Two Glasgow teenagers are set to climb the equivalent of Everest in three months, by completing 2528 climbs at Glasgow climbing centre The Climbing Academy (TCA). The pair have launched a campaign on the popular crowdfunding platform JustGiving, and are aiming to raise £1500 for Urban Uprising.
Ripley Gilmore and Tieran Zhang, 14, are S3 students at Williamwood High School in Clarkston. Both are keen climbers, so when they discovered that Urban Uprising was working with disadvantaged teens in the city to help them get into climbing too, they were keen to support the charity.
The pair will attempt to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest in just three months. At 8,848m, Everest is the highest mountain in the world, so the challenge is no mean feat. Each of the two climbers will need to complete over 100 routes per week in the TCA climbing centre in order to complete their challenge.
This is not the first time the pair have supported Urban Uprising. Last year they joined forces to campaign for the charity to receive £3000 from the Youth Philanthropy Project (YPP) as part of a school competition. Their bid wasn’t successful, but now the pair are determined to help teens less fortunate than themselves to enjoy their favourite sport.
Ripley said: "Climbing is such a brilliant sport. It gets you fit, it relieves any stress, and it’s really good fun. I’ve been climbing for just over a year, but I’ve already got so much out of it. I really hope that the money we raise can help other teenagers have the same experience."
Tieran said: "Urban Uprising is a really inspiring charity that makes a huge difference to young people. I hope that this campaign can help them to help a lot more young people."
Stuart Green, Urban Uprising Founder, said: "We are incredibly grateful to Ripley and Tieran for their support. For every £10 they raise, they will be contributing to one young person taking part in Urban Uprising's unique climbing programme. Ripley and Tieran are young people themselves and it's extremely inspiring to see how passionate they are about helping other young people to climb, especially those who are facing challenges and couldn't do otherwise."
The campaign is now live on JustGiving, where the boys have already raised over £400 for the charity. Ripley and Tieran hope that many more people will donate what they can to help them reach their target. Visit the campaign page to find out more and offer support.
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