Michael on course to complete 50 climbs

He started at the end of June and since then has climbed several locally well-known spots, as well as some in the Peak District.

Mr Ellis said he chose the 50 target since plans to mark his 50th birthday in 2021 were disrupted, and that was the year when he started climbing.

He took up the sport after a referral from Bailiwick Social Prescribing to the local Climb group and it was with a guide from the group that he competed in a paraclimbing event in Wales last September, placing second.

During his recent trip to the Peak District he took the opportunity to undertake an intermediate rock skills course.

He said it was a different experience climbing the grit stone faces in the region compared to Guernsey’s granite. ‘There are some very different shapes,’ he said.

He was accompanied on all of these climbs by Chris Harvey of Climb, who has become a regular guide for him.

‘The challenge has opened up a lot of conversations around disability within sport, climbing, disability more generally and the opportunities available locally,’ he said.

It has also encouraged him to climb in more locations and become more involved in choosing and planning routes.

‘I have also climbed more directly with more people, which strengthens the social interaction and the joint confidence around visually impaired people being out on the rocks,’ he said.

As well as deciding to take on the challenge as a personal goal Mr Ellis said he is doing it to raise awareness around sport and inclusion, ‘and to raise some funds to enable more people to have this opportunity’.

He is aiming to raise £1,000 for Climb.

n Mr Ellis’s giving.gg page is at bit.ly/3Q0fdBW