{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Kirsty Mack, Scout and mountaineer","standfirst":"Kirsty Mack, from Bridge of Allan, Scotland, went to her first Scout camp when she was just three months old. On May 22 this year, at 8:10am, she became the sixth woman from Scotland to reach the summit of Mount Everest, despite having only partial use of one of her arms. She follows in the footsteps of her father, a legendary outdoorsman and Scout volunteer for over seventy years.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EMy dad Tom, a keen mountaineer himself, introduced my sister and me to the outdoors when we were very young. He was Group Scout Leader of our local Menstrie Scout Group, so we attended most Scout activities as a family. My first camping adventure \u2013 a Chief Scout\u2019s visit weekend \u2013 happened when I was just three months old.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EDad was incredibly passionate about Scouts and encouraging young people to learn new skills. He was awarded the highest accolade in Scouts, the Silver Wolf, in 1990, followed by an MBE for services to Scouts in 1997.\u00A0In 2020 he was recognised for 70 years of continuous service, receiving the 70 years\u2019 service award.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EMy sister Lynzie is now Group Scout Leader for the same group, and I\u2019ve been the group treasurer for around 15 years.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/55hizv1x/kirsty-mack-hiking-everest.jpeg","width":2884,"height":3605,"altText":"Kirsty Mack is stood on snow surrounded by mountains as she hikes up Everest. She\u0027s wearing goggles, gloves, blue trousers and a blue winter jacket. She smiles at the camera.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3 class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EEarly days in Scouts\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EI first joined Scouts as a \u003Ca href=\u0022/cubs/\u0022 title=\u0022Cubs\u0022\u003ECub\u003C/a\u003E aged eight, which was a great introduction to the movement, before I joined the \u003Ca href=\u0022/scouts/\u0022 title=\u0022Scouts\u0022\u003EScout\u003C/a\u003E section a few years later.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EIn Scouts, I progressed through the awards scheme from the Scout Award \u2013 which provided a basic level of navigation, rope skills, first aid, camping, and survival skills \u2013 to the final, highest award, the Chief Scout\u0027s Award. Each stage of the award scheme pathway at that time (Scout Award, Pathfinder Award, Explorer Award, and Chief Scout\u2019s Award) provided valuable skills that I continually built upon as I progressed.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EAt 15, I became a Patrol Leader, which taught me valuable skills in leadership and teamwork. Each year, our group held two main camps \u2013 Easter (three days) and Summer (seven days) \u2013 during which we used the skills we learned throughout the year. We still look back on these camps today.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EA good friend and I were reminiscing recently about our Chief Scout\u2019s Challenge on the Isle of Arran. Even though I\u2019ve now climbed Mount Everest, our Chief Scout\u2019s Challenge remains the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done! We were about 14 at the time, and it was the first time we\u2019d carried everything required for a multi-day expedition by ourselves: our tents, spare clothes, and food for the whole expedition.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EWe covered several miles each day, and the terrain was quite challenging at times. We lost our way a few times and we dropped one of our tents in a stream. The weather was awful \u2013 typically Scottish \u2013 and the midges ate us alive. Looking back on it now, though, it was probably one of the best adventures we\u2019ve ever had.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/1t0babdu/young-kirsty-mack.jpeg","width":2965,"height":2224,"altText":"The image shows Kirsty Mack as a child, smiling with her eyes shut. She\u0027s stood in the wilderness with bushes around her, wearing a wool jumper, backpack, trousers and trainers.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4 class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003ESummiting Kilimanjaro\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EMy very first \u2018high altitude\u2019 mountain was Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. I lived in Tanzania at the time doing voluntary work and unexpectedly had four days off. I wondered if climbing Kilimanjaro in four days would be possible, but I was told it would take a minimum of six. I went anyway and managed to summit in three days. I really enjoyed the climb and was incredibly lucky to have no ill effects from the altitude. From that point on, I was hooked.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EMy next high-altitude peak was Mount Elbrus in Russia (the highest mountain in Europe), which my dad had climbed 25 years before as part of a Scout team celebrating 100 years of Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EI also climbed Denali in Alaska (the highest peak in North America) shortly after my dad passed away. He climbed it in 1981 with a fellow Scout and always spoke so fondly of his time there. Following in his footsteps 41 years later felt like a nice way to honour his memory. I took his photograph album from 1981 with me to Alaska and retook several of his pictures. Knowing I stood in almost the exact same spots all those years later filled me with a surge of conflicting emotions, with happiness dominating them all.