Man, 81, Vows to Climb 288 Mountains in Scotland to Honor Wife Battling Alzheimer's, Raise Money for Research

Nick Gardner took to nature to cope with his grief.

The 81-year-old said he knew he needed to find some way to preserve his mental health after the life he had been living with his wife for more than 30 years was suddenly gone. 

So he set a goal that would scare some people half his age. 

"My wife got Alzheimer's four years ago," Gardner explained. "And when I couldn't look after her two years later, I had to get a challenge to refocus my life, and it had to be a challenge that would last some time.

"The challenge was to climb all the Scottish mountains, which were over 3,000 feet," he continued. "There's a list of them, and they're called Munros."

He's already climbed 177 of the 282 Munros, and he's also asking people to support him by donating money to charities that helped his wife with her osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease.

So far, Gardner has already raised 30,000 pounds. And his goal is to keep climbing and keep raising more.

"There's something special about mountains," Gardner said. "Exactly what it is, I don't know. It's some undefinable thing about it."

Related Stories