Martin and Katie’s Journey with Everest in the Alps
From personal struggle to global impact: how one family’s journey with Everest in the Alps is funding world-class brain tumour research and inspiring collaboration across continents.
How it all began
When their son Alex was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, Katie Bernard and Martin Bell were thrown into a world of urgent questions and impossible choices. Their first instinct wasn’t to look for a charity – it was to find answers that could save his life.
“We said, we need to find doctors who understand this, who know how to treat it. So I started reading medical papers – I didn’t understand one word in three, but I could see who had written them. And one name kept appearing: David Jones,” Katie recalls.
Dr David Jones’ work on low-grade gliomas and diffuse leptomeningeal glioneuronal tumours (DLGNT) became central to their search for expertise. He soon formed part of the multidisciplinary team they assembled for Alex’s treatment – an international group they brought together themselves when local options were limited. Through David, Katie learned about the Everest Centre for Research into Paediatric Low-Grade Brain Tumours, long before she realised its connection with The Brain Tumour Charity. But that connection came sharply into focus in the summer of 2023.
“It had been a really hard summer,” Katie recalls. “A treatment had stopped working, we’d tried to get onto a clinical trial in Barcelona, and at the last minute Alex wasn’t accepted. We were left high and dry, with no treatment. Eventually, we managed to get the drug we needed on compassionate use in the UK through an US Biopharmaceuticals company. Alex was responding well – we were finally exhaling.”
It was during a quiet moment at home in Andorra that everything changed.
“Alex came and jumped into the middle of the bed, as he always did, no matter how old he was,” says Katie. “I was scrolling, researching, trying to find out about the next trial. It involved the Everest Centre, and suddenly I saw the link to The Brain Tumour Charity. Then I found the story of Rob Ritchie and Everest in the Alps. It was like a Eureka moment – I said to Martin, ‘Listen to this – look at this incredible challenge, look at how much they’ve raised.’”
Katie realised something important: the Everest Centre itself had been created thanks to the funds Rob had raised through Everest in the Alps, and every pound raised through the event goes directly to The Brain Tumour Charity to support the Centre’s pioneering research. They saw it as the perfect vehicle to channel their own fundraising.
At that point, Katie and Martin had already built a fast-growing online community for families affected by DLGNT, sharing research papers and experiences. They knew the scientists, they had the network – the missing piece was funding.
“We thought, right, the next step is to start raising money ourselves to support these researchers,” Katie says. “So I said to Martin, ‘This is something you can do.’ He always says he was ‘voluntold’.”
Martin’s initial reaction was disbelief.
“He said, ‘You have got to be kidding me – that would kill me!’ And Alex just looked at him and said, ‘You expect me to fight this cancer and you can’t be bothered to climb a mountain?’ That was it. Martin just said, ‘Right. I’m doing it.’”
For Martin, the challenge combined everything he loved – mountains, skiing, endurance – with a cause that had become deeply personal. The parallels with Rob Ritchie’s own story, and the shared determination to drive research where little existed, sealed their decision.
“It was the perfect vehicle,” says Katie. “Something big enough, tough enough, meaningful enough. Climbing the height of Everest on skis – it’s extraordinary. But so is the cause.”
From that point, their partnership with The Brain Tumour Charity and the Everest Centre became official.
“We wanted to be clear,” Katie explains. “The money we raised had to go directly to the Everest Centre, ideally to support David Jones’ work on DLGNT. That’s where this all began – and that’s what gave it meaning.”
The Ripple Effect: Building a Global Network for Brain Tumour Research
What began as a deeply personal mission has evolved into a truly international collaboration – linking scientists, charities, and institutions across continents in pursuit of faster progress for children and young adults with brain tumours.
For Katie and Martin, Everest in the Alps became more than a challenge: it was a catalyst for connection.
