There were times when James Ellerton thought he would never make it to the top.
But the 46-year-old knew he needed to push himself to complete the biggest challenge of his life.
Climbing one of the highest mountains in Europe was never going to be easy, especially when you’re struggling for breath.
But the Aberdeen man was determined to do it.
Injury almost spells the end of their trip
James, who went out to the Alps with friend Jonny Little, explains that it was not the only challenge the men encountered on their “life-changing” trip.
At one point it even looked like their adventure, which was planned for July, was never going to happen.
“We trained for about a year before we went,” James explains. “I think it was through fear more than anything else.
“If we got over to France and Italy then realised we were not in shape it could be quite dangerous.”
But then an injury almost spelled an end to their trip before it had even started.
“I’d been up climbing Mount Keen in January then two days after coming back I sprained my ankle,” he said.
“I was in the gym on the Monday and it just went pop.
“When I went to hospital they told me I’d done in my deltoid ligaments and that I needed to strap it up and not move for 12 weeks.
“I had to get it to the point of recovery where I could put a boot on my foot to actually go walking again.”
Then they had a big decision to make…
It was a big setback for James but after following a new physio training plan he felt he was strong enough to climb Mont Blanc with only a few left weeks to go.
The men had initially set themselves up with a big challenge thinking they wanted to complete a “little bit of a terrifying” adventure.
And they faced a big decision when they arrived in Chamonix at the foot of Europe’s highest peak.
“Three days before we went out there was a massive avalanche in Italy and several people were killed,” James says.
“Our guide said they knew we had paid to climb Mont Blanc but they did not recommend we do it, it was so dangerous.
“We were disappointed to start with because we’d been training for a year to carry out a specific objective.
“But we quickly realised it was the smart thing to do.”
Climb in the Alps: ‘The first day was really tough’
Their climbing guide recommended taking them to the other side of the Alps to climb Gran Paradiso – Italy’s highest mountain instead.
It was a difficult climb but James eventually found ways to talk himself through it.
“The first day was really tough,” James said. “We went up to the mountain huts and stayed at that level where you just try breathing and getting used to the altitude.
“Then on the second day, you do your first summit.
“Gasping for air is probably an understatement.”
The two men spent a week in the mountains climbing three different peaks and it was a trip full of surprises for James and Jonny.
“When you’re mountaineering in the Alps, and this was a really weird thing for us, breakfast is at 3.30am and then you start at 4am.
“The colder it is the better. You don’t want the ice melting whilst you’re walking and turning to slush so walking during that time of day is actually safer.
“You don’t really climb much mid-afternoon because it’s too hot.”
‘I struggled with my confidence’
The two men spent the week-long climb in the Alps attached by ropes to their Italian mountain guide wearing crampons while they climbed the ice.
And as they climbed higher, they realised there were striking parallels between their own struggles and with people using the services of the charity they were raising money for.
“In the middle part of the week we were finding it super tough,” the project director explains. “I was really struggling, even with my confidence.
“Two or three times I would get to the point of thinking that I couldn’t go any further.
“Jonny was telling me to put one foot in front of another, to just keep on going.
“And we recognised as we were saying those words that there’s a lot of parallels with mental health, what people have to do to get through their struggles.”
But James found a way to keep pushing himself, despite his difficulties on his climb in the Alps.
“Even when you get to big steep sections, you just have to pick a point in the snow, say 10 metres in front of you, and tell yourself I am just going to get to that bit,” he said.
“And then you pick another point.
“Instead of trying to look a the big problem and solve everything in one, you chunk it down into smaller bits and all of a sudden it becomes achievable.”
They saw the curvature of the earth
But the biggest surprise was getting to the top of their final peak and seeing for miles through the clear blue sky.
Seeing the curvature of the earth and being surrounded by other famous big mountains such as the Matterhorn was an “amazing” feeling.
“It was quite emotional,” James says. “There was total elation that you had achieved something that was not your everyday thing.
“You’d gone bigger and higher than anything you’d ever done before.
“It’s a personal thing wondering how far you can push yourself and the only way you can find that out is by pushing the boundaries.
“You push yourself to a point that you realise that yes you can actually do this.”
James and Jonny, 48, have so far raised £2,874 for the Mental Health Aberdeen charity and are keen to raise awareness of all the work it does.
The charity provides free advice and counselling services for both children and adults.
More details about how you can get help can be found by visiting their website www.mha.uk.net or their Facebook page here
Their fundraiser can be found by visiting this JustGiving site.
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