Congratulations Jerry!

Richard Brown / 28.04.2015

Last Thursday (23rd April) a friend of mine did something rather noteworthy.  Together with his climbing partner Calum Muskett, Jerry Gore, a 50+ insulin-dependent diabetic climber climbed the Eiger's North face by the 1938 route.  

Originally attempting to do the 1800m climb in under 6hrs (normal time for the ascent 2 - 3days, current UK speed record for a roped team 6hrs 10mins), Jerry & Calum completed the ascent in 14hrs 05mins.

A false start on the 21st (if you can dismiss climbing a 1/3 of the way up the mountain, getting stuck behind slow teams of climbers and coming back down as merely a false start!), was followed on the 23rd by the successfully completion of the route despite Jerry still suffering from the effects of a severe diabetic 'hypo', the presence of several slow-moving climbing teams on the route, and rapidly deteriorating climbing conditions.

Jerry did the climb not just to demonstrate that people suffering with type-1 diabetes can still do these kind of things but to raise money for the charity he is closely associated with, Insulin For Life, which is raising money to send donated insulin to the Philippines.

To read more about Jerry and his challenge click here and to find out more about the charity or make a donation click here

­