A KEEN walker is looking to conquer the highest mountain in the world to raise money for a young boy fighting cancer – but he will be attempting the challenge a lot closer to home.
Scott Mcalister is planning to climb Roseberry Topping 27 times in less than 24 hours – the equivalent of reaching the top of Mount Everest - to raise money for Darlington boy Luke Bell.
The 47-year-old, a father-of-two, will be starting the challenge on Saturday morning (December 22), and hopes to reach the summit of the iconic North Yorkshire hill for the 27th time by 10am the following day.
Roseberry Topping is 320 metres above sea level, which is 27 times less than Mount Everest at 8,848m, which is more than 29,000 ft.
Luke was diagnosed with High Risk Neuroblastoma in April last year and has endured several rounds of treatment after suffering a relapse earlier this year.
A variety of fundraising events have been organised to support the Darlington youngster and Mr Mcalister will be hoping to play his part next weekend.
He had originally set a target of raising £1,000 on his JustGiving page, but that amount had already been achieved more than a week before he was due to start the climb.
“I’m a very active person and I like being outdoors – I like to go to the Lake District and to Scotland and Wales,” he said.
“I’m still working on the master plan to get me through it, but I’ll be having some hot food to give me some energy and people have offered to provide hot drinks.
“I’ve done some training already and I’ve practiced two, four, six times at comfortable pace.
“I have a few friends and family coming along to support me and to walk up with me throughout the day. I'd love for anyone else in the area to join in.
"Hopefully this will help to raise awareness of Luke's condition, as well as other sufferers of this disease."
The community has rallied around to support the brave Holy Family Primary pupil, with fundraising events having already taken place in recent months and even more planned before Christmas.
Mark and Becky Bell, Luke's parents, thought their son may have had anaemia but it never crossed their minds that he would be diagnosed with high risk neuroblastoma – a rare form of cancer – just days later.
- To sponsor Mr Mcalister, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/scott-mcalister
- For more information about Luke Bell's fundraising campaign, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/teamlukebell.
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