The Monster Ski Challenge which raises funds for MS research asks participants to ski the height of Mount Everest every day, that’s a total of 90,000 vertical feet over three exhilarating days which this year will happen in Chamonix and Courmayeur from 14-18 March 2016
But one returning participant, Matthew Thompson, has set himself the added challenge of skiing double the target everyone else has – two Everests a day.
“I have looked into it and it is hopefully possible- first lift up, last lift down, no breaks and no stopping!” says Matt, who took the challenge last year and clocked up 110,000 feet.
Explaining the motivation behind his attempt, Matt, who has been skiing since age three, is a qualified CDIA instructor and works in a ski shop says,
“My best friend at school’s mum has MS and it was hard for him through the school years- I have also met many people who suffer with MS who have become lifelong friends. I also found, doing the challenge years ago when it was 24 peaks in 48 hours, that MS is extremely common and not curable. This is a terrible thing that needs to be sorted- I believe that the Monster ski challenge is a great way to raise money for the charity.”
“Skiing is literally my life! I have skied since I was 3 years old and love the speed aspect of skiing (safely of course!). I had a talk with our guide last year and this was a joking conversation- I decided that it may well be possible and hopefully raise more awareness for the charity if I was able to do it within the timeframe.”
