The Challenge

Friday 11 November 2005

Alan Hinkes, the only British mountaineer to have climbed all 14 mountains over 8000 metres, challenge d WaterAid supporters to recreate his achievement.

The Challenge 8000 aimed to get teams on 14 climbing walls around the UK. Each climbing wall was transformed into a Challenge 8000 mountain for the day. The challenge was for teams of participants to climb the walls to a total height that equals or surpasses that of the mountain it represents.

Although only 12 walls took part the teams managed to climb more than the total height of all 14 mountains - a truly remarkable feat!

Everyone who took part helped make the challenge a success, and by collecting sponsorship will help some of the world's poorest people gain access to safe water, sanitation, hygiene education and a better quality of life.

The History of the Challenge

On Friday 29 November 2002, over 380 enthusiastic WaterAid supporters demonstrated superhuman stamina in the first ever WaterAid Challenge 8000.

They were joined by Alan Hinkes, the UK's top high altitude mountaineer, who has undertaken his own real life “Challenge 8000”, and is the first Brit to climb all 14 mountains in the world over 8000 metres.

Alan has been a WaterAid supporter since 1998 through his relationship with Northumbrian Water.

He says, “Each time I make a trek I notice women and children walking for miles for water. In a country like Nepal that journey is often through arduous and hilly terrain.”

WaterAid's 2002 “Challenge 8000” took place at fourteen indoor climbing walls across the country. At each wall, climbers worked together to climb the height of their appointed mountain between them.

In Edinburgh, hardy Scots dug deep into their energy banks to climb Everest in an afternoon, whilst WaterAid supporters in Bristol were tackling K2. In total, 9 of the 14 teams reached the summit of their mountain, and some climbed even further totalling a combined height of 110,659 metres, the equivalent of 13 of the 14 mountains. A great achievement!

Berghaus kindly donated prizes for the most sponsorship money raised and at some walls additional prizes were awarded for the most number of routes climbed by an individual and fastest routes climbed.

In 2003 the Challenge was repeated. More than 400 people took part and raised a fantastic £23,000 which has been used to provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene education to the world's poorest people.

One Challenge 8000 climber in 2004 was sponsored for £2,000 to take part! Thanks to Michael Morrow of Northumbrian Water and his sponsors UTS.

Last year, on 26 November, WaterAid Challenge 8000 2004 proved to be another great success, with the combined height of all 14 mountains scaled for the first time.

In the three years since it began, Challenge 8000 has raised £60,000 for WaterAid's work providing some of the poorest people in the world with clean water and sanitation.