One Woman. One Amazing Challenge.

Lesley Black always wanted to visit Machu Picchu so when the opportunity arose to do a charity trek for Age Scotland she couldn’t resist taking on this fantastic challenge.

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Lesley will shortly spend 7 nights in Peru trekking, hiking and climbing all whilst raising vital funds for Age Scotland.

Following a long journey from Aberdeen via London and Lima, on arrival in Cusco Lesley will spend the first day acclimatising to the altitude as altitude sickness can be a problem. Before setting off on the trek the second day includes more altitude acclimatisation while walking around the Cusco area.

Day 1 – Arrival in Cusco and acclimatising to the altitude

Day 2 – Walk round Cusco to allow for further acclimatisation – 3 hours

Day 3 – Cusco to Cuncani: 3800m including a trek over High Mountain passing to the Lares Valley – 4-5 hours

Day 4 – Cuncani to Huacahuasi: a long hike made easier by spotting incredible sights including alpacas and llamas roaming along the way – 6-8 hours

Day 5 – Huacahuasi to Ollantaytambo: Gradually gaining height, Lesley will take a little-used route through the Ranrayoc valley. She needs to dig deep for the high pass at 4,600m – 9 hours

Day 6 – Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu via Sun Gate: An early train journey to Km 104, being dropped off for a trek towards the Sun Gate. Following the traditional Inca path and climbing some 3,000 steps 6-7 hours

Day 7 – Back to Machu Picchu to explore the extraordinary Inca remains before travelling back to Cusco and returning to the UK the next day

If this wasn’t enough of a challenge Lesley gave herself the ambitious target of raising £4000 for Age Scotland.

Lesley decided to raise money for Age Scotland following the sad passing of her grandparents a few years ago. The last months of their lives and following their passing allowed her to reflect on ageing and how important it is for older people to be involved and included in society to ensure they are not on their own and suffering from loneliness.

She said ‘I wanted to support Age Scotland because they provide such valuable services for our elderly people in Scotland.  One of Age Scotland’s most important services is their helpline and Community Connecting service which any elderly person can call if they are feeling lonely so they can chat to someone about their day and be put in touch with local community groups. It also provides family members with vital information to help older relatives who may need more support’

We are so grateful to Lesley for her support. She has been tirelessly raising money over the past year through events such as holding a ceilidh in her local area and race and bowling nights. Alongside this Lesley has been able to receive sponsorship from local businesses through giving them the opportunity to appear on her Trek T-shirt which she will wear throughout her travels.

Lesley sets off on her trek on the 13^th October and we can’t thank her enough for her support. Her excitement and enthusiasm for the trek and raising money is infectious. She really is an inspiration.

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To find out more or to support Lesley visit www.charitytrekmachupicchu.com

If you’d like to find out more about taking on a challenge event for Age Scotland, please contact Stacey on our fundraising team.

 

8 Women, 32 Dogs, 285km: One massive challenge

Eight like-minded woman from various walks of life have decided to take on a challenge that will push them to the limit physically, emotionally & mentally.

In March this year, the Åtte HUSKYteers will spend six days & nights enduring temperatures as low as – 30°, living, eating & sleeping in the frozen wilderness of the Arctic whilst tending to & driving their own team of Huskies 285km from Norway to Sweden.

L-R: Anna, Carroll, Sabrina,  Fiona, Sarah, Amanda, Julie, Georgina, Amanda

Before setting off on their expedition, the team will be shown all the specialist equipment and given a short briefing on how to drive the dogs and set up camp on the trail. They’ll be introduced to their dog teams and take a short trip of about 10-15km to put into practice their new dog sledding and camp building skills.

On the first day of their expedition, they will set off from TromsØ in Norway following the route below, before ending their journey in Kiruna in Sweden.

Day One – Signal Valley to Three-Nation Border – 30km

Day Two – Three-Nation Border to Keinovopio – 55km

Day Three – Keinovopio to Kamas – 75km

Day Four – Kamas to Camp 4 – 55km

Day Five – Camp 4 to Ice Hotel, Kiruna – 60km

 

As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, these dedicated ladies have also given themselves the goal of raising £100,000 for charitable causes they care about. The money raised will be split between four charities and Age Scotland is delighted to have been chosen as one of their four.

Team member Amanda Wiewiorka put forward Age Scotland as one of the nominated charities after
experiencing first-hand how loneliness can impact older people in Scotland and seeing what we to do to help.

Amanda witnessed with both her father and her mother-in-law that despite having large families loneliness can still be an issue.

Amanda said ‘Families and society today has changed, people are busier and jobs and careers often mean families live further apart making it difficult for them to visit older relatives. Having someone older people can call for a chat or groups they can attend can make all the difference and it is important that we continue to raise the awareness of loneliness and the effects it can have mentally and physically on older people in Scotland’.

 

We are so grateful to Amanda and her fellow HUSKYteers for their support.

The trip itself is inspired by other team member Amanda Nisson’s mother Gill who had always wanted to go to the arctic and mush huskies, but sadly passed away after a long battle with cancer before she was able to. The team have a special member in her honour – Chilly Gilly, the team mascot.

Through sponsorships and fundraising events the Åtte HUSKYteers have been tirelessly raising money over the past year, including holding fashion shows, raft challenges and washing cars with Dundee Fire Service.  They have already raised over 50,000 and their last push to reach their goal is their final fundraising event – a fabulous Arctic ball held at the Prestonfield House Hotel tomorrow night.

The Atte HUSKYteers set off on their adventure on the 12^th March and we can’t thank these fabulous, driven ladies enough for all their efforts to support Age Scotland. They truly are an inspiration.

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Read more of their story and sponsor their efforts by visiting their website: www.attehuskyteers.co.uk