A north school girl with dreams of saving stranded hillwalkers has taken her first steps towards a career in mountain rescue with a fundraising trek.
Carenza Sudd climbed almost to the summit of Sutherland’s highest peak, Ben More Assynt, on Saturday to raise funds for the Assynt Mountain Rescue Team.
The 18-year-old’s father Jim Sudd is a long-term member of the team, who perform mountain rescues across a huge swathe of Sutherland and Caithness.
And the Thurso High School sixth year pupil is determined to follow in his boot steps and join the team.
Her first step has been to raise funds for the voluntary force, with a £200 target set for the walk.
Despite being forced to turn back just short of her target with aching feet and in fading light, she is well on course to make her target.
She had hoped to walk to the memorial for the World War II air disaster on Ben More Assynt which marks the spot where six servicemen died when their Avro Anson crashed into the 3,274ft Munro.
It is still the highest she has ever reached on foot, walking with Assynt MRT volunteer Glenn Bennett and the team’s dog Hector.
Miss Sudd said: “It went well. We walked most the way but didn’t quite make the memorial because I had sore feet.
“It’s the biggest hill I’ve climbed though.”
Ben More Assynt sits about 19 miles north-east of Ullapool and is the highest point in Sutherland.
One of the distinctive features is the granite monument which was installed in August 2012, which was erected in memory of the six servicemen 2,300ft up the mountainside, which marks the highest war grave in Scotland.
Despite not quite reaching her target, Miss Sudd is determined to achieve her goal of joining the mountain rescue team.
She said: “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.
“They’re always struggling to get money so this is what I can do to help now.
“But it’s what I want to do when I am ready and old enough.”
Assynt is one of the country’s 27 mountain rescue team, covering one of the largest geographic areas.
Leader Sue Agnew said that the team were always looking for new recruits to join up – and said that recruiting younger mountain rescuers was often a challenge.
She said: “We’re very grateful to Carenza, she’s been an absolute stalwart for a long time now already.
“As well as the fundraising, she’s making efforts to get publicity for the team about what we do and the work we go through and that’s great as well.
“Her dad’s been a member of the team for years and Carenza has grown up around mountain rescue.
“It’s very likely that we’ll be looking to taker her on as a probationer at some point.”
Miss Sudd is continuing her fundraising efforts and can be contacted through her Facebook page Fundraising for Assynt Mountain Rescue Team.