This 81-year-old Man Vows To Conquer 282 Mountains In Scotland For His Sick Wife

Illustration of Big Etive Shepherd Mountain. (Wikimedia Commons/Andrew Bowden)

JAKARTA - On the windswept peak of Buachaille Etive Mòr, one of Scotland's mountains more than 1,020 meters above sea level, 81-year-old Nick Gardner stops to gaze at the peaks, lakes, and craggy valleys visible through the drifting clouds.

"It's great every time I still feel like a child," he said, citing Euro News 4 October.

"I need my hat and gloves, and my windproof jacket, but it's really awesome. I'll be here sooner than a house with central heating."

For Gardner, who moved with his wife Janet from the suburbs in England to a remote corner of the Scottish highlands at the age of 50, mountain climbing has become more than a childhood dream.

Two years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer in 2018, Janet, a former teacher who also had osteoporosis, fell ill and required 24-hour care. Gardner is devastated, and decides he needs the challenge to help him overcome it.

"When it was too much for me to deal with, when he went to the hospital and treatment. I just didn't know what to do. We were used to being with each other 24 hours a day for 30 years. And then suddenly it was gone," she said. Gardner.

"Doing this hike allowed me to refocus to some extent. I had to find something of this type, otherwise, I would have mental health issues. I know that," he continued.

The challenge he sets himself will challenge many people half his age, to climb all 282 Scottish 'Munros', or mountains above 3,000 feet, in 1,200 days. He has completed 87 so far. In Janet's honor, she raised money for Alzheimer's Scotland charities and the Royal Osteoporosis Society.

Learning about social media on the go, she notes her progress on Facebook and Instagram. Many of the messages on his fundraising webpage, where he has raised more than £30,000 against his £40,000 goal, are from people he meets on the mountainside.

"I think (it's) the third mountain I've climbed where I happened to be chatting with other climbers and I just mentioned what I did for this challenge. And they couldn't believe it. They were amazed," Gardner said.

"Obviously, I think, I have something here. I really have. And I didn't realize the potential. And since then, when I see people on the hill, I stop them and talk a little bit with them, tell them what I do," he concluded.