Mike Jackson, 71, from Colchester, Essex, is scaling the height of Mount Everest (29,016 ft/8,848m) over 29 days starting on 1 November, going up the 13 stairs in his home the equivalent of 125 times a day, plus two extra climbs on the last day. He has created this challenge as a way to raise funds for Help for Heroes, a charity he has supported since his son-in-law, Colour Sergeant Kevin Fortuna, was killed by an IED in Afghanistan in May 2011.
Mike and his wife Sue have in this time raised funds for the military charity by collecting in supermarkets, shops, pubs and restaurants, plus through an annual fundraising bike ride every May in Kevin’s honour. The couple initially set out to raise £10,000 in total but to date they have raised a staggering £227,000. They have been supported by their daughter, Nia, other family members and a band of loyal and dedicated Help for Heroes volunteers.
However, their ability to fundraise this year have been severely limited by the coronavirus, so Mike decided to take ‘drastic action’ and came up with his Everest Challenge. He hopes it will raise £23,000 so he can reach their goal of £250,000 raised in Kevin’s name. The total for this event currently stands at £1,821.
To donate to Mike’s Everest Challenge visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/4tuna.
About the challenge Mike says, “Training, transportation, equipment and a Sherpa would, ordinarily, cost at least £25,000 and, allowing for several sessions of base camp altitude training would take at least ten weeks. Added to this the difficulties imposed by various lockdown restrictions in the countries along the way means that I’ve decided to modify things very slightly and will undertake the challenge from the comfort of my own home.
“I aim to be the first person to climb Mount Everest wearing shorts,” he added in jest.
Kevin, who served with 1st Battalion, the Rifles, died when he stepped on a roadside bomb’s pressure pad while on patrol in Helmand Province in Afghanistan, only five weeks into his second tour of duty.
Mike could not have chosen a more important time to raise funds for injured and sick veterans and their families as Help for Heroes’ income has been hit hard this year as a result of the pandemic, with all its face to face fundraising events and activities since April being either cancelled or postponed. It anticipates a 30% reduction in regular income over the coming years due to the ongoing economic recession. At the same time, demand for support rose significantly during lockdown with a 33% increase in new people coming forward for support with their mental health in May and June 2020 compared to the same period last year, as well as nearly 30% more new referrals into the charity’s physical health focused service.
Carole Groves, Senior Fundraising Manager at Help for Heroes, comments, “Mike and Sue are incredible supporters of Help for Heroes and their love for Kevin shines through with everything that they do. The idea of climbing my stairs 125 times in one day makes me feel dizzy, let alone for 29 days! We are so grateful to Mike and his team for their dedication to our cause, and for his passionate belief in helping Armed Forces personnel who are wounded as a result of their service.”
Supporting him on his journey will be his Support Team at Base Camp, known as Support Under Stress Around Nepal (SUSAN) aka his wife Sue.
The climb is going well so far. The aim was to climb 1000 feet/day but he’s putting in extra effort early on in case of problems later. After 6 days he had ascended 8000 feet and he hopes to get to Base Camp at 17 000 feet by next weekend (15 Nov).
He adds, “In the absence of a proper Base Camp at home I have set up the downstairs loo to house my drink bottle, towel and ascent log so that I don’t lose track of how many times I have climbed the stairs. It isn’t the most scenic of views and my concentration can wander. I will not count my everyday trips upstairs to the toilet, having a shower, looking for things, forgetting why I have gone upstairs, closing the windows before going out, turning off the central heating when the temperature goes above freezing, going to bed, coming back down to check that the back door is locked, etc”