Adele's poignant Highland tribute is paid
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Tragedy was tinged with tears yesterday (February 5) as the eldest daughter of a famous climber who died on a Scottish peak with a fellow legendary mountaineer from Strathspey scaled the same hill that claimed them.
Even more emotionally, Adele Perry, 24, made the trek on the first anniversary of the heart-breaking accident - and scattered some of her father's ashes at the summit.
Father-of-three Steve Perry, 47, who lived at Dalcross near Inverness was killed on February 5 last year with Andy Nisbet, 65, from Boat of Garten.
They got into severe difficulty on 3041-ft high Ben Hope in Sutherland.
Steve 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.
Adele has now battled horrendous wind and rain and climbed Ben Hope in memory of her father. She was accompanied by 20 people - many of them rescuers who had tried to save her father and who knew the mountaineers.
She is also raising money for two of the mountain rescue teams that risked their lives to try and save the pair.
Assynt Mountain Rescue Team leader Sue Agnew said:"She was really determined and was up and down in about five hours.
"She battled horrendous conditions - strong winds and driving, sideways rain, but she was so determined to do this for her dad.
"For us, it was also closure of a chapter. Many of us knew Steve and Andy.
"There were tears at the summit it was emotional - Adele scattered her father's ashes. It was very poignant. But she did brilliantly."
Adele, an auxiliary veterinary nurse, has already more than quadrupled her initial target of £500 and hopes to raise much more.
Adele, who lives at Littleborough in Greater Manchester, said before setting off: "I hope I can reach the summit but I will do my best. The weather may also play a part. All I can do is try.
"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. Some of the team were
with me - which is fantastic.
"I just felt I wanted to give something back and to make my dad proud. 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.
"I am not a climber and I have not done a Munro - but I did climb Snowdon's 3560 ft with my dad when I was six. I used to do hillwalking with him when I was younger. He was such an inspiration to me. Dad achieved so much but remained a very humble man.
"I loved him to bits. I am doing this to keep his memory alive and say thanks to those who risked their lives to save my dad and Andy."
Adele said her walk was especially poignant "because it was also the last mountain that dad finished his Munro round on".
Mr Nisbet was a former Scottish Mountaineering Club president and received the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture in 2014. He helped establish 1,000 winter climbing routes.
In recent years he and Mr Perry had established a strong new routeing partnership. They were driving forces in the late development of Ben Hope, a mountain largely neglected until recent seasons.
Andy's appearance and climbing style earned him the nicknames "Honey Monster" and "The Droid".
Ironically Adele said she had been planning to visit her father when she learned of his death: "I'd just passed my driving (test) a few months before he passed away and I was planning on coming to see him in the March.
"It's difficult coming up here because this is what he loved, a place he loved. He loved being in the mountains and that's why he moved here."
To donate to Adele's walk:
Dundonnell MRT – www.justgiving.com/fundraising/adele-perry2
Assynt MRT – www.justgiving.com/fundraising/adele-perry1
Related article: Emotional journey in store for Adele Perry on Ben Hope climb
