A kindhearted schoolgirl trekked 96 miles to fundraise for the Scots rescue team who helped her when a charity climb hit bad weather.
Alessia De Ciacca, 10, raised £1,600 for victims of war torn Ukraine from her sponsored climb of ten Munros. But the descent from her final climb, on Beinn Achaladair, had to be made by rescue helicopter after thick mist suddenly enveloped the mountain.
Oban Mountain Rescue Team rushed to the scene at Bridge of Orchy and quickly assessed the need to call out a rescue helicopter, to lift Alessia, her mum Morven and aunt Jill to safety at the end of the charity climb last August.
And now Alessia, from Oban, has completed her latest good deed for charity - a sponsored walk of the 96 mile West Highland Way in six days, which has raised £1,700 for her rescue team heroes.
Pleased to be able to finally repay the team members for their help Alessia, said: "It cost a lot of money for the helicopter to come to our rescue and I wanted to help the Oban Mountain Rescue Team as they are volunteers and need a lot of equipment to help other people who get stuck or injured."
"I enjoy helping people, kindness is key. More people need to show kindness becauseit makes you happy to help people."
She added: "I wanted to raise money for the families of Ukraine because they were having to leave their homes with nothing to escape the war and some children lost parents and other family members. They had nothing and we have lots in this country.
"TASH4UKRAINE (Tayside and Strathearn Help for Ukraine) sent me a letter of thanks and the money I raised went towards Xmas boxes of essentials being made up. The lorry was full when it left."
Recalling the day, last August, when thick mist descended, preventing the groupfrom making their planned descent after climbing the neighbouring Munrosof 1038metre Beinn Achaladair and 1081metre Beinn a`Chreachain Alessia's mum
Morven Di Ciacca, who also accompanied her on the West Highland Way trek, said: "We had climbed up the top of Beinn Achaladair and then the weather came down, the clouds came down and we had zero visibility."
The keen hillwalker, added: "I managed to get us on to the dip between the hills, we were on the ridge and I took us about 50 metres down into the valley so that we were out of the weather, a bit more sheltered.
"We waited for an hour to see if it would lift, by this time it was about 6pm, but the mist was not lifting and although I had my GPS on the phone I was not comfortable.
"I know that one side of the hill is pretty much a sheer drop, I was aware how dangerous it could be without some help."
Her husband Mario Di Ciacca phoned her and then immediately called 999. Morven, who always takes a packed bag of everything that might be needed if she is stuck on a hill then followed mountain rescue phone instructions for the group to bunker down in their bivvy bags until help arrived.
The first helicopter attempt failed, due to the high wind, but the second attempt succeeded in getting the three climbers on board.
Morven said: "It was dark when the helicopter came to us. There were at least ten or twelve Oban Mountain Rescue Team members at the bottom of the hill, waiting to come up if the helicopter couldn't land and they were the ones who contacted the coastguard helicopter to come because of Alessia.
"They said I made the right decision to stay there and get help, they said we did all the right things."
Mario was waiting at the bottom of the hill to be reunited with his family and Morven, who rushed to give her dad a big hug, said Alessia had handled things well.She said: "She just had one little wobble when she said 'I wish dad would come up and get us' but I said, if he did that it would be four people they were rescuing."
Morven added: "We are very thankful to Oban Mountain Rescue Team for their help, without them we would have been there all night, or worse."
A spokesman for the mountain rescue team said of Alessia's fundraising efforts: "A huge well done from us all at Oban MRT" .
You can donate to her fundraiser here.
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