A group of businessmen have conquered 10 Munros – including the highest mountain in Britain – in aid of a north-east children’s charity.
After months of training Brian Kerr, Andy Proctor, Davie Grieve, Gerry Robertson, Ron McGregor, and mountain guide Colin Chapman climbed Ben Nevis to raise funds for Charlie House in Aberdeen.
The five fundraisers had five separate trips bagging 10 Munros that culminated in the Ben Nevis climb.
Included in their “Journey to Nevis” over the past year were hills Mount Keen and Glen Shee.
Last Saturday the group spent more than seven hours battling below-freezing conditions on Ben Nevis.
Brian said: “We never underestimated how tough the challenge would be and some of the earlier climbs in the year saw really difficult weather conditions, but we were relatively lucky with the weather on Saturday, although it was -1C (30F) at the summit and probably around -7C (19F)with the wind chill.
“I think the hardest part was the descent – in total it took us seven-and-a-quarter hours.
“We cannot thank our mountain guide Colin enough – he gave up his time to train and accompany us on our climbs – and to our supporters who have donated. As a team we are delighted to have hit our target knowing that we have raised vital funds for such a fantastic local charity.”
The Journey to Nevis team have smashed their initial £5,000 target and have more than £10,000 for Charlie House.
The charity supports babies, children and young people with complex disabilities and life- limiting conditions in the north-east.
Director of fundraising at the charity Susan Crighton said: “We cannot thank the Journey to Nevis team enough. They have shown so much grit and determination to complete these challenges, culminating in Saturday’s ascent and descent of Ben Nevis. The group have very busy work and home lives so to commit to this challenge and also raise more than £10,000 is just fantastic.
“The money the team raised will assist us in continuing to offer support services for babies, children and young people with complex disabilities and life- limiting conditions in the north-east of Scotland.”