Cycling pair climb into saddle for moutain-to-mountain challenge

Jack Colbeck and Andy Graham set themselves the tough task of cycling between Ben Nevis and Chamonix and climbing the Scottish peak before taking to the saddle.

The pair started on Tuesday and passed through Yorkshire yesterday. They are covering about 150 miles a day.

They are raising money for a fund to support their friend and climbing instructor Hannah Hunt, from Otley, who suffered a back injury when a pull-up bar gave way at a friend’s house.

The accident, which happened in March, has left her paralysed from the waist down.

It is hoped that the fund – www.heatfund.org.uk – can receive enough money to buy a wheelchair that can cope with off-road conditions.

Ms Hunt also needs to raise money for equipment for her home and specialist therapy.

Her ultimate aim is to “get back into the hills”.

Ms Hunt has had to move out of her Otley home into a flat in Wakefield provided by the charity Aspire.

Both Mr Colbelt and Mr Graham have climbed Mont Blanc before but neither of them owned a roadbike and so borrowed two from friends.

So far the pair have raised more than £4,000 for Hannah’s Heat Fund, a charitable trust which they set up themselves.

More information about the Ben to Blanc Challenge has been posted online – at http://bed2blancchallenge.wordpress.com