Three peaks challenge raises over £700
Well done to Jeannie, Debra and Alana, who beat the three peaks together in memory of their friend, Gemma, who sadly passed away in April after a 10-year battle with breast cancer.
After joking about climbing mountains together for a while, the opportunity came up “out of nowhere” to take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks, so they took the jump.
Jeannie said: “We spent a lot of time together through our grieving and we just started talking about it more and the fact that it scared us until we thought, you know what? It’s a challenge we’re never going to do again, so why not do it?”
Although it was a huge challenge for them, their friend’s courage helped keep them motivated
“Gemma was absolutely amazing with making every day count,” the friends continued. “Doing what makes you happy and most of all not feeling scared is what she tried to instill in all of us and her family, and I think we took that away.”
After conquering the first two peaks, morale started to dwindle. “That last peak was a big challenge, the weather wasn’t great, and we were all tired and hungry and wet,” they said.
However, they couldn’t stop, because they had something important to do at the top. Debra explained: “We took some of Gemma’s ashes up to scatter on top of each of the peaks and that really pushed us on to finish that last one. We knew one million percent she would have been up there with us if she was able to.”
When asked what their favourite part of the challenge was, all three replied “finishing it!”
“It was horrific, I think is the word that I’ve used a lot to describe it, but I’m so proud that we did do it. It really is a euphoric feeling when you’re done, after that first drink in celebration!”
Alana said: “We just wanted to give a little back to the hospice because of the amount of times we slept here, you fed us, you gave us drinks and it was just time for us to give a little something back for the care that Gemma got.”
Jeannie added: “We’re just forever grateful for how she was looked after.”