Ex-marine's space mountain marathon to support NHS in coronavirus crisis

That is because Matthew Disney is climbing the equivalent height of what is thought to be the highest mountain in the solar system.

And the Blackpool-based adventurer has done it by creating a mini-mountain in his partner’s garden in Penwortham, Preston.

Matthew, 35, has spent years raising money for the armed forces trauma charity Rock2Recovery but this time he is supporting the NHS during the coronavirus crisis with his climb of more than 147,000 steps. He said: “The idea is to raise money for PPE and other required equipment for NHS.

“I think everyone is 100 per cent appreciative of what they are doing for us all, as well as the other front-line workers who are out their working for us all in the times we find ourselves in.

“I came up with the idea about five days before Easter Sunday which is when I started, and the plan is to climb the equivalent of the highest mountain in the solar system, Rheasilvia on the asteroid Vesta, 22,500m high.

“I hoped to raise £2,000 originally but we smashed that in under 12 hours, then we double the target to £4,000 and hit that in under 24 hours, and now we are hoping for £8,000 and we are at over £6,000 now. We have reached three quarters of a million on social media.”

He said his partner Lauren Lancaster had been his main supporter sharing his lack of sleep on the challenge and allowing him to dig up her garden.

“It took five days to make, its a one meter high mini-mountain with five steps on each side, which I am doing in full mountaineering gear as I don’t have a space-suit handy.”

Anyone wishing to support Matthew Disney’s latest challenge can watch him live on his Facebook site Disney RM and donate via his Justgiving site https://justgiving.com/fundraising/disneyrm-nhs

Rheasilvia is named after the mother of the mythical founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

The peak was discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1997 on Vesta, the second largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Matthew has completed challenges for Rock2Recovery such as climbing the highest mountains in the UK carrying a rowing machine and then rowing the distance walked on top. He also climbed the height of Everest at Bloomfield Road stadium on a stair-climb training machine to raise money for forces charities.