A dauntless double amputee from Widnes is aiming to become the first person to have crawled to the top of each of the tallest mountains in England, Wales and Scotland this month when he climbs Scafell Pike in the Lake District..
The feat will be the latest gruelling challenge faced by Paul Ellis, who underwent major surgery to remove his legs below the knee in 2008 following years of struggling with the aftermath of a devastating fall in 1992. Previously he has crawled to the summits of Ben Nevis in Scotland and Snowdon in North Wales.
To date his efforts have raised a staggering £37,000 for the Amp Camp Kids fund, which sends children affected by limb loss on holidays of a lifetime to Tenerife. Father-of-two Paul, also now a grandfather, said the Scafell Pike climb on August 27 will make him the first person to have crawled to the top of the tallest peak for each of England, Wales and Scotland.
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Setting off at 6am, Paul is aiming to complete the ascent of Scafell Pike in about 12 hours: crawling up then walking back down on his artificial legs.
With two out of three tallest summits already under his belt, his indomitable efforts have raised a staggering £37,000 to pay for disabled youngsters to go on holiday.
These achievements have not gone unnoticed, and as well as widespread news coverage, he also recently carried the Paralympic torch on its leg through Knowsley, and he’s been nominated for some regional awards.
The climb will be led by Alex Fitzgerald, of the Joe’s Giants group, which works with the great outdoors to improve people’s mental health, and Paul is anticipating some tricky terrain.
He told the ECHO: “I’ve never done Scafell Pike before.
“I’ve been told you get a lot of boulders at the top, a lot of rocks and boulders.
“I’ll be crawling up, crawling to the top and coming down with my legs, and hoping to do it before it goes dark, in around 12 hours.
“If anyone wants to come along they can, it’s going to be a big group of us.
“People might turn up on the day which will be nice.
“I’m 57 years old, getting on a bit now, so to be able to do it is nice.”
Support the climb at Paul’s gofundme.com page.
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