Father and son climb Mont Blanc - then paraglide off

A father diagnosed with Parkinson's climbed Mont Blanc with his son - before the pair paraglided down from the summit for charity.

Hugh Burnaby-Atkins, 56, who was diagnosed at the beginning of last year, said he felt "very privileged" to have completed the challenge and was "extremely proud" of his 19-year-old son, Eddie.

The pair, from Manton in Rutland, completed the ascent on Thursday morning after setting out from Chamonix Valley in the Alps on Wednesday with a guide.

They carried two paragliders with them to the top, before completing the one-hour glide down and have so far raised almost £22,000 for Cure Parkinsons.

Speaking on his diagnosis, Hugh said: "Suddenly time is a bit short for me and if I was ever going to do it, I needed to do it now while I was still fit and healthy.

"One is at the beginning of something that’s not going to be much fun over 20 or so years, so it’s pretty daunting really, but when you get high points like this you can turn it into a positive experience."

The father and son spent months planning and training for the expedition, including cycles around Rutland Water, sleeping in a special altitude tent and climbing Scafell Pike in the Lake District.

Hugh added: "[We] were ultimately at the mercy of the weather.

"Amazingly, a short window opened up this past week so we dashed to Chamonix to arrange equipment and make final preparations."

On Thursday, the pair set out at 04:00 and climbed for five hours up to the peak through strong winds, which cleared in time for their glide.

Hugh, who has about 1,000 hours of paragliding experience, said he had attempted to climb Mont Blanc back in 2002 with a friend but had to turn back about three quarters of the way to the top.

"I’ve had unfinished business up there for more than 20 years," he said.

Eddie, who did his glide in tandem with their guide, said he and his father were both pushing each other up the mountain whenever the other started to complain.

He added: "Once you were in the air, although it was freezing, it made all of the suffering from the last 24 hours worth it."

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