A team of wives and partners of Armed Forces personnel has conquered the highest volcano in the world, the 6893m Ojos del Salado in Chile.
This 12-strong team of women were not your standard climbers though. Only a year before, none of them had any remotely relevant experience. Appropriately, six climbers summited Chile’s highest peak on March 8th – International Women’s Day.
Level Peaks were only too happy to assist, providing support, advice and kit donations from OEMs including Carinthia sleeping bags, Oakley eyewear and Camelbak hydration systems.
Despite a year of rigorous training for all things physical and skill-related, the concern about altitude and acclimatisation still remained. As it turned out, six of the team had to descend before the summit due to effects of altitude. The strength of the team though – as one unit – meant that it didn’t matter to them who summitted, only that they did.
FWC Spokeswoman Helen explains:
‘I can speak on behalf of everyone that this was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Every step above 6500m felt utterly exhausting but we were determined to fly the FWC flag.
Prior to applying for the volcano most of the ladies had never climbed a mountain and most definitely didn’t own any walking boots.
They now practically own Go Outdoors and all sumitted a 4100m, 5100m peak with eight summiting a 6000m peak and six climbing the second highest peak in the Southern Hemisphere (on International Women’s Day).
I was told by so many people that it was too ambitious but hopefully we’ve proved that with determination, dedication and a team of badass ladies you really can achieve anything!’
So far, this flagship event has raised almost £10k for the Royal British Legion who work tirelessly to support the Armed Forces community – serving personnel, veterans and their families.
Find out more about their incredible achievement at:
www.forceswiveschallenge.org/daily-updates-from-ojos-del-salado
And make a donation on their JustGiving page: