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Peaky Blinder!

  • austen
  • Oct 30
  • 9 min read

“I didn’t realise how quickly you run out of breath in the ‘Death Zone’”

Chef/Chip Shop Owner conquers one of world’s highest mountains and inspires sister to tackle fitness programme designed for people with MS

 

A brother who was inspired by his sister to climb the world’s eighth highest mountain has now motivated her to complete a health and fitness programme designed for a condition she’s lived with for more than 15 years.

Calum Richardson, a 52-year-old chef and business owner from Aberdeenshire, revealed earlier this year that watching his older sister Karen battle multiple sclerosis (MS) made him realise he needed to “go and do stuff” while he could. For Calum, that “stuff” was hiking and climbing mountains and he set himself the eventual goal of climbing Everest – the tallest mountain in the world.


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The father-of-four, who owns The Bay Fish and Chips in Stonehaven as well as hospitality business coaching programme Forked Up, has just taken a huge step towards his goal by summiting Manaslu in Nepal. At 8,163m (26,781 ft), it’s six times the height of Scotland’s Ben Nevis, just a few hundred metres (a couple of thousand feet) shorter than Everest, and a technically difficult climb. He took on the challenge in aid of the MS Society and has already raised more than £4,500 of his £5,000 target, with money still coming in.


Calum, who served in the Royal Navy before entering the food and drink industry, said: “It still feels quite surreal to be honest. I loved every minute of it. The highlight for me was walking over the very narrow ridge, five minutes from the summit, when the sun was coming up. It was more than you can imagine. I hadn’t summited but I felt like I had. At that moment there was just me and my guide, there was no one else around, and it felt very personal.

“The hardest part, both mentally and physically, was between Camps 1 and 2. There are lots of crevasses in the ice and you have to cross them on ladders. There are folk called the ladder doctors! If you’re going across and a crevasse gets bigger or a new crevasse comes up, the guides will get on the radio and let the ladder doctors know. They’ll either re-route where you’ve got to go or they’ll tie another ladder to the ladders already going over the crevasse to make it longer.


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“When I went over this one crevasse on the way up the first time, it was two ladders tied together over the crevasse. When I came back down, during my acclimatisation, it was three ladders tied together and the third one wasn’t touching the end, it was just the string holding it. Then when I went back up for summit push it was four ladders and when I came back it was five! That’s how much it moves, it was unbelievable. And yes, the ladders were very wobbly!

“The first time I went over, the ropes that you hold onto were at waist height and I found it ok. And there wasn’t much of a distance. But the next time, the ropes were so tight you couldn’t stand up so I was crouched. But when you’re crouched you can’t breathe properly because you can’t get enough oxygen into your lungs.

“I was halfway across those ladders after summiting, and my guide was at the end just saying ‘focus, stay looking forward’. Next thing, there’s a huge avalanche right next to me! And they’re all going: ‘It’s a big one!’ and I’m thinking: ‘Do I look at this avalanche or do I keep walking?’ That is not the time I want to hear there’s an avalanche!

“The ladders were the hardest part mentally but I didn’t find them physically difficult. Everyone has different challenges but for me the hardest physical challenge was climbing up an ice wall for the first time. I was trying to go too fast instead of being smart and taking small steps. Because there wasn’t much oxygen I was really struggling to get my breath. But you just have to watch your guide and learn from them. Because if you try and go with brute strength you’re not going to beat the mountain.”


To prepare for climbing Manaslu, Calum worked with a breathing coach and specialists in altitude acclimatisation, as well as exercising to increase his fitness level. He says this preparation, and trusting his guides from Nepalese trekking company Elite Exped, helped him succeed.


Speaking about the feeling of reaching the summit, Calum continued: “It was very emotional. I recorded a video for Karen, which I posted on Instagram, and I sent her a voice message as well. I really got quite emotional doing those, because it means so much to me.

“I’d put an oxygen mask on when I woke up after spending the night at Camp 3, which is at about 7,000m, and I wore it up to Camp 4 and then to the summit. I took the mask off at the summit to record the messages and take some photos but I didn’t realise how quickly you run out of breath without it in the ‘Death Zone’ [altitudes above 8,000m where low air pressure and lack of oxygen mean the human body can’t function properly for long]. So the mask was going off and on quite frequently.

“I celebrated at the summit with a Japanese whisky – a Yamazaki 12 Year Old. A good friend bought me a bottle and I took some with me in a hip flask. The sun was up; it was just amazing. And then the reality hits – you’re only halfway when you’re at the top and you’ve got to come all the way down! But I said, don’t think about getting all the way back. Just think about getting to Camp 4, then to Camp 3, then Camp 2. And that’s all I did. I got to Camp 3 and it was so hot I was looking forward to getting out of my summit suit and back into my normal hiking gear. I actually put my feet in the snow! I do cold therapy at home anyway and I rolled in the snow, just to get the heat out of my legs!

