A teenager from East Yorkshire given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in an expedition to Peru has been busy raising funds to get him there – the most recent endeavour being to climb England’s highest mountain.
The National Trust describes scaling Scafell Pike, in the Lake District, standing at 978m, as a “tough, steep hike” but Adam Thompson, 13, of Hedon, made it even more of a challenge for himself by wearing a llama head for the ascent. Adam, a pupil at Holderness Academy & Sixth Form College, has 18 months to raise the necessary funds – £4,720 – to join global social enterprise Camps International on the expedition.
The expeditioners – Adam will be 15 by the time he goes – will help support local Peruvian communities by such as renovating houses, building community centres and supporting conservation and reforestation projects. Of his climb of Scafell Pike, which he completed with his parents, Michael and Elaine, his brother, William, 11, and two family friends, Adam said: “I didn’t find it very difficult; my brother found it a bit hard.
“On the way up, it was perfect weather but we had a hailstorm coming down. I had the llama head on all the time, where it was safe, and the whole thing took us four-and-a-half hours – it would have been four hours but we stayed at the top for a while taking pictures and stuff.”
The National Trust advises anyone attempting to climb Scafell Pike that “whichever route you take, Scafell Pike is a tough, steep hike which involves scrambling over hard terrain”. It adds: “There will be challenges in any season: you might be met with high winds, rain, snow, extreme cold or poor visibility.”
(Image: supplied image)
(Image: supplied image)
The hike up the mountain helped to add £400 to Adam’s GoFundMe appeal page. He said he was “very pleased” that the total raised so far was almost half of what he will need to cover the Peru visit.
“I am doing some raffles at my old primary school, I’m doing that over a few weeks,” he said. “I quite like cycling so over the summer, I’m hoping to do a big bike ride.”
Adam previously said the venture would give him the skills to be “empathetic towards others and to be part of a global community”. On his appeal page, he said: “All donations will go towards helping me to help others.”
The teenager is looking forward to the chance to trek to Machu Picchu, hoping to use the hike, and expedition as a whole, to gain his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. The Army Cadet has said he “likes travelling and hard work”.
Adam’s dad Michael previously said: “Adam has driven it from the beginning; it’s not been about us saying he can go. He was right there at the front of the queue.
“The opportunities this will give him, and the life skills, it’s once in a lifetime. For Adam personally of course it’s the most amazing adventure but the one thing we have been most proud of is that he has said it’s all about helping other people.”
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