A Widnes dad who usually walks on artificial legs is to crawl up Ben Nevis in another epic challenge.
Paul Ellis broke his spine and was paralysed for six months after a fall in 1992. He lived in pain for years, only able stand for five minutes at a time as his legs were fused at the ankles. In 2008 he underwent surgery to have both legs amputated below the knee - an operation he has described as 'a blessing' as it gave him his mobility back.
In recent years he has thrown his efforts into fundraising to send children affected by limb loss on holidays to Tenerife as part of the Amp Camp Kids scheme. Next weekend’s climb to the UK’s highest peak will be the third time 57-year-old Paul has taken on the challenge, having conquered the same summit last year with Amp Camp founder Ben Lovell, and previously back in 2012 for Marie Curie.
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Paul’s ascent of Snowdon in Wales last summer caught a wave of public interest, raising more than £28,000 for the non-profit scheme. This time a 30-strong group is expected to join the climb, led by Keir Nicholson. Other climbers include fellow amputees Debbie McQuatt and Dan Hartsorn. The challenge will involve a night of wild camping, supported by kit donated by Cotswold Outdoor.
Dad-of-two Paul said he’s expecting a “tough” climb to the top but is hoping for good weather. He told the ECHO: “It’s going to be a good one and a hard couple of days. We’re going to start first thing in the morning and keep crawling until it goes dark and camp up there.”
Paul is also coming back from injury. He said: “I hurt my leg, I’ve been off my leg and pulled my shoulder. I’ve been round pushing the wheelchair every day and walking a lot as well on my legs and I’ve been out with Ben and the team.
“We went yesterday to Devil’s Kitchen (in Snowdonia) and did that round the top of it and came back down. That was a good training exercise on my hands and knees. At the moment it’s quite slippy but hopefully it’s going to be a hot week or we get some sunshine or a bit warmer.
“We’re well prepared, Cotswold’s have provided all the gear and the camping stuff: tents, sleeping bags, there’s loads of stuff as well, they’ve been really good.”
Paul is even expecting a more difficult challenge. He said: “I think it’s going to be twice as hard. Some parts are quite rocky and quite bouldery. It’s going to be a lot harder than Snowdon and it’s a bit longer.
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He continued: "In parts it’s quite tricky. It’s going to be quite tough in the day on my hands and knees. I’ve got my kneepads and my gardening gloves and that’s all I need.”
To view the donation page click here, or visit gogetfunding.com and search for “AmpCamp Kids”.
