A London lawyer, who is registered blind, and his sighted boss have successfully summited 24 mountain peaks in 24 hours over the weekend (7–8 Sept) to raise vital funds and awareness for SeeAbility and celebrate the disability charity’s 225th anniversary.
Michael Smith, 33, who lives in Finsbury Park, North London, has only around 10% vision and no depth perception. At just 19, he and his twin brother, Dan, both lost the majority of their sight very quickly because of a rare disease called Leber’s Optic Neuropathy, an inherited condition that affects the optic nerve and causes sight loss in the centre of the field of vision.
Jack Stacy, 38, who lives in London Bridge, works with Michael as a Senior Vice President at Revantage Real Estate, a real estate affiliate of the private equity giant, Blackstone.
Throughout the two-day gruelling challenge, through which they have raised nearly £140,000 and counting for SeeAbility, Jack provided sighted guiding and support. And despite rain and heavy fog on Sunday, the pair worked in unison to complete the challenge which is officially graded ‘extreme’, with Jack planting his own feet on the ground and then guiding Michael where to plant his feet.
For Jack, who became Chair of SeeAbility a year ago, the challenge is also deeply personal. His brother, Matty, was born prematurely and spent the first four months of his life in an incubator. The oxygen treatment that saved his life caused him to lose his sight, and he also has learning disabilities and has never been able to speak. Matty lives in Wellington, Somerset, where he has been supported by SeeAbility for 24 years.
Michael and Jack summited 24 mountain peaks in the Lake District, including Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England. They covered at least 28 miles, while ascending a total of 12,000ft. It was 12 hours of hiking a day, with day one covering the first nine peaks and day two the other 15 peaks.
Michael, who is a Trustee of SeeAbility, a charity which supports people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss. He says: “We’re over the moon that we’ve done it! It was incredibly challenging and emotional at times. Jack had the hardest job in many ways as he had to plant his feet and then tell me where to plant mine, and he had to keep that up every step of the way.
“The experience has been pretty emotional. When I lost the majority of my sight 13 years ago, I thought it’s curtains for me, the career path in front of me pretty quickly disappeared, and I had to take a couple of years, with support of charities like SeeAbility, to relearn everything, learn a whole new language on the computer, as well as relearning basic things like how to make a cup of tea. I chose this challenge as I knew it would be way out of my comfort zone, using so many faculties that I’ve developed since my sight loss.”
“When we reached the last peak, I felt a real outpouring of emotions and it wasn’t just the physical aspect of it, it’s the fact that but for Jack, I wouldn’t have been able to set foot on the first mountain, let alone the 24th, so it means a huge amount to me.”
Jack says: “We’ve had amazing support from our sponsors, our friends, families, and colleagues and from the general public. It’s been extraordinary and we’re tremendously grateful for everyone’s help in raising so much money for SeeAbility.
“In keeping with SeeAbility’s ethos and recognising Michael’s own journey, we wanted this gruelling trek to challenge perceptions about what people with disabilities can do and with the right support, what may be possible.”
“Michael and I knew this challenge was going to be tough, but we really had no idea quite how tough until we summited our first mountain after a two hour climb. Each peak brought fresh challenges, and we had to be extremely adaptive to changes in terrain and conditions. Michael’s drive, focus and sheer determination was incredible. I witnessed something amazing up there that I will never forget.”
As well as months of strength training and hill runs, the pair had also developed a set of verbal commands to communicate the terrain around them, so Michael could picture it in his head. The pair’s training has had to fit in around their busy working lives and with Michael having a 11-month-old baby daughter.
Michael took advantage of his workplace having 27 flights of stairs which he climbed twice a day, every day, in the run up to the challenge.
Even those who know Michael have been surprised to learn how little usable vision he actually has. He uses innovative accessible technologies in the workplace to support him to succeed in his role as Principal Legal Counsel at Revantage Real Estate.
Michael and Jack have already raised nearly £140,000 thanks to the generosity of their sponsors and the general public and it’s not too late to donate and help them reach their £150,000 fundraising goal. Among the companies generously sponsoring them are: Revantage Real Estate, Thirdway, Knight Frank and Arthur Cox.
SeeAbility CEO, Lisa Hopkins, says: “It’s amazing that Michael and Jack have taken on this incredible challenge to mark SeeAbility’s 225th anniversary. We are enormously grateful to everyone who has so generously sponsored them, the money raised will enable us to continue our life changing work supporting people with sight loss, learning disabilities and autism to live ambitious lives and thrive as part of their communities.”
If you’d like to join Michael and Jack in making a tangible impact on the lives of people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss, you can still donate and help them reach their £150,000 goal, here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/jackandmichael
To find out more about SeeAbility, please visit: https://www.seeability.org/