“The challenge, it’s brutal,” Katie says. “But Martin had an incredible team – well-travelled, well-connected people. We wanted to build on that momentum. So we came up with the campaign line ‘Training Never Stops’ and started filming the team wherever they were training in the world – Baku, Tashkent, Rio de Janeiro. It became this running theme, a bit of fun that built awareness before the challenge even began.”
The energy grew. Alex recorded a video thanking donors. The campaign attracted new attention – and opened new doors.
“That’s when we began talking with the Energy Council, who were hugely supportive,” Katie explains. “At the start of 2024, I was named Women’s Executive of the Year for Canada through the Energy Council, which gave me a platform to talk about Everest in the Alps and where the money was going. We carried that message on long after the challenge itself – sharing the story of how every donation was being used to fund world-class research.”
Mapping the Experts
Katie’s impact story begins long before Everest in the Alps, rooted in her early research as a mother determined to understand her son’s diagnosis.
“When I started reading medical papers, I began to see where the expertise was concentrated,” she says. “There were these incredible pockets around the world – London, Heidelberg, Sydney, Toronto, Boston – all working in children’s hospitals because Alex’s tumour type is seen as paediatric. I reached out to them. I emailed professors whose papers I’d read, and they replied. They gave their views, and I could take that knowledge back to Alex’s oncologist in London. It changed everything.”
Katie and Martin’s persistence reshaped Alex’s treatment – away from radiation, which carries long-term risks, and towards targeted therapies that cross the blood-brain barrier more safely.
“That shift probably gave Alex an extra three years of life,” Katie says quietly. “It showed us the power of connection – of sharing information globally.”
Creating an International Collaboration
That same collaborative instinct now drives their work to unite research funding and expertise across the UK, US, and Canada.
Through contacts in Martin’s professional network, the couple connected with Day One Biopharmaceuticals, the US company behind a promising drug Alex received through compassionate use. From there, they were introduced to the Paediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) and its dynamic founder, Amy Weinstein.
“Amy was amazing – a real force of nature,” says Katie. “She told us, ‘You’ve got Alex stable. Now you need to share what you’ve learned and start raising money.’ That was a turning point.”
From those conversations came a network of linked charitable pathways:
- The Brain Tumour Charity in the UK, funding the Everest Centre;
- PBTF in the US, already supporting related research at Dana-Farber and working with the Everest Centre; and
- Kindred Foundation in Canada, which uniquely channels every dollar raised directly to research, thanks to independent funding for its administrative costs.
“It sounds complex,” Katie says, “but it’s actually really practical. Donors in each country need to give locally for tax reasons – so we found a way for all the money to flow to the same goal. Every penny still goes to research into low-grade gliomas and DLGNT – it just travels different routes to get there.”
The Everest Centre in Heidelberg, Germany
From Joined-Up Thinking to Joint Research
Working together, PBTF and Kindred pooled their funds to create a larger grant pot for a new project at Toronto SickKids.
“That collaboration took the total to around $650,000, and we were even shortlisted for a top-up from Canada’s national cancer fund,” says Katie. “We didn’t quite make the top three – we came fourth – but it was still a huge achievement for a community-driven initiative.”
Rather than step back, Katie and Martin saw another opportunity. They convened a joint meeting bringing together researchers from Toronto SickKids, Dana-Farber, and The Everest Centre in Germany – with David Jones and other leading scientists from around the world on the same call.
Dr David Jones
“We looked at the Zoom screen and couldn’t quite believe it,” Katie laughs. “The top global experts on low-grade gliomas, all talking together – not the charities, not us, but them. They were animated, exchanging ideas, planning next steps. It was extraordinary.”
The goal: to ensure their projects complement each other, filling gaps rather than duplicating work, and to explore new shared initiatives – such as organoid modelling at the Everest Centre alongside parallel work at Dana-Farber.
“It’s now a true international collaboration,” Katie says. “The researchers are leading it. We just helped make the introductions.”
The second global meeting is already in the diary.
“To see that level of cooperation – six, eight world-leading researchers all working towards the same goal – it’s quite something. It’s exactly what we hoped Everest in the Alps would help to achieve.”
