Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK has Parkinson's disease and every hour someone else is told that they have it too.
Those who have it tend to experience symptoms of tremor, muscle stiffness and slowness of movement but not everyone experiences all of these.
As a result, Parkinson’s can make activities as simple such as eating, getting dressed or using a phone a lot more difficult.
With that in mind, the idea of climbing a mountain would seem like an incredible challenge for an individual with Parkinson’s.
But Children Centre leader and veteran climber Tim Hakim intends to do just that in a bid to raise money for Parkinson’s UK by taking on the north face of The Eiger in the Bernese Alp’s in Switzerland.
With a climbing career spanning thirty years, Mr Hakim first began climbing when he was at school when he was going on walks with his uncle who was a very keen walker.
His climbing career took off when he joined the climbing club at Exeter University in 1987 where there was plenty of access to mountains.
"In those days a lot of university climbing clubs had a poisonous reputation for safety but our club was really safe and since then three of us have gone on to be professional mountaineering instructors," said Tim.
Mr Hakim, 47, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in October 2013 and while he has remained an active climber he has unfortunately had to drop his grade and can only lead (the person first in the climb who places equipment down to protect others from falls) at a beginner level.
“I am starting to lose dexterity in my right side; my right hand and foot which means footwork is harder and placing the equipment is harder as well,” he said.
But his symptoms have not soured Mr Hakim’s love for climbing and it is still close to his heart:
“Climbing has become something to hang on to really because it is something I absolutely adore.
“I’ve been an outdoor instructor, I’ve been a trek leader and I’ve worked the outdoors for most of my career. It was not until eight years ago I stopped working the outdoors.
“I like getting out, I like the camaraderie and I like the places it takes you.”
In fact, Mr Hakim believes if it was not for climbing his condition would have developed at a much faster rate:
“If I had not climbed for so long and been so active and done so much strenuous activity for so long in my life my condition would have advanced more quickly than it has so it has been a blessing in that respect”.
The Eiger is a notoriously difficult ascent even for somebody without Mr Hakim’s condition. With a reputation for bad weather, bad rock and bad gear the north face was given the title of Mordwand which translates as “death wall”.
The North face was first successfully climbed in 1938 by a group of German-Austrian climbers at a time when any attempt at the ascent was seen as a suicide mission.
It has been a long held ambition for Mr Hakim to take on the Eiger ever since he was a child:
“When I was young, probably not even ten years old, there used to be a news television program for children on BBC about five o’clock everyday called John Craven’s Newsround and they did a feature on the Eiger.
“I remember, vividly still, the image of him at his desk with a photo over his left shoulder of the Eiger north face and it captured my imagination and since then it’s always been my long held ambition to climb it.
“It is also very famous in mountaineering terms. It is the hardest of the six alpine north faces and the stories that go with the (Eiger) north face are very famous or infamous and in literal terms quite morbid. Quite a lot of people have died on the face. Fifty-six people have died since the first ascent so it’s not 100 per cent safe,” he added.
Mr Hakim will not be alone however as he will be accompanied by an experienced guide by the name of Tim Blakemore who Tim says is “fully prepared for the challenge”:
“He is taking this on willingly. He’s fully aware of the risks and I’ve not hidden anything from him because he’s in the firing line as well as I am,” Mr Hakim added.
And Mr Hakim has the backing of famous mountaineer Alan Hinkes OBE, the first British mountaineer to have climbed all 14 mountains higher than 8,000 metres, who has climbed The Eiger twice advises Tim to “stay safe” and wishes him “good luck” on the climb:
“Tim is an experienced climber and he will be with a guide or experienced climbing partner so I believe he will be okay,” said Mr Hinkes.
In addition, Tim has the full backing of Parkinson’s UK as Suzanne McKenna, North East and Cumbria Regional Fundraiser at Parkinson’s UK, said:
“Tim is just an amazing person. Not only is he planning an incredible feat by climbing the Eiger next year, he is constantly fundraising and raising awareness of our work and we are extremely grateful for everything he does.
“I’d like to wish Tim the very best of luck tackling this phenomenal fundraiser. I hope the climb is a safe but amazing experience and that Tim’s story will inspire others diagnosed with Parkinson’s to keep doing the things they love.
“As the UK’s Parkinson’s support and research charity we’re leading the work to find a cure, and we’re closer than ever. But our work is dependent on donations like these.”
Tim Hakim needs all the help he can get so please give generously to his Just Giving page to help him reach his target of £1 million.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ParkinsonsNorthFaceClimb
