An Edinburgh pensioner has scaled a Scottish mountain in an impressive mission to raise money for her late father who died of a deliberating brain disorder.
Laila Kjellström, 81, completed the hugely impressive climb and near-1,500 round trip to the summit of Suliven and back to the base in the west of Sutherland in the Highlands on Wednesday, May 11.
Laila, a former University of Edinburgh tutor and psychotherapist, took inspiration to take on the challenge in a bid to raise money in aid of Parkinson's disease research at the University.
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The Daily Record report that Laila's father, Björn Kjellström, died in 1995, aged 84, after being diagnosed with the life-changing disease and she used the fond memories of him and his battle with illness as motivation to reach the top.
Laila said she wanted to do something "crazy" after climbing Ben Vrackie in Pitlochry last year, to celebrate her 81st birthday.
Speaking to the Record, Laila said: "Life during lockdown was a little bit boring - and I love hillwalking - so I decided to climb Ben Vrackie, which was a fairly easy one. I've already climbed all the munros already anyway when I was younger - so I thought, why don't we do something totally crazy.
"My father, who died years ago, had Parkinson's disease and I have friends who also have the illness at the moment too.
"It's a very horrible illness to get. My dad was very fit and active and I saw how he declined - it made him very weak. It's pretty harrowing, to tell the truth.
"So my motivation was to raise funds for research into Parkinson's disease - and I just thought, I'll do something totally crazy and climb this hill."
Laila, a retired psychotherapist, worked at the Wellspring therapy centre in Edinburgh for 24 years before becoming a tutor at the University of Edinburgh.
She was picked up around 8am as she prepared to take on the 731 meter mountain alongside her active younger friend, as well as a mountain guide.
"It was a really good path to start off with, but the path up the valley was quite tricky with very big stones - so that was really hard work," said Laila.
"Then we were walking down a very narrowly ledge, which was fine that didn't bother me - but then as we kept going up I was just looking up at the last hump thinking to myself, 'oh my God what am I doing?!'
"I started thinking to myself, 'I'm old enough, I don't need to do this'. But I'm really grateful to my friend and the mountain guide who stayed so positive and so supportive - so I knew I was well protected if something happened.
"Then we reached the top and it was just beautiful, it was such a relief."
Laila took in the beautiful views at the summit - but the worst, she says, was yet to come.
Laila said: "The most difficult thing was walking down because it's very steep and not a particularly good path.
"It was very funny, though, as I met an American woman walking up and she asked if I was Laila and she took a photo of me.
"She'd heard about my challenge, so word had obviously got around that this crazy old woman was climbing the mountain!"
Following the gruelling 10 hour hike, Laila arrived back at the bottom at around 6.30pm.
Her legs were tired the following day - but she says the sense of achievement made it all worthwhile.
"It was a great relief when we got down," Laila laughed.
"I was just so relieved that I had managed to do it. I didn't want to let people down who had supported me - and of course for my own pride too.
"It took quite a lot of hours - we had plenty of stops on the way down as I was so thirsty - but oh my God, I was elated. It was so worth it.
"The front of my legs hurt a little bit but in a few days I'll be back to normal - that doesn't bother me at all, I'm used to that.
"In July 1, 2007, I completed my final munro to complete the full set and was awarded a certificate - but that was years ago."
Laila, who is originally from Sweden but moved to Scotland in 1980, raised £3,400 in aid of Vascular Dementia research when she completed her hike up Ben Vrackie in Pitlochry - but she's hoping she can surpass that feat during her fundraising drive for Parkinson's this year.
She said: "Ultimately I hope the money raised can help people who have this particular illness, because it is very debilitating and not very easy to live with.
"My emotional motivation was so get support for Parkinson's because my father had it. I knew he was a very fit man who loved skiing and orienteering and he was one of the champions with his brothers in the 1930s in Sweden.
"He was very physically active until he was diagnosed with the disease. I know he would be very pleased if he know I was doing this.
"I would really appreciate if people are able to donate to support the research."
The JustGiving page launched for Laila's mountain challenge has reached almost £1,500 of a £3,500 target. To donate, click here.
The mountain guide who travelled with Laila, Charlie Burrow, runs the Climb Ride Explore group, who organise outdoor activities in the north-west of Scotland. To visit their Facebook page, click here.
