A Dundee doctor is urging fellow hikers to join him in a “mammoth” charity challenge – by climbing the country’s ‘Archie’ mountains in aid of the charity sharing the same name.
Dr Paul Fettes, an anaesthetist at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, wants to put together a team to walk to the top of 130 peaks in Scotland.
The challenge aims to have at least one person at the summit of each Archie in one day, in aid of children’s charity the Archie Foundation.
Dr Fettes, who is a member of Archie’s Tayside fundraising committee, led a relay covering the mountains over 15 days in 2015, raising £40,000 for the charity.
We really need everyone’s help to pull off this mammoth challenge and be part of something incredibly special
He said: “Next summer we are aiming to have one or more person on each Archie peak, of which there are 130.
“We would love to have enough people to get everyone on the peaks at the same time, but even having someone on every summit in a 24-hour period will be difficult, so we really need everyone’s help to pull off this mammoth challenge and be part of something incredibly special.
“We really want to make this challenge as inclusive as possible, within the constraints of safety, and would love families and people of all ages to get involved and to raise funds for an incredible cause.
“Let’s paint the Scottish skyline with people.”
What are Archies?
The Archies are a group of mountains in Scotland that are more than 1,000 metres high – about 3,280ft.
This includes some, but not all, Munros – which are peaks that are above 3,000 feet – about 914m.
Dr Fettes himself coined the phrase Archies and has even published a book about them.
He added: “I firmly believe that if Sir Hugh Munro were alive today then he would have come up with the Archies.”
‘Incredible challenge’
The Archie Foundation provides support and services for sick babies and children, and their families, in Ninewells Hospital, as well as hospitals in the north and north-east.
Paula Cormack, chief executive, said: “This is an incredible challenge to get involved with, and we really hope the local community will engage to make this a hugely successful event.
“Funds raised for this challenge will go towards our continued support of Tayside Children’s Hospital and help us to expand our services and support in the region.”
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