Wheelchair-bound Barry and his amazing human huskies, conquerers of Ben Nevis

Published on Monday 11 April 2011 15:02

BARRY West has had his own personal mountain to climb since a car accident 15 years ago left him paralysed from the neck down, so tackling Britain's biggest peak held no fear.

• Westy's Warriors pull and push Barry West towards the summit of Ben Nevis. Pictures: Lesley Brewin

On Sunday, he reached the 4,409ft summit of Ben Nevis with the help of an 18-strong group of dedicated volunteers who pushed, pulled, dragged and carried him and the special wheelchair he designed himself to the snow-covered top.

While a remarkable achievement, it was only a rehearsal for more a gruelling challenge to come. Later this year, the team plans to climb three mountains and take on the Three Peaks Challenge by scaling Snowdon in Wales (3,558ft), Scafell Pike in England (3,207ft) and Ben Nevis, in 48 hours.

But even that is a warm up for a plan to go to even greater heights next year with an attempt on the 19,340ft peak of Kilimanjaro in Africa.

The mountain expeditions are the latest challenges to be tackled by Mr West, who was paralysed following a car crash when he was 19. He spent 11 months in hospital having suffered a broken neck and damaged spinal cord.

But with the help of the Back Up Trust, which assists people with spinal cord injuries come to terms with their new life, he has since skied, abseiled and completed skydiving and scuba diving trips.

He works for the charity as an instructor of multi-activities for users of power wheelchairs, and prints and designs business cards and T-shirts using a computer and mouthstick. His back-up team, known as Westy's Warriors, have been in training for the Ben Nevis ascent for two years.

The climb began at 7am on Sunday from the tourist path in Glen Nevis and ended 14 hours later when the team returned to base, with a 20-minute stop on the peak when Westy's Warriors cracked open a bottle of champagne.

The feat was marked on Mr West's Facebook page where he said: "Bring it on. Ben Nevis 2011 has been conquered by Bazza West and his amazing team of Westy Warriors. Dug deep, grit, determination at its finest, proof of the summit pictures will follow, as my neck is aching so much to type hehe. We done it."

It is believed Mr West is the first wheelchair user with such a level of disability to scale Ben Nevis and the first to reach the summit in snow.

Graeme Morrison, from GM Mountaineering in Boat of Garten, who was in charge of safety, said the final 90 minutes of the eight-hour ascent saw the team trudge through deep snow and suffer a puncture on the way.

"It was an amazing day. People worked like husky dogs to tow the chair with others lifting and pushing.It was a real trial of effort, passion and physical endurance."

He added: "He is an amazing man. When we got to the top we were all excited but very emotional as well.

"This was a personal challenge to show other disabled people there are no barriers. If you get organised, you can carry on with your life which is what he is doing."

Louise Wright, chief executive of the Back Up Trust, said: "Barry is a wonderful chap, very motivational and the most positive person I have ever met in my life. I'm not the least surprised he's taken on this challenge. He goes scuba diving and abseiling - he's just taking it to the next level."