I’ve dreamed of getting Quinns up Dumyat for quite a few years now. Our local hill is well trodden by anyone and everyone. Quinns’ friends started their climbing attempts in nursery or early primary school. 

A friend and I started scouting the possibility for Quinns while he was still in nursery. We wanted him to experience the great outdoors, the change of perspective and the clarity that comes with being so high up looking out over the land.

We are very lucky to have been gifted a buggy style wheelchair, Delta Delichon, which lets us get off road with Quinns. Over the last few years we’ve taken him on various walks in attempts to get fit and to feel comfortable with the Delta. Our experiences have included flat tyres on the coldest of days and upset ankles following the rough terrain of the Darn Walk on a sunny day when we got carried away.

All thoughts of climbing Dumyat were put on hold while my ankles recovered and as busy lives took hold. It took a major health incident and a good friend permanently returning to Australia to give us the push we needed to actually do it.

All the plans we had previously made didn’t seem so relevant now. We definitely weren’t as fit as we intended. We didn’t have the team of people we needed. We had none of the extra equipment we thought necessary.

There were only three weeks between the date we decided to go for it to when we actually climbed. These days I am far more aware of Quinns’ vulnerability so I notified Mountain Rescue about our plans. They were realistic but positive about our attempt deferring to my mother’s instinct about what was possible.

Packing for the adventure I needed Darth Feeder (Quinns’ feeding pump) as we would be walking across a feed time. I also needed hand sanitiser, test strips, syringes for flushes and cooled boiled water as well as pliers in case I couldn’t get the NG cap off.

On arrival at the car park we unloaded the parts of the Delta which had to be built in its entirety before getting Quinns out of the car. We sat him on a sling for the hoist just in case for any reason we had to get him out. I had my set of allen keys in case of minor issues with the Delta and a mountain biker on call in case of a more major incident.

We were a team of ten. Four adults and six children. Of course the children were all much older than when we had originally planned this adventure. I felt confident now that Big Sister is bigger, stronger and more capable of handling her brother.

The weather had been dry for days so the path was dusty not muddy which made it easy underfoot/wheel. We modified the Delta to have two handles on the front to allow support from the front and lifting if necessary. The majority of the path was reasonably accessible to the wheels but some bits were harder to get over. 

It was a beautiful evening. The sun was shining. There was a slight breeze. It was neither too hot nor too cold.  We took it slowly just enjoying; the journey, the company, the attempt. 

We stopped roughly half way for a snack and to put Quinns’ feed on. After the break everyone was keen to keep going. The path was flat and easy until it wasn’t. With the rocky slope ahead of us too tricky for this attempt we explored going around the longer grassier route. It would have been possible but we decided not to this time. From our previous scouting trips we were also aware there was a second really tricky part. 

It was never our intention to get the whole way up on this attempt. Whatever distance we managed we would have been happy. It was about the journey, the going for it and seeing how far we could get. As a result the whole adventure far exceeded our expectations and who knows how far we might get next time with more preparation.