Climb The Old Man of Hoy in the Orkney Islands, a 137m tower of rock in the middle of the sea, whats so hard about that? Oh yeah, no working legs!
The challenge would require me kayaking out to the Sea Stack which is inaccessible by land for wheelchair users. Once there I would have to Prusik/jumar my way up the 137m tower leaving enough energy for the abseil back down and the kayak back to land. Some people say The Old Man of Hoy is a precarious structure and is due to collapse any time soon! Provisional date September 2020!
MY STORY
I had always dreamed of one day climbing a sea stack. I was wrapped up in the exposed nature of the climb and excitement of being surrounded by an untameable sea. What an adventure! Climbing was my life and I knew one day I would get good enough to do it....it was on the list. But then 5 years ago the unthinkable happened. I fell. My life changed forever, a life interrupted. I suffered a Spinal Cord Injury which left me paralysed, dependent on a wheelchair, and I thought all my dreams were over.
BUT THEN...
Through charities like the Calvert Trust I began to discover a new world of adventures as a paraplegic. The specially trained staff have access to adapted equipment which is often financially out of reach for most people. I wanted to find a way to repay their gift and to make sure others would continue to receive it. When it came to the 2 year anniversary of my fall (AKA my Second Chance Birthday) I got to thinking about the dreams I had before I fell and I decided to resurrect my list. And the tallest sea stack in the UK was on it!
In September 2018 we made our first attempt, it didn't go well, read all about it here. In 2019 I launched V2.0 with a new plan read about it here.
We now have 2 "weather windows" to make an attempt in 2020:
18th - 22nd May
8th -12th June
We need calm seas, no wind, no rain.......IN SCOTLAND! if the conditions are right in one of those weeks we'll be going UP.
But mostly this is all about making sure that people of any ability can adventure so be sure to DONATE HERE! I'm undertaking this challenge in support of the charity Calvert Trust, "challenging disability through outdoor adventure", find out more about their support following my Spinal Cord Injury here
Short cut to more blogs HERE
Read enough? DONATE HERE!