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EAfter Denali, I was encouraged to try an 8000m peak, so eventually I headed to Manaslu (the eighth highest mountain in the world) in Nepal. From Manaslu, I went first to Ama Dablam and then to Aconcagua (the highest mountain in South America) before heading to Mount Everest.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EIn between climbing these big mountains, I spend lots of time in the hills of Scotland. I tend to split my time between Scotland and the Alps, where I climb and ski (I\u2019m a ski instructor).\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4 class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EOvercoming setbacks\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EUnfortunately my adventures in the mountains haven\u0027t been without some serious setbacks. Two years ago, while skiing off-piste in the Cairngorms, I had an unfortunate accident and was airlifted to hospital with a badly injured shoulder and arm. I had several surgeries and much rehab, but unfortunately, I never regained full use of my dominant left arm. Currently, I have around 65% movement in that arm.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EDenali was one of my first big expeditions to follow my injury, and while the experience was fantastic, it provided real insight into the problems I now face in the mountains due to my reduced mobility. Back in Scotland, I worked on these new weaknesses with my trainer, Bradley, concentrating on mountain-specific strength and movement.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EI went to Everest knowing my injury might hold me back. I was as physically prepared as I could be and well acclimatised, and I had the mental determination to push through, but the unknown conditions of what lay ahead and whether my shoulder and arm could manage certain technical sections concerned me.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EOn our summit push, we carried weight for close to 22 hours straight, which became incredibly painful towards the end of the day, but it\u2019s amazing how much you can cope with when you\u2019re focused and determined.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/qtkdkx2e/kirsty-mack-climbing-up-mount-everest.jpeg","width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":"Kirsty has her back to us and is close to the top of Mount Everest. She has a black rucksack on her back, snow boots on, a rope attached to her, her hood up and gloves on. She\u0027s looking to the highest point of Everest with clouds to her right and a bright blue sky.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4 class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EWhy Everest?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EWhen I was a child, my dad would go to mountain film festivals, and one day he came back with a signed picture of Dougal Haston, the great Scottish climber, on the Hillary Step (one of the last obstacles to the summit).\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EThat picture remained on my bedroom wall for most of my childhood. Growing up, I really admired British climbers like Dougal Haston, Doug Scott, Stephen Venables, and Chris Bonington, but I never dreamed that someone like me would ever even see Everest with my own eyes, let alone climb it.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EWhen the opportunity to join an Everest expedition arose, and I learned that several friends I\u2019d previously climbed with would be on the same team, I couldn\u2019t really say no. I also realised that I had inadvertently already climbed four of the seven summits (the highest peak on each of the seven continents) and Everest would be my fifth.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EEverest is probably the only mountain I\u2019ve gone to climb where I\u2019ve had a preconceived idea of what it would be like. There are so many books, movies, and articles on Everest that not forming an opinion is difficult. However, it was nothing like I thought it would be, which surprised me.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003ESome sections are certainly scary, and you have to be very focused, but it\u2019s also incredibly beautiful with an enormous variety of terrain, and it\u0027s actually a really fun mountain. My summit day was very quiet; only two other people were on the Hillary step and just a handful of climbers stood on the summit \u2013 the mountain did not feel overcrowded or busy at all.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4 class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EScary moments\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EThe Khumbu Icefall is one of the most, if not the most, dangerous sections of the South Col route and begins just above base camp. The icefall is a section of the Khumbu Glacier \u2013 essentially 5km of constantly moving ice.\u00A0The icefall itself is 1.62 miles (2.3km) long. It\u2019s full of crevasses and overhanging ice and can move up to 1m each day.