Maintenance Manager Ian Banham has conquered the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales in just over 24 hours to raise money for research into Alzheimer's Disease and dementia.
Accompanied by Eddie Boycott, a contractor who has worked several stints at HPP, and two other pals, Damon Steele and Gary Wood, Ian's team has a fundraising target of £250 for Alzheimer's Society after taking part in the National 3-Peaks Challenge.
It entailed scaling 1,345m (4,413ft) Ben Nevis in Scotland before heading to 978m (3,208ft) Scafell Pike in the Lake District, and finishing on 1,085m (3,560ft) Mount Snowdon in North Wales.
That's a total of 3,000m (9,842ft) of ascent covering the equivalent distance of 26 miles, a challenge in itself, which also called for some precise logistics to cover the distance between the three mountains within the allotted time.
Ian, who heads up our five-strong maintenance team, says: "Everybody knows someone who has been affected by Alzheimer's. It's something we are dealing with after my dad's diagnosis, so that's why we chose Alzheimer's Society."
Ian and his team actually completed the challenge in 25 hours 13 minutes, describing it as 'tough but with a great sense of achievement'.
Dementia is caused by diseases of the brain, of which Alzheimer's is the most common. The word 'dementia' is an umbrella term for symptoms such as memory loss, confusion and personality change.
Most people associate dementia with memory loss, but the condition affects people in a wide variety of ways.
Symptoms can include:
- Changes in behaviour
- Confusion and disorientation
- Delusions and hallucinations
- Difficulty communicating
- Problems judging speeds and distances
- Problems with balance and movement
Everyone's experience of dementia symptoms is different.
For help and support with Alzheimer's and dementia, you can call the Dementia Support Line on 0333 150 3456, or visit Alzheimer's Society here.
Alzheimer's Society is working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives. It does this by giving help to those living with dementia today and providing hope for the future by campaigning to make dementia a priority for funding and ground-breaking research.
If you'd like to sponsor Ian and his team, please visit their fundraising page here.