Emotional journey in store for Adele Perry on Ben Hope climb
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THE daughter of a famous climber who perished on a Scottish peak with a fellow legendary mountaineer is to scale the same summit that claimed their lives to raise money in their memory.
Even more emotionally, Adele Perry (24) will also make the attempt on the first anniversary of the tragedy.
Father-of-three Steve Perry (47), who lived at Dalcross near Inverness was killed in February with Andy Nisbet (65), from Boat of Garten.
They got into severe difficulty on 3041ft high Ben Hope in Sutherland.
Mr Perry initially survived the fall and managed to make a call for help by mobile phone.
Their bodies were recovered after a two-day operation involving nearly 50 members of mountain rescue teams and two Coastguard helicopters.
On February 5 Adele will climb Ben Hope in memory of her father. She will be raising money for two of the mountain rescue teams that risked their lives to try and save the pair.
“I know it will be hard and emotional and I will be thinking of my dad every step of the way,” said Adele who lives at Littleborough in Greater Manchester.
“I’ll be climbing Ben Hope where my dad and Andy Nisbet took their last ever climb, exactly a year before.
“I am raising money for the Assynt MRT and Dundonnell MRT because both of these mountain rescue teams risked their lives to try and save my dad and Andy.
“I can never thank them enough for what they did.
“I just felt I wanted to give something back and to make my dad proud. I am hoping that some of the rescue team will be joining me on the day.
“The helicopter spotted their bodies at 2.12am the next morning and it was clear nothing could be done and they were recovered later that day.
“They were into winter climbing routes on Ben Hope and had waited for weeks for the weather to be right to establish this new route.
“We think they were ice climbing because they had ice boots on. I am glad they had done what they had set out to do and finished the route.
“I did not know Andy, but I know he and dad became great friends and my dad told me lots of stories about him – and of them climbing together. They were very close – Andy was my dad’s best mate.”
Related article:
Boat of Garten mountaineering pioneer killed on Ben Hope
