Kidney Climber Aims For Mont Blanc

A Cumbrian climber, who is a victim of kidney failure is planning to climb Mont Blanc with the aid of a mobile dialysis machine, culminating with a dialysis exchange on the summit of the 4807-metre mountain.

Tony Ward, a 38 year-old former outdoor instructor from Cumbria has organised the project to raise money for the National Kidney Research fund. He'll be climbing as part of a team of six attempting the mountain via the Aiguille du Gouter and will have to dialyse at altitudes over 3000 metres in mountain huts.

The team will be carrying an estimated 30 kilos of dialysis fluid as well as photographic equipment in addition to normal climbing gear.

After summiting Ward plans to paraglide down the mountain... More details from this BBC news story and the expedition web site.