MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE

By Jack Waters

CLIMBING the tourist route on Mount Beerwah can be a challenging experience in itself … but what about climbing it 20 times in a row?

For 24 hours from 8.15am on Saturday, October 17, Beerwah local Britt Wallace did exactly that – a day and night climbing up and down the Mount Beerwah tourist route.

This type of physical challenge isn’t new for Britt who recently completed the Glass House 100km ultramarathon in 19 hours.

Realising she could go for even longer, Britt embarked on an even bigger challenge.

She said during the Mount Beerwah challenge a 10-minute power nap and a few stops to refi ll her water bottles, tend to her feet and stock up on snacks was all she needed to keep powering through.

“75% of the challenge was blissful given the beauty of the mountains, people and the excitement of seeing what I’m capable of,” Britt said.

“The other 25% was a real struggle, especially during the night portion. I used a head torch and enjoyed the company of spiders, toads and rats.”

Britt covered 27km with a total elevation gain of 6,000m on the journey.

She said these extreme physical and mental challenges were her way of strengthening the mind and maintaining good mental health.

“I do these challenges to increase my capacity for suff ering and my ability to support myself through it.

“I’m also interested to see how much I can endure and who I can become if I give myself a chance.”

Although it was a solo challenge, Britt said she had plenty of help and encouragement along the way.

“Everyone played a massive part and their encouragement fi lled my tank and my heart,” she said.

“Some of my good friends from the Social Climbers and Hikers Facebook group joined me for a few laps on Saturday and Sunday.”

One of those was Beerwah climbing enthusiast Jade King who contacted GC&M News to share Britt’s story. Jade said Britt was an absolute inspiration and a phenomenal climber. “I hope she inspires many more people to challenge themselves, whether it be a single mountain or many,” Jade said. “Climbing has helped me and so many I have met on the mountains overcome some of life’s challenges.

“Social Climbers and Hikers Facebook group supports every level of climber, and it was fantastic to see so many of the group support and encourage Brit in her 24-hour challenge,” Jade said.

Britt said the next challenge was Mount Tibrogargan where she plans to take it up another notch.

“I would love to eventually align myself with charities when I do these challenges to raise money for people struggling with their mental health,” she said.

“It’s very close to my heart and climbing the Glass House Mountains alongside such lovely people has made a great diff erence for my own mental health.”