DO SUMMIT GOOD: Inspired...

Two and a bit months ago, I received an email from a young girl called Emma Welch, explaining a challenge she was going to embark on. 8848m on an indoor climbing wall... Yep, the height of Mt Everest on a vertical wall. I continued to read to find out she was only 12 years old and suffers from scoliosis of the spine. A mammoth challenge twice a week having to accumulate over 50 laps at each session.

The email also asked if I would attend the final day, where Emma would reach her target height and would I climb with her. What an honour and what an inspiration.

After my reply to Emma accepting the invitation, we stayed in contact and I followed her progress.

My wife Natalie and I, headed to Somerset yesterday and found a lovely little quant B&B in Radstock called 'The Post House'. We were directed to a local pub for some proper home made cooking and tucked into some local Ales. A nice stroll back to the B&B and we were settled in for an early night.

We arrived at the climbing wall this morning, welcomed by Emma's father Tony and immediately saw the support Emma had from friends, family and members of the community, all coming together to support this local heroine.

I was introduced to Emma and her mother, Lesley, who was belaying. We had a little chat and I could tell she was keen to tick off the laps so I let her carry on without much disruption. She then rested and we spoke further and after a little rest I had the privilege of belaying this little superstar, who just shot up and down, relaxed and got in the zone. After each lap we would have a little chat and then she would fly back up to the top of the route. Impressive stuff!

We then got to a point where Emma only had 9 laps to go and way ahead of schedule so another rest was planned. I had packed all my summit kit, boots, down suit, mitts, beanie and goggles and said to Emma about wearing it for her final 9 laps... she loved the idea and climbed in all the kit; she was melting!

It came to the final lap and Emma had packed a Union Jack flag to pin to the belay clip at the top of the route, a nice touch in completing what is an official World Record and an amazing achievement by a inspiring young lady.

We exchanged a high five at the top of the route and I congratulated her on this amazing feat. People cheered and applauded rom below. What a great achievement by a young lady taking herself out of her comfort zone and achieving something remarkable, inspiring many and raising funds for Brain Tumour Research.

So, Emma had completed her challenge and now the media wanted to hear what it felt like. ITV, BBC local radio and magazines were present and I must say she gave interviews and worked the camera like a pro. I had to rely on the latest editing suits to chop and cut and paste together my pieces to camera... Take, um, 5!

What a fun day meeting the local community and sharing this amazing day with Emma and her family.

We headed to the Centriniun for dinner with Emma and her parents and talked Everest, showed her hundreds of photos and answered all her questions she had about the mountain, the history, the environment, the technical side of climbing and the logistics, it was a very proud moment for me to share my summit with such an enthusiastic fan.

So wrapping this up, a big thank you to Emma and her family for inviting me to this event and sharing those last laps with you, it was a great privilege and an honour. I am inspired :)