A group of 24 hill walking family and friends have managed to climb the highest peaks in Scotland, England, Wales, Northern and Southern Ireland within their 48 hour target, and raise over £13,000 for the Hospice in the process.

The team managed to continuously climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Snowdon, Carrauntoohil and Slieve Donard in just over 46 hours on the 13th-15th June of this year. The team had to battle through snowy mountain peaks, torrential rain and gale force winds, but amazingly still managed to complete the gruelling trip within their tough 48 hour target. The group, who are from the Inverness and Ross-Shire area, had also set themselves an impressive £5,000 fundraising target initially. However, thanks to months of group and individual fundraising, they have managed to raise more than double this amount with more money still to come in. 

The challenge was organised in memory of Alice Macdonald, from Dingwall, who was cared for by the Hospice before she passed away at the age of 78 last year. The group who took part are family and friends of Alice who arranged the challenge to fundraise for the Hospice as a way of showing their gratitude of the care Alice received.

Andy Barnett, of Hood Street, Maryburgh, organised the challenge. He said:

“We saw first-hand the fantastic service Highland Hospice provides when Alice was cared for there last year, and this challenge was our way of showing our support. We set ourselves a massive challenge, and we were delighted to beat our 48 hour target despite the weather, which was far from kind to us. The sore legs, lack of sleep and blisters were all worth it though as we are thrilled to have raised so much money for Highland Hospice, and we would like to thank everyone who has helped us raise this amount for the very worthy charity.”

Amanda Burt, Highland Hospice Community and Event Fundraiser, said:

“We would like to congratulate all of the High 5 team for completing this mammoth challenge, and also say a huge thank you to the team for their incredible fundraising efforts. £13,000 is a massive sum to have raised for the Hospice, and it will go a long way in helping our patients and their families.”