Two Amey employees from the North East trunk road team climbed Scotland’s two highest peaks in 22 hours to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Principal Construction Manager Stephen Pilkington and Journey Time Reliability Coordinator Ryan Newman took on Ben Macdui and Ben Nevis as part of the Amey 2for2 Challenge.

The challenge is inspired by the number 2, which represents Amey’s second year of partnership with CRUK.

Stephen and Ryan started their challenge at Scotland’s second highest mountain, Ben Macdui, with an elevation of 4,295 feet (1,309 metres), on Friday 27^th October at midday.

On completion they drove from the Cairngorms to Fort William, grabbed a few hours sleep and then set off to complete Ben Nevis, with an elevation of 4,413 ft (1,345 metres) on Saturday 28^th before 10am.

The duo reached the summit of Ben Nevis by 9.33am, completing their 22 hour challenge with 27 minutes to spare.

Ryan said: “The weather throughout was relentless. On the first climb we were both absolutely soaked, and the winds were strong enough to knock us off balance, but we managed to get up and down on Ben Macdui. We then headed to Fort Williiam to have a few hours sleep before taking on Ben Nevis.

“Waking up in the early hours of Saturday morning to say that both our legs were sore would be an understatement. However, we soldiered on.

“Again the weather did not let up, but by reminding ourselves of the cause and how much money we raised, we were able to complete the challenge and reach the peak of Ben Nevis where the winds at the top were upwards of 80mph. It was a great feeling and we completed the challenge in 21 hrs and 37 minutes.”

Anyone who would like to donate to their fundraising can do so here: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/scotlands-2-highest-mountains-in-22hrs