Six-year-old raises nearly £30,000 for charity in remarkable Everest climbing challenge
A six-year-old from Lancashire has already raised nearly £30,000 for charity by setting himself the incredible challenge of climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest.
Didn’t realise heroes came this young.
Oscar Burrow from Lancaster loves climbing, hiking and walking of all kinds — not to mention a bit of “danger” from time to time, according to his dad Matt — so back in October 2022, the incredible little lad set himself the challenge of climbing the equivalent of Everest for a good cause.
As explained in the description of his fundraising page, after learning about the first men to climb Everest (Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay) Oscar decided he wanted to become the youngest person ever to summit the world’s highest point himself, but knew he needed some practice. Cue awesomeness.
With that in mind, the youngster set himself the challenge of climbing the next best thing: a dozen of the UK’s tallest mountains the total elevation of which would match Everest’s 8,849 metres — all in aid of the Derian House Children’s Hospice in Chorley. What a little legend.
Starting with Inglebrough in the Yorkshire Dales, Oscar has now summited 10 out of the 12 peaks on his list and raised nearly £30k for the local Lancashire charity.
Completing the likes of Scafell Pike, Snowdon, The Old Man of Coniston and more, many of which were done in treacherous conditions, this primary school kid has done what many grown adults are too hesitant to take on.
Citing the likes of Cairn Gorm and Glyder Fawr as some of his hardest simply due to the deep snow and low visibility, Oscar now has two peaks left to go before he reaches the magnificent milestone, having covered countless kilometres and raised enough to send 29 different families on holiday. Incredible.
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Oscar said that aside from challenging himself, he has kept motivated by the goal of “raising money to help support children and their families when they are facing much harder challenges in their lives.”
Derian House cares for more than 400 babies, children and young people with life-threatening illnesses, along with their families, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We couldn’t think of a better cause than that.
As his dad told ITV, everyone is “speechless and couldn’t be prouder”, with the hospice themselves adding, “How many six-year-olds could say that they have climbed the height of Mount Everest? Oscar is an incredible little boy”.
Oscar and his dad are set to complete their remarkable journey on 29 May when they scale the might Ben Nevis on the 70th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Everest. You can donate to Oscar’s Everest Walk challenge for Derian House fundraiser HERE.
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Featured Image — Oscar’s Everest Walk for Derian House Children’s Hospice (via Facebook)