

Find out more about Calton Athletic at their website.

« Previous article | Next article »

Jagged Globe Newsletter

We publish an email newsletter with trip reports and latest availability, plus features, competitions and general news of our climbing, trekking & skiing activities.