Brothers from Kirriemuir are planning to spend a week at the summit of Ben Nevis to raise funds for a children’s charity.
Alex and James Robbie will face seven days of freezing temperatures at the top of the UK’s highest mountain starting on Sunday August 2 as they seek to raise funds for the ARCHIE Foundation.
Alex, 35, thought up the fundraiser as a way to test his limits and initially thought his younger brother would dismiss the idea.
However, as a member of the Royal Engineers, 27-year-old James is made of sterner stuff and immediately said he thought it would be possible.
“From what we are hearing, staying at the top of Ben Nevis for a week has never been done before we’re maybe going to find out why but we are determined to do it,” said Alex.
“At the summit there’s an emergency shelter, which can sleep two or three folk in it. If that’s free then we’ll make it our home for the week.
“The shelter is a bit of a tourist attraction in itself and people like to stick their heads in and have a nosy, so I can’t see us getting much peace.
“If we can’t get in there then we’ll end up sleeping outside, which might be pretty miserable as there can be five or six feet of snow at the top even in the summer.”
The brothers have received fantastic support from people in Kirriemuir and have already raised more than £1,000 ahead of the challenge. They are hoping to at least double this amount in the coming weeks.
A group of 10 friends will trek to the summit with the pair, helping them to carry the equipment which will help them through the week.
“We’ve also had support from the army. James has got some great survival sleeping bags and clothing,” said Alex.
“He’s also got 24-hour ration packs for food, which you can eat cold. They have 3,000 calories per pack so I don’t think we are going to starve.”
Halfway through the week, Kirriemuir youth music group DD8 Music are planning to make a visit and then play an acoustic concert to lift their spirits.
The army are also planning to make a trek to the summit as an official exercise.
People can make donations at https://www.justgiving.com/Alex-James-Robbie/.