Tash is on top of the world

Tuesday 26th July 2016, 1:42pm


A determined young lady from the Isle of Wight really was on top of the world when she reached the summit of Cairngorm this week.

Natasha Lambert has athetoid cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, but as part of a massive fund-raising challenge she used a special device called a Hart Walker, which pulls her upright and enables her to propel herself forward.

Even so, it took her just over five-and-a-half hours to reach the summit, with the help of a support team including Mountaineering Scotland’s Mountain Safety Adviser Heather Morning.

The team also included Natasha’s Dad, Gary, Mum Amanda, little sister Rachel (9) and several others. The whole team was needed to assist in guiding Natasha over the rough, steep terrain which, on numerous occasions, required the entire walking device to be lifted bodily over boulders. Weather varied from bright sunshine to hail and winds of over 25 miles an hour at the summit. Surprisingly, one of the most arduous parts of the day for Natasha was the descent. Her position in the walker makes walking down feel extremely precarious. The team then had to play their part by preventing her from descending dangerously fast.

Natasha made her ascent as part of her latest challenge, Sea and Summit Scotland. After climbing Cairngorm she went to Fort William to complete a sailing journey from Inverness to Glasgow, using only her breath to control her specially designed yacht, Miss Isle Too.

Natasha, and her team, is undertaking Sea and Summit Scotland to raise funds and the profile of her charity, the Miss Isle School of Sip Puff Sailing. Natasha is keen to ensure that others with similar physical conditions to her own are inspired to face new challenges, including walking and sailing.

After the ascent, Dad Gary commented: “What Tash has just achieved today is awesome. That’s a very big mountain, it’s one of the ‘Munros’ and she’s managed to climb to the top of it. I am in awe.” Mum, Amanda paid tribute to the support the team had received, saying: “We are so lucky to have the great support from both the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and Cairngorm National Park.”

Heather Morning said: “It was a privilege and a pleasure to spend the day with such an inspiring and determined team. Both Natasha and her support team showed a huge amount of drive and determination to succeed in their goal of reaching the top of Scotland's sixth highest mountain. The day really highlighted to me that, with the right attitude, however many hurdles are set in your way, anything is possible.

“Most people who live with cerebral palsy and other debilitating disabilities could never imagine that they could climb a Scottish mountain, let alone the sixth highest. Natasha has shown that enjoying the great outdoors is not just for the able-bodied and as she sets off on the next stage of her adventure to sail from Inverness to Glasgow I wish her every success.”


Natasha Lambert at the summit cairn with Heather Morning and the support team