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Double amputee Paul Ellis crawls to Ben Nevis summit on hands and knees

Paul Ellis and a team of helpers helped him get to the top of Ben Nevis. Picture by Lucy MacAlpine.
Paul Ellis and a team of helpers helped him get to the top of Ben Nevis. Picture by Lucy MacAlpine.

A double amputee has made it to the top of Ben Nevis in only 12 hours by scaling the mountain on his hands and knees.

Dad-of-two Paul Ellis – known by his social media name Paul the Amputee – crawled 4,413 ft to the top of the UK’s highest peak to raise cash for amputee children to go on holiday.

Mr Ellis, 57, is a double amputee from Widnes in Cheshire who lost his legs in 2008.

£40,000 raised for amputee children

He has raised around £40,000 for Amp Camp Kids – a charity that pays for amputee children to go abroad on holiday.

Both his legs were amputated after 10 years of living in extreme pain from a fall in 1992.

Paul Ellis crawling up the mountain. Ben Nevis. Picture by Lucy McAlpine.

He took on the challenge of crawling up Ben Nevis after completing Snowdon in August 2021.

Mr Ellis said: “One of the organisers said to me ‘Fancy going up Ben Nevis’ and I said ‘Yes, I am up for that.’

“On the day I was supported by another amputee Debbie, who has lost an arm and a leg, and Dan who has lost an arm.

“We had a support team of about 30 people. Every single one of them made it work, and made it happen.”

Preparations for overnight Ben Nevis camp

The team set off from the Ben Nevis Hotel at the bottom of the hill. Crawling for a full day to get to halfway, the team had prepared an overnight camp at Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe.

So after crawling to the lochan the team spent the night and the following day climbed to the top of the mountain.

Mr Ellis said: “The views were fantastic, we were told that days like that only happen on a few days each year. We were very lucky to be there to experience it.

“The public were so kind when we met them on the mountain. In fact, everyone was kind.”

Paul Ellis. Photo by Lucy MacAlpine.

After being on the peak the team made their way back to the Lochan for another overnight and came back down to the glen the following day.

Mr Ellis said: “I was very sore. It was three days of crawling, so as you can imagine it was difficult.

Teamwork from start to summit

“I was using my hands all the time so my hands were sore, my back and every part of me really. The weather was cold and that was hard on my hands.

“It was teamwork from start to finish.”

Mr Ellis says he is planning his next adventure to Scafell Pike and then he is thinking of completing a 1,000 mile crawl by taking day trips of 10-15 miles from his home.”


To donate to Mr Ellis’s campaign, click here.