A Newcastle woman is braving the elements by undertaking an epic mountain trek for charity.
Wendy Taylor, media relations chief at Newcastle United Football Club, is doing the 180km solo walk around the Alps in aid of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
Already a dedicated amateur climber, and so no stranger to using climbing equipment, Wendy is climbing the Alps in France, Italy and Switzerland over a period of seven days, with not a lot more than some outdoor clothing and some walking boots. She doesn’t even have a tent, but is instead sleeping in a bivvy bag.
The trek will see her scale to a total height of 28,500ft, almost the height of Mount Everest.
Although Wendy is undertaking the feat by herself, she has been using her mobile phone and social networking site Twitter to communicate with the rest of the world.
She tweeted: “Just reached bivvy spot by headtorch, at 8,200ft. I can see a fellow headtorch shining on a distant mountain, otherwise I’m very, very alone.”
However, messages of support from back home have been keeping her going, and she has even received messages from members of Newcastle United Football Club.
Newcastle United club captain Fabricio Coloccini sent her a message, saying: “An unbelievably hard task you have set yourself Wendy, we’re all very proud of you.”
Similarly, manager of the club Alan Pardew also sent her words of encouragement, saying: “It’s a huge task, but one I know you can do. Don’t let us down Taylor! Now we need to see your determination, character and will to succeed.”
The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is a cancer research charity set up by the former Newcastle United manager. He launched it in March 2008, before succumbing on 31st July 2009 to a long battle with cancer.
Asked why she chose that particular charity, Wendy said: “Working at Newcastle, it felt right to me to support a charity close to the heart of the club and the people connected to it.”
Follow Wendy’s progress on Twitter at @wendytaylor13 and donate at www.justgiving.com/wendynufc
