An 82-year-old has climbed the final mountain in his challenge to bag all of Scotland’s 282 Munros.
Nick Gardner was greeted with a piper and a guard of honour of walking poles from fellow climbers who cheered him as he reached the summit of Cairn Gorm, near Aviemore, on Saturday.
The grandfather-of-four has spent the last two years making it his mission to climb all of Scotland’s highest peaks, since his wife, Janet, had to go into full-time care.
And, in his words, he’s “gone and done it”.
With a glass of prosecco in one hand and a dram of whisky in the other, he said: “I am just feeling elated.
“Words don’t exist to describe how I am feeling.
“I’ve climbed many mountains, but I have never had a day like this in my life before.
“Not many people get to experience a day like this.
“I feel very lucky. I am a very lucky man.”
He described the celebrations at the top of the final Munro as “surreal”.
More than £70,000 raised
Mr Gardner, from Gairloch, felt life was over when Janet, 84, had to move into a care home after developing Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis.
Throughout his epic adventure across Scotland, which he started in July 2020, three months after his 80th birthday, the intrepid pensioner has been raising money and awareness for charities Alzheimer’s Scotland and the Royal Osteoporosis Society.
His JustGiving page has smashed its original target of £10,000, and has now raised more than £70,000, with donations still flooding in.
Reflecting on the mammoth feat, Mr Gardner said climbing Cuillin Ridge Traverse on Skye was both a challenge and a highlight of the trek.
It took three 12-hour days in order to complete the route.
On Saturday, his challenge culminated in Mr Gardner climbing his final peak surrounded by an entourage of about 150 friends, family, fellow climbers and loyal fans he has met along the way, wearing bright orange and purple T-shirts promoting both charities.
Getting emotional, Mr Gardner added: “I am very excited because what I wanted to do was complete this challenge, but also increase awareness of these two diseases, and the work these charities do, and I’ve gone and done it.
“The fact that I’ve made the public more aware of these diseases, that’s the real success to me.
“I am just so happy that a lot of people think I can be of help to them.
“I’ll admit the initial impetus was to do this challenge for me.
“I felt so helpless when Janet went into care, and I knew I needed to combat that, and that I needed a project to keep me going.
“But to have been able to help these charities, help raise awareness, and help others, it feels incredible.”
‘This certainly isn’t the last one’
When asked if there’s another hike in the pipeline, Mr Gardner replied: “I just like being in mountains, so I will carry on doing it, not to the same intensity, but I will carry on. This certainly isn’t the last one.”
Craig Jones, chief executive of ROS, who was there for the final climb, said the money raised will go towards research.
He added: “Nick is one of the most impressive fundraisers in the history of our charity, we are so proud of him.
“He’s extraordinary.
“He’s a real inspiration, he’s made us realise that when we get a bit older, we don’t need to give up on things, in fact we can throw ourselves into big challenges and really trailblaze on things that we might never have dreamt of when we are younger, so he is living proof and an inspiration to all of us.”
One of Mr Gardner’s two daughters, Sally McKenzie, has nominated him to Guinness World Records for the oldest person to climb the Munros.
To donate to Mr Gardner’s cause, visit https://www.justgiving.com/team/nicks-munro-challenge.
A life in the Highlands
Although he was born in Leicestershire, Mr Gardner was always fascinated by mountains and thought he was destined to one day live in the Highlands.
When he was 50, he and Janet moved to a traditional highland croft in Wester Ross.
While there, the couple worked on their passion for gardening and being self-sufficient. They grew fruit, vegetables, and flowers on their land.
Writing on his blog about his life, he said: “We were able to ‘live the dream’ for 30 loving years.”
‘Moving Mountains’ documentary
While doing the challenge, students from Stirling University published a documentary on his adventures.
In the film titled Moving Mountains, Mr Gardner explains his motivations, saying: “I think its quite extraordinary how when I am on mountains I think of my wife, but I can cope with it. When I am at home it is much more difficult.”
“I am pleased now that Janet never came mountaineering with me because if she had I would have missed her here too.
“The worst part wasn’t the diagnosis. It was realising that I couldn’t look after her.”
His daughter, Sally McKenzie said: “He will always phone the care home every day to see how his wife is. He is still full of sentiment which is nice to hear.”
After the climb, Mr Gardner travelled to a dementia centre at Badaguish Outdoor Glenmore in Aviemore where he encouraged people to donate to his causes.
Conversation