On top of the world

Andy Walker and his Team Trek up Helvellyn

CLIMBING England’s third highest mountain, Helvellyn in the Lake District, is daunting enough for anyone. But it didn’t deter paralysed Andy Walker and his team — even in horrendous conditions.

The Shaw man was helped by a team of 18 fellow Oldhamers conquer the 3,117ft mountain and raise £8,000 for the Back-Up Trust, a charity which helps those paralysed by spinal cord injury.

Andy (33) was left paralysed from the neck down in a freak accident during a New Year holiday in India in 2006 when he broke his neck while diving in the sea.

But he has overcome adversity with his spirit and determination and is a volunteer for the charity, which organised “The Helvellyn Push.”

It involved nine teams, including one wheelchair user in each, who had to climb, push, walk, pull and wheel to the summit and back down again in a challenge not for the faint-hearted.

Here, Andy described to Richard Hooton how he and his team, called Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork, completed the seemingly impossible task.

“HAVING begun preparations almost two months earlier and with the expectation of so many behind our ‘teamwork makes the dream work’ slogan, I recollect mixed feelings of anxiety and pressure as I ascended up the wet and miserable M6 on my approach to the Lake District.

“I, and the rest of the teams, had been praying for a glorious weekend, a sunshine saunter up the mountain surrounded by resplendent views of some of our nation’s finest scenery.

“However, as we approached Keswick, that was looking all too unlikely as the mountainous terrain was being cruelly masked by a thick blanket of darkened fog and relentless rain cloud. It suddenly occurred to me business was far from booming . . . this was going to be no picnic!

“Waking up at 6am the following day, our worst fears had been realised. Weather conditions were so torrential, each of the nine participating teams were informed that the planned route was considered too hazardous and we were to take a shorter but far more challenging, steeper path to reduce our time on the mountain. Welcome to Hell-vellyn!!

“Drenched before we started and facing a foe of relentless rain and gusting winds the feelings of anxiety and pressure were no more. The adrenaline had kicked in, I was up for this, I was in the zone. Correction, we were in the zone.

As I sat for the very first time strapped into the makeshift wheelchair, I gathered my 18 warriors around me into a team huddle and their determined stare met with mine! There was no doubt in my mind, Teamwork was indeed about to make the dream work!

“We set off at a furious pace, four team members dragging the chair carrying my 6ft 3in, 13 stone frame with a further six taking the strain on the ropes up front. I must have looked like a sodden sitting Santa being dragged by his substitute reindeers. Eat your heart out Rudolph, Dancer, Prancer and the gang . . . you’re no match for a Bibey, Walt or a Winstone!

“Each member rotating seamlessly to take their turn, my warriors seemed ignorant to all the climactic misgivings and roared up the mountain with unbounded enthusiasm and vigour. Our team ethic and camaraderie seemed unassailable, the more challenging the terrain became the higher our spirits seemed to rise until eventually, drenched with sweat and rain we summited Helvellyn!

The return down the mountain provided equal resistance to our efforts, continuously thwarted by hazardous slippery conditions Teamwork makes the Dreamwork safely completed the task in aroundthree hours 20 minutes, greeted by the warm welcome of the eight fellow participating teams, family, friends and loved ones. It was a truly unforgettable and phenomenal feeling!

Atrocious

“In atrocious conditions, we and the all the teams had accomplished a quite remarkable feat and I’m very proud to have participated in such a memorable and enjoyable weekend. Ultimately, the goal was to raise money for this phenomenal charity and my understanding is that as a team individually we have raised in excess of £8,000 but more importantly, the overall total for the weekend exceeds £25,000 for The Backup Trust, a charity which does so much to reinvigorate the lives of those individuals who tragically suffer from paralysis following a spinal cord injury.

“Having now completed the 2010 Backup Trust Helvellyn challenge I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their amazing generosity, support and kind donations for my recent fundraising adventure.

“Thank-you so much once again for your contribution, we intend to participate in the event next year and hope that we can gain your support once again.

“Should anyone still want to make a donation the website is still open at www.justgiving.com/andywacksteamworkmakesthedreamwork”