An Oldham dad is set to climb Mount Everest this month for charity.
Mountaineer Akke Rahman will take on the world's highest mountain this month, just two years after he reached the summit and became the first British Muslim to do so.
The 41-year-old is aiming to climb the 14 highest peaks in the world for charity in under 18 months, beginning with Mount Everest.
The father-of-three said: “I’m ready to face it. I’m doing it for humanity and I’m helping people.
“Last time I did it, I did it in 21 days, which was pretty much half the expected time, so I’m hoping some of that experience will get me through this.”
The tallest dozen mountains in the world are more than 8,000m tall, while Pakistan's Disteghil Sar is 7,885m in height and the smallest of the 14 Nanda Devi, India, is 7,816m - which is more than seven times higher than Mount Snowdon, and Mr Rahman expects to complete his mission around September next year.
He will be taking on the challenge in four phases, with the first phase comprising Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Kanchenjunga.
The British-Bangladeshi mountaineer continued: “I feel confident. I’m going to go there, give it my best shot, and I’m going to take them one by one and that’s probably the best way to do it.
“Everything is pretty much done in terms of logistics so I just need to get myself in that zone where I can just go there and do what I do best.”
K2, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma are among the other mountains Mr Rahman will be climbing.
On preparing for the challenge, he said: “The thing is, we don’t have high altitude mountains in the UK, so I can’t really go and get myself acclimated, so what I do is just fitness, I run five or six times a week, and I go to the gym and I do some light workouts just to build my strength.”
It was only after scaling Mount Snowdon in Wales in 2019 that he vowed to tackle the tallest mountain in Europe - Mount Elbrus, Russia.
In 2020, Mr Rahman climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Mont Blanc within a week and later that year, he broke the UK record for climbing Elbrus after reaching the summit in less than 24 hours.
Mr Rahman said: “I took up mountaineering just to inspire my children and show them that you can do more than just average and you can do great things.
“I just wanted to be an inspiration to them and at least they can say, ‘my dad was this and I aspire to be something like this or something better’.
“That’s where it all started and then it just sort of spiralled out of control.”
As a brand ambassador for UK Islamic Mission, Mr Rahman will be raising money for the charity to help communities in Bangladesh, the UK and elsewhere.
He is motivated to inspire other people to get fit while raising money for causes close to his heart and has set up a JustGiving page to help him do so.
Mr Rahman added: “Mountaineering is my passion but my fuel is helping people.
“I’m doing my best for humanity to try and help as many people as I can.
“I want everyone to join hands and help the needy, not just further afield but in the UK as well.”
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