A SCOTTISH walker has become the first person to complete an extraordinary four-month mountain challenge after recovering from three different types of cancer.
Lorraine McCall hiked, cycled and travelled by boat non-stop to 231 significant peaks, known as Grahams, and is the only person to have completed the feat.
The Highlander, who is from Beauly, set off on her record-breaking marathon on April 16 and completed her goal after reaching the summit of Stac Pollaidh just before 12pm on Thursday, September 5.
The 59-year-old walked 1500km and ascended more than 120,000 metres, the equivalent of almost 14 times the height of Mount Everest, and said completing the Grahams was a tougher task than she could have ever imagined.
After reaching the top of the Highland mountain earlier on Thursday, she said: “It is the hardest thing I have ever done by far. It has been much harder than I could have ever imagined.
“But I am so proud of myself. I have been close to giving up quite a few times but I kept going and I am now very happy that I did.”
Like the better-known Munros, Scotland’s 282 mountains of at least 3000ft in height, the Grahams are also defined by stature.
The list is identified in metric measurement and includes all Scottish summits of between 600m and 762m.
In between climbing the mountains by foot, McCall also cycled 4000km and ascended 60,000m on two wheels, kayaking and taking ferries where possible.
She has travelled as far south as Galloway, and to the distant north of Sutherland, and she managed to “bag” six summits in one day at Luss, Loch Lomond, during a 14-hour walk.
McCall is no stranger to completing epic mountain circuits as in 2005, aged 40, she became the first woman to do a non-stop, self-powered round of the Munros on foot and by kayak.
Almost a decade later, she also set a record as the first female to link another huge list of mountains known as the Corbetts, mountains between 2500ft and 3000ft, in a similar feat.
However, she said this time around the challenge was particularly tough as she said: “The Grahams round has been much, much harder than either the Munros or Corbetts rounds. I can’t even quantify how much tougher it has been.
“My body is older and a bit more worn out than it was on previous rounds and I have also had to deal with three different cancers – two bowel cancers and breast cancer – over the past 12 years. This has made me slower, more breathless and I have some toileting issues.
“In addition, the Grahams, while smaller in stature than the Munros and Corbetts, are spread out much further geographically. They have very few paths because they are much less walked than other mountains and often thick with vegetation.”
Her achievement was also doubled as a fundraiser for the charity Alzheimer Scotland as she said a very good older friend of hers died after a long time living with dementia and that her mother is at the start of the same “difficult journey”.
Kirsty Stewart, Alzheimer Scotland’s executive lead of fundraising and engagement, praised McCall on her incredible achievement.
She said: "We are very grateful to Lorraine for her amazing fundraising efforts and send her a huge well done. It’s been wonderful to watch her progress over the past few months as she’s continued this extraordinary journey through some tough conditions.
“Lorraine’s story is an inspiration to all and will also help to raise awareness of dementia.
“Every pound raised helps Alzheimer Scotland continue to develop and deliver vital dementia support.”
Alan Dawson, the co-creator of the Grahams and the person who maintains the list, said McCall’s achievement leaves him “marvelling” at her willpower.
He said: “There is a good reason why no-one has climbed all the Grahams in a continuous walk until now: They are hard work. About 10 per cent have pretty good paths to the top but that means over 200 are very tough going.
“The key issues are not navigation, exhaustion or even precipitation, but motivation and difficult vegetation.
“The concept of climbing them all in sequence, day after day, leaves me marvelling at the willpower, stamina and dogged determination required.
“Lorraine McCall has shown herself to have tremendous determination, a sense of purpose and presumably a sense of humour. Well done to her.”
Anyone who wishes to contribute to the fundraiser can do so here.