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EI found it utterly terrifying and completely mesmerising in equal measure. The section feels like another planet. Blocks of ice look the size of buildings. You move through the Khumbu at night when it\u2019s dark, before the sun comes up and the ice begins to melt. There are various ladders and technical bits to navigate. With my shoulder issues and reduced mobility, this section made me the most anxious.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EWe had two quite scary moments during our summit push, both in the Khumbu Icefall. The first was when my climbing partner, Lhakpa, went to jump across a small crevasse.\u00A0It was very dark, so we had only our head torches to see with. Just as his feet left the ground, the whole area around the small crevasse collapsed, and suddenly a huge void loomed between us. I spent a while trying alternative ways across, but every snow bridge would just collapse beneath my feet. Eventually, I had to take a running jump and hope for the best. Luckily, it worked out okay.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EThe second was an avalanche that started above us, caused by a falling serac. Unfortunately, I\u2019ve been involved in a few avalanches in Nepal now, and they never get any less terrifying. Each avalanche happens very quickly, and there is very little you can do. Fortunately, this one covered us only slightly, and everyone was alright.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/1nrfigpb/mountaineers-climbing-up-mount-everest.jpeg","width":1440,"height":1800,"altText":"A group of mountaineers are climbing up a steep, snowy mountainside near Mount Everest. There are around 10 people waiting in line to climb up the rope and to the top of the mountain.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4 class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EScout skills\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003ELooking back, being a Scout gave me a huge skill set that I\u2019ve continued to use in my adult life. I feel very lucky to know how to climb, ski, kayak, and look after myself on the hill. Having knowledge of navigation, camping, and general survival skills has served me well, and I definitely used these during my time on Everest.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EThere\u2019s a confidence and comfort that come with having these skills in your back pocket, so to speak. I would highly recommend Scouts to every child \u2013 you\u2019ll learn lots of lifelong skills, make lifelong friends, and have an amazing time in the process.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EWhat would my advice be to young people taking their first step into the world of adventure? Try to find some like-minded people and just get involved. There are so many amazing activities that can enable adventure \u2013 and Scouts will give you a great taste of many of these.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EDon\u2019t be afraid if you don\u2019t get everything right the first time; you\u2019ll learn so much more from not always succeeding. I\u2019ve learned far more from the setbacks I\u2019ve encountered (and there have been a lot) than any successes I\u2019ve had. Encourage your friends to try something new with you and learn to work as part of a team. Look after each other, and most importantly, have fun!\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4 class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003ELooking ahead\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EI\u2019ve got two of the seven summits left to complete: Mount Vinson in Antarctica and Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia. I\u2019d love to go to Mt. Vinson next, but it\u2019s very expensive, and New Guinea isn\u2019t possible now for political reasons. I\u2019m hopeful that I\u2019ll have the opportunity to do these in the next few years, though.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EMy dad climbed many of these mountains, and I\u2019m proud to follow in his footsteps. After he died, my family received so many incredibly touching cards and letters from former Scouts who said he\u2019d inspired them and that they still remembered the things they learned as Scouts. He brightened so many lives, especially mine.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"11 September 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":77051,"nodeName":"Stirling effort: The Scout on the summit of Everest","title":"Stirling effort: The Scout on the summit of Everest","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/qtkdkx2e/kirsty-mack-climbing-up-mount-everest.jpeg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9e4bc7666bf50","caption":"Kirsty Mack Climbing Up Mount Everest","type":"jpeg","size":2604697,"width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Stirling effort: The Scout on the summit of Everest","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Kirsty Mack became the sixth woman from Scotland to reach the summit of Mount Everest, despite having only partial use of one of her arms.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83NzA1MSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/september/stirling-effort-the-scout-on-the-summit-of-everest/"}