Sam Ford and his Climb to the Top of Mount Toubkhal

Sam Ford set himself the challenge to reach the summit of Mount Toubkal, in Morocco. This challenge was to raise money for St Helena's Hospice for his Grandad. At just 8 Years Old, Sam has not only made his late Grandad proud, he has become the youngest UK child to have successfully tackled a 4,000m mountain.

The Expedition

Sam's Story:

Sam set himself the challenge to climb to the top of Mount Toubkal to raise money for St Helena's Hospice in honour of his Grandad: "My Grandad had cancer and tried really hard to get well but he couldn’t, in October last year he went into St Helena Hospice for end of life care. They looked after him so well, but looked after me too and my family because we all felt sad. I would like to say thank you to the Hospice by raising funds for them so that they can help more people like my Grandad." - Sam Ford. There is still time to donate.

The Climb

Sam and his parents started their climb on the 11th April 2019. Then within 5 days they had to acclimatize to the altitude and reached the top by day six after a nine-hour trek. Reaching the summit of Mount Toubkal meant that they had climbed 4,167m! However, the final trek to the top was made even more difficult with winds of up to 70mph. "It got a bit tough when I got above the snow line and had to take my crampons off my shoes for a short while to get over a rocky section. That was tough and a little scary. I know my Grandad will be proud of me when I get to the top. I am really proud of my achievement and would like to do it again. - Sam Ford.

The SPOT Gen3 Tracker

For this challenge it was necessary for a satellite communication device to accompany Sam and his parents. Therefore, we were delighted to support Sam on his challenge. We loaned Sam one of our SPOT Gen 3 Trackers. This SPOT tracker enabled Sam to regularly record his progress through tracking and pressing the 'Check-in' button. His progress was available for his supporters back in the UK to view and follow his progress. Did Sam inspire you? Support his amazing achievement and donate to St Helena's Hospice.

Review

Sam's Dad, Martin, kindly wrote us a review of the SPOT Gen3 Tracker: "We contacted the fantastic people at Global Telesat Communications for there advice as to the best product to track us and keep us safe. They chose the SPOT Gen3 satellite tracker. We went with their advice and we were so happy with their choice. Over the 8 days Sam had this clipped into his rucksack, the device is very small and compact and it did not miss a trick. We had lots of people around the world following us every day. The tracker provided great peace of mind, knowing that if we got into any problems the SOS facility could be used to get help to us. Also the fantastic preset text facility allowed us to send a message to people saying that all is going to plan. The battery life is incredible. We did not have to worry about having to change the battery’s in the 8 day we were away. If you are looking for a compact user friendly tracker, you don’t need a degree to use the SPOT Gen3. This is the perfect device for you. Thanks for picking this for us! We hope to take one to Kilimanjaro later in the year for the next charity challenge." - Martin Ford Martin has submitted an application for Sam to be awarded a Guinness World Record as the youngest child in the UK to reach the summit. He is also only the fourth child aged under 11 to scale such height.

Contact Us

If you would like more information about of sponsorship program or our SPOT Gen 3 tracker, contact us.