Edinburgh legal team conquers three peaks charity challenge

Ms Frazer and her team raised more than £4,600 for the Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA), the only charity in the country supporting families living with the degenerative neurological condition.

Most of the team completed the challenge of climbing the three highest mountains on the UK mainland within 24 hours.

They set off up Ben Nevis in the early evening, before heading down to Scafell Pike for a dawn submit and finally to Snowdon for the final climb.

All in all, they climbed more than 11,000 feet.

Ms Frazer, who works for Clan Childlaw, said: “I’m a keen outdoors person so I’m used to being in the hills but this was much harder than anything I’ve ever done it’s not just the physical exertion but also the lack of sleep I was dead on feet by the time we were descending Snowdonia.”

She has first hand experience the impact HD can have on families, with her mother sadly passing away from complications brought on by the condition earlier this year, and both an aunt and grandfather also developing HD.

The SHA supports families living with HD through team of specialist support workers, the world only HD youth service and a financial wellbeing helpdesk.

HD is an incurable genetic brain disorder that usually starts between the ages of 30 and 50 years. It causes three main groups of symptoms: changes to thinking processes – a type of early onset dementia, loss of muscle control and involuntary movements which lead to loss of speech and swallow and mental illness. As it progresses those affected will need 24 hour care. It is also hereditary with each child of those diagnosed at 50 per cent risk developing the disease. There is no cure.

It is estimated there are around 1,100 people living with HD in Scotland and about 5,000 potentially at risk.

Dougie Peddie, fundraising manager at the Scottish Huntington’s Association, said: “This is fantastic total and I’m delighted that Lucy and friends managed to get up all three mountains safely and complete the challenge. It’s a great achievement and the money will be put to good use providing lifeline service for HD families.”