A former Whitehaven woman and her 15-year-old son got more than they bargained for when they decided to take on a challenge for Mayfield School.
Lucy Alderson, who now lives in Nottingham, wanted to challenge herself after lockdown and chose to climb Mount Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa.
Her son Noah decided to join her and the pair wanted to raise funds for the Whitehaven special school, because a relative is a pupil there.
They signed up with a company to complete the challenge and Lucy began training. She said: “I went to the gym and did exercise classes. Some of those spin classes were scarier than the walk!”
Billed as a summer walk, their first day didn’t get off to the greatest of starts as a storm hit the area. Lucy said: “The weather was horrendous with the wind almost blowing us off our feet. We were walking for eight hours in wind and rain. It was touch and go as to whether we’d make the summit because the weather was so bad.
“After listening to the wind and rain all night we woke up to sunshine and a rainbow. The stone cottage we stayed in had wooden shutters in place of windows so they rattled all night in the wind!”
Although day two was difficult, at least it was dry and she and Noah enjoyed it.
Lucy added: “Day three we made it into Toubkal National Park and stayed overnight at the refuge at 3,200 metres. The snow line was just above, totally unexpected as it was a summer climb! Our guide has arranged for crampons to be sent up on a mule so we could carry on safely. The weather has improved so we could make the summit – all walkers in the previous two days had had to turn back as it was too dangerous!
“On day four, we got up at 3.30am to start walking at 4.30am and it was supposed to take five hours. We walked for 10 hours. Then we had 13 miles to walk so we could get to our pick-up point.
“But it was all worth it when we got to the top. The views were breath-taking and Noah’s face – I’ve never seen him ever look as proud of himself as he did then. IT was amazing.”
The pair have so far raised over £600 for Mayfield, which Lucy says will go towards buying a minibus for pupils.
To donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lucy-alderson4
