Iron will to take the hard road
July 21, 2011 by Grace Franklin · Leave a Comment
Lorne during a test climb on the Via Ferrata
Lorne Brown is a quiet man with a strong will. When he decided to raise funds for Guide Dogs for the Blind – a charity totally without any government resources – he chose his fund-raising events carefully.
Now he is in training to climb some especially challenging mountains in the Italian Dolomites – by using the Via Ferratas. These ‘Iron Roads’ start above 3000ft and are serious climbs with lots of iron pegs and wires requiring nerves of steel.
A great cause at any age. But the indomitable Lorne is doing this to celebrate his 80th birthday!
He was hooked on climbing when he scaled his first Munro as a 75th birthday present.
Recently, as training, he completed the tricky Aonach Eagach ridge in Glencoe and finished the day by climbing Sgor nam Fiannaidh at the end of the line. ‘That was a brilliant climb,’ said the retired newspaper designer who produced the LOCAL NEWS GLASGOW newspaper for many years. ‘It was quite something to look down on either side and know if I put a foot wrong and slipped, there was nothing to stop me for 100 metres.’
In between his significant birthdays, he managed to gain his Husky Dog Driving Licence in the Arctic Circle and played his bagpipes to the Huskies. He already has a volunteer to carry his ‘pigskin piano’ so that he can serenade other Via Ferratas climbers when he completes his self imposed task of climbing 8 Via Ferratas in 8 day in the 8th month of this year to mark his 80th birthday and raise £8888. So if you want to support his valiant effort and help fund a guide dog, put your pledge onto his website: www.justgiving.co.uk/Lorne-brown
Oh – he’s already trying to work out what he’ll do next year to top the 8×8 Via Ferratas challenge! Ideas into our comments box!
