A unique climbing challenge featuring rope access specialists from Sparrows Group and Array Training has reached an impressive high after raising thousands of pounds for an Aberdeen-based children’s charity.
With donations still pouring in, the team hope to top £5000 after they scaled the height of Mount Everest in a combined vertical rope ascent challenge for Charlie House on Friday, 24 June.
Over a nine-hour period, they jointly climbed 8,850m from ropes hanging from the pedestal crane at our Tyrebagger training facility in Aberdeen. From a platform deep in the quarry below the crane, the team battled tiring limbs as they ascended the ropes 200 times in total.
Kevin Mottram and Peter Rhodes from our inspection team teamed up with Ray Liversidge and Tilo Phillips from Array Training to complete the challenge, which was the first time such a height has been climbed in this fashion. The team has a combined 57 years of rope access experience.
Peter said: “The average height we climb for work is around five metres so this was a massive challenge and something we had been training for. Everything went well once we got into a rhythm although towards the end of the challenge our progress started to slow as we tired, it took a lot of willpower to complete the last few climbs.
“We have had tremendous backing from colleagues and friends and it is wonderful to be able to raise so much for a fantastic cause working with families with disabled children in the region.”
Ray said: “Array Training is delighted to be able to support this great cause, Tilo and I really enjoyed the challenge of the climb. Thank you to everyone who supported us in raising a substantial amount of money for the charity.”
Charlie House is an Aberdeen-based charity which engages in activities and projects to support children with complex needs and life limiting conditions in the area.
Mark Dalgarno, head of inspection at Sparrows Group, said: “We were delighted to put our skills and equipment to use for Charlie House. Each climb from a platform in the quarry to the crane was 45 metres – so the guys had a lot of work to do.
“It truly is a fantastic cause and all donations and support has been greatly appreciated.”