Mountaineer reaches for high-altitude toast

Published on Thursday 5 January 2006 11:35

A SCOTTISH mountaineer is hoping to set a Guinness World Record for the highest-altitude Burns Supper ever held.

Chris Dunlop from Paisley, Renfrewshire, is launching his bid today in George Square, Glasgow, in front of the statue of his hero Robert Burns, who died 210 years ago.

"I'm a huge Burns fan," says Dunlop, "so wanted to mark the occasion by taking tales of his incredible life and work to somewhere in the planet that they've never been heard before."

Dunlop will host his lonely Burns Supper on Mount Aconcagua in Argentina – the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere. He hopes to reach the summit on the morning of the 25 January – Burns Day – and once there will perform the Selkirk Grace, address the Haggis and tuck into a dinner of neeps and haggis.

Grant's Haggis, of Galston, Ayrshire, is providing a canned Burns supper.

"We're an Ayrshire firm, proud of our roots in Burns Country," says John Fallon, managing director of Grant's Haggis. "We believe that any attempt to spread the works of the Bard to new lands is to be enthusiastically encouraged."

Dunlop is an experienced mountaineer whose most recent expedition saw him scale Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe.

All money raised from his climb will go to the Glasgow-based charity Realise, which helps recovering drink and drug addicts back into work.