“Everest was always my plan, but it was only going to be a plan if I could summit Manaslu. While we were waiting to summit, I asked my guide if he thought Everest was within my grasp. He said 100%. So, I’m going to do it in April.”


While on the mountain, Calum “bumped into” another Scottish climber raising money for the MS Society: 29-year-old Alan Rae from Tore in the Highlands. Calum added: “He set off before me but I saw him a few times, including when I first arrived at Base Camp and when we both got back to Base Camp after summiting. We’ve been messaging quite a bit since the climb and during it. It’s crazy how it ended up happening – us both being on Manaslu at the same time, raising money for the same charity.

“Loads of people have put their hand in their pocket for this climb and made a donation to the MS Society. I’ve always said, it doesn’t matter if it’s £1 or £100, it means a lot.

And it means a lot to Calum’s sister that her brother chose to use his Manaslu climb to raise money for the MS Society and raise awareness of a condition that has a huge impact on her life.


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Karen Richardson, 56, a retired nurse and mother of one who also lives in Stonehaven, was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2010, more than a year after experiencing her first symptoms. She now has the secondary progressive form of the condition.


She said: “Knowing I inspired Calum to climb Manaslu feels incredible. It makes me feel really special, but it’s also really special that he wanted to do it for other people with MS, because he’s seen the way it’s impacted me and our whole family.

“It was exciting and really emotional following Calum’s climb on social media. You could see the emotion in him in some of those posts. And it was terrifying! Especially the one of him going over the ladders. And when he said he was going into the Death Zone I just wanted to be sick! But I know it’s what he loves to do, and it is inspiring what he does, without doubt.”


Karen’s symptoms include fatigue, pain and problems with memory and cognition. She had to give up her career as a nurse and sell her previous home in Aberdeen, living with Calum and his wife Viktorija for almost a year before finding more manageable accommodation closer to her family. The changes had a huge impact on her mental health. But her brother’s influence, and discovering the MS Warrior programme, are helping Karen take back control of her life.

She continued: “I had to take early retirement because I just couldn’t function in my job as a senior charge nurse; I just couldn’t do the job anymore. Brain fog is a really popular term to use now but it’s way more. It’s like somebody’s taken the batteries out and I just cannot function. I didn’t see family or friends when I was still working because I’d go to work Monday to Friday and sleep all weekend.

“I felt like a failure because I was no longer able to do my job. All I wanted to do was get back to work. But Calum planning to climb Manaslu was making me refocus. I saw the flyer about the MS Warrior programme and I thought if I could get on that it would motivate me to improve my health. I decided that if Calum was doing the mountain, I could spend 12 weeks doing the MS Warrior programme.”


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MS Warrior was designed specifically for people living with MS, to help increase strength, fitness and flexibility. The 12-week programme offers advice on exercise and nutrition and provides support and motivation. Its creator, fitness coach Dom Thorpe of DT Training, often teams up with MS Society Scotland to offer free places to people who sign up through the charity. Karen has already started MS Warrior and is beginning to notice a positive difference. She’s agreed to share her experience once she’s completed the programme, to encourage other people with MS to sign up for the next free intake in the New Year.

MS is a condition that affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord. This impacts how people move, think and feel. For 70 years the MS Society has been at the forefront of support, research, and campaigning to improve the lives of people affected by MS.  


Jo Anderson, Director for Scotland at the MS Society, said: “With huge admiration on his extraordinary achievement and massive thanks to Calum for summiting Manaslu and raising vital funds to help us stop MS in its tracks. By taking Karen's story to the top of the mountain, Calum has also helped increase awareness of a condition that affects more than 17,000 people in Scotland and more than 150,000 throughout the UK.

"Congratulations as well to Karen for committing to complete the MS Warrior programme. We've seen some fantastic success stories over the years we've been working with Dom and hope that Karen will experience the benefits of the programme too.”

 

 


 

 

About MS 

·       More than 17,000 people in Scotland, and more than 150,000 people in the whole of the UK, live with multiple sclerosis (MS)*.

·       MS is a condition that affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord. This impacts how people move, think and feel.  

·       Symptoms are different for everybody and often invisible. MS is the most common neurological condition among young adults. Most people are diagnosed in their 30s or 40s, but it can affect people of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and genders. 

 

* The figures were published by the MS Society and established using data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) Database (a Cegedim Property Database). This work uses data provided by patients and collected by the NHS as part of their care and support.

 

About the MS Society  

·       The MS Society is the UK’s leading charity for people affected by MS.  

·       For 70 years we have been at the forefront of support, research, and campaigning to improve the lives of people with MS.  

·       We are the largest charitable funder of MS research in the UK, transforming our understanding and treatment of the condition. 

·       Our free MS Helpline offers emotional support and information to anyone affected by MS including benefits and legal advice.  

·       Across the UK our local groups bring people together to reduce isolation and offer support with events, exercise classes and more. 

·       Our campaigning work helps to improve the rights of people with MS and their carers.  

·       To donate, or see more information about MS, our research, support, or campaigns visit www.mssociety.org.uk

 

 
 
 

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