By Glyn Dodwell
We can all live in awe of the great mountaineers who conquer the world's heights mountains, for most of us it will only ever be a dream. However, there is a way to achieve greatness without ever stepping foot into the Himalayas.
Throughout 2017 OS #GetOutside Champion Glyn Dodwell from 'Hill-Walking For The Over 60's' has climbed the equivalent height of the three highest mountains in the world:
1st Everest – 8848 metres
2nd K2 – 8611 metres
3rd Kangchenjunga – 8586 metres
A total of 26045 metres or 85450 feet.
And before you ask – no I have not spent every day in Wales, Scotland or the Lakes. In fact, the majority of my walking has been on the South Downs and the Chalk Downs of Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire – all within public transport routes of London!
Yes, I did include a trip up Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Pen Y Fan but the rest of the hills I climbed have rarely exceeded 300 metres in height. Even a nice 'flat' walk along the Meon Valley Trail (a former railway line) added 386 metres to the tally!
The secret is to divide the total required by 12 so this gives you a more manageable height of 2171 metres per month. Even with this height you will be surprised how quickly you start to pull ahead of schedule. In fact, I completed the challenge in 10 months and so could you.
Keep a tally of what you have achieved, create a simple graph, bar chart or just slowly colour-in three mountains to represent your progress. This really is a great activity for all the family and what an achievement to say:
“I have climbed the three highest mountains in the world”
By Glyn Dodwell
Glyn has been a hill-walker for 50 years, walking all over the world but particularly in Wales, Scotland and Lake District. His love for the outdoors and survival started as a young Scout, before he joined the RAF and trained in combat survival.
Not content to take it easy, Glyn is a Radio Amateur and participates in an scheme called Summits-On-The-Air, which involves operating portable radio equipment from the tops of summits using onlythe equipment carried in your rucksack.
Having just turned 60 himself, Glyn was surprised to see how little encouragement there is to get the 'older generation' out into the hills. And despite suffering from arthritis, severe pain and a stroke 2 years ago, he is a determined Champion for the greater involvement of over 60's in hill-walking.
You can find out about Glyn's adventures here.
Twitter: @G4CFS
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