Everest may be off-limits right now, but it’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.
Ed Jackson, a recovering quadriplegic, has decided he doesn’t need a mountain to climb Mount Everest. He has vowed to climb the equivalent of the highest mountain in the world — by scaling his parents’ staircase over 2,000 times. Of course, this crazy act is all in the name of charity.
For a lot of us, walking up the stairs just the once is enough exercise for one day. Ed Jackson’s original aim was to climb 89,056 steps in the hopes of raising at least £10,000 for multiple charities. But he has already hit £23,500 (with a little help from Berghaus, a company Ed is an ambassador for) and a new target of £30,000 has been set.
10k!!!!!
Thank you to everyone that has donated so far. Amazing news that @TheRealBerghaus are going to match it so that takes us up to 20k 😁.
Flights left to climb – 2383
Metres left – 7576m#NowornEverest pic.twitter.com/6lsSk2vQY1— Ed Jackson (@edjackson8) April 21, 2020
The former rugby player began his ascent yesterday (April 21) and hopes to achieve the 2,783 trips up the stairs in as little as four days! That will equal the 8,848-metre height of Mount Everest.
Ed Jackson will raise money for NHS-affiliated charity Forever Friends, spinal cord research foundation Wings for Life, and Neverest Orthopaedics. He will attempt the climb in eight-hour-a-day shifts.
In his fundraising page, Ed named 99-year-old Captain Tom Moore as an inspiration for him undergoing this challenge. Tom Moore set out to walk 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday and has thus far raised a not-too-shabby sum of £28 million for the NHS and counting.
All of this miraculously comes after Ed Jackson was told he might never walk again. He fractured multiple vertebrae in his spine back in 2017.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Qawz5B_P-
“It’s a tough time for us all at the moment and charities are certainly no exception,” said Ed Jackson. “After cheering others on from the sofa, I decided it was time to do my bit to support some causes close to my heart.
“I have always dreamed of being able to scale the height of Everest, I just didn’t think that I would be doing it next to my parents’ bedroom.”
Ed Jackson began his challenge at 7:30am yesterday and aims to complete his climb at 9pm this Friday (April 24). We’re all right behind you, Ed!
You can read more about Ed Jackson’s Everest challenge and donate to his fundraising page here.