Martin’s 2024 Challenge: Preparing for the Ultimate Ascent
When Martin Bell signed up for Everest in the Alps 2024, he knew it would be tough. What he didn’t expect was how profoundly it would change him.
“It was life-changing,” says Martin. “Completely. I had to rethink everything – my nutrition, my fitness, my attitude to endurance. I went from fat to fit. I lost twenty kilos training for it – and most of that has stayed off. It was transformative.”
The Hardest Start
That transformation was hard-earned.
Day one of the challenge – climbing over 2,000 vertical metres on skis in the thin Alpine air – hit Martin hard.
“The first day was brutal,” he says. “By the end of it I felt awful. For some reason, I’d thought raclette for lunch was a good idea – we were in Switzerland, after all – but at altitude, that was a mistake. I spent half the night being sick. Between the altitude and the exhaustion, I honestly thought I wouldn’t make it through.”
He remembers lying awake at 1am, his body rebelling, his head spinning.
“You’re there at altitude, completely spent, and you’ve got three more days to go. I just remember thinking: I can’t let the team down. I can’t let everyone who’s supported us down. So you grit your teeth, you get up at five, and you keep going.”
Endurance, Blisters and Laughter
By the second day, sheer determination had taken over. But the physical strain was relentless.
“The pain in your feet is unreal,” says Martin. “We all had blisters. At one stage my feet were just raw – bleeding through my socks. And these weren’t cheap boots. They were top-end, moulded to my feet. But it doesn’t matter – after that many hours of climbing, the friction gets you.”
Still, what carried the team through wasn’t just endurance – it was camaraderie.
“We laughed the whole way,” he says. “Honestly, we don’t know if it was the altitude or the lack of oxygen, but I’ve never laughed so much in four days. The smells in the room, the exhaustion – it was ridiculous, but everyone was in it together. That’s what got us through.”
One teammate, Mike – a former Guinness World Record holder who had rowed across both the Atlantic and Pacific – struggled badly with the conditions.
“He’d brought heavy backcountry skis, six kilos combined,” Martin laughs. “Even for a guy who’s rowed oceans, that was too much. It showed how demanding this challenge really is.”
A Team Effort – On and Off the Mountain
While Martin tackled the mountain, Katie led the campaign from the ground – keeping supporters updated and securing national coverage.
“On day one, she’d somehow arranged a live interview with Sky News from the side of the slopes,” Martin remembers. “I’d been fully briefed – all my talking points lined up. Rob was trying to answer questions about how we were doing, and I was there saying, ‘For children under 40, this is the most deadly cancer. These are the facts.’ It was hilarious – I just stuck to the message Katie had given me.”
Video made by the Energy Council as part of their partnership with Team Syren
The Final Push
By the fourth day, exhaustion gave way to euphoria.
“You know you’ve got just one last climb, and you’re counting every metre on your watch,” says Martin. “When we finally crossed the line, it was jubilation. I remember crying – thinking about Alex, about everything we’d done, and how far we’d come. It was overwhelming.”
The achievement was more than physical. It symbolised years of perseverance, and the power of a community rallying for research that can change lives.
“For us, this was the first big charity thing we’d ever done,” Martin says. “We were making it up as we went along. But the impact – the awareness, the funds, the connections – it’s been extraordinary.”
Remembering Alex
Alex passed away in January this year. Katie shares his story with warmth and humour, reflecting the spirit he brought to life.
“When Alex died, I chose a funeral parlour called ‘Exit Here’ – it was modern, bright, and playful, exactly like him. He would have found it hilarious,” Katie recalls.
Even in grief, Katie and Martin remain steadfast in their commitment to the cause. Alex’s journey continues to inspire their fundraising, their drive to unite researchers globally, and their determination to spread that impact further..
“Everything we do, every step on the mountain, is for Alex – to honour him, his bravery, and the hope that other families won’t have to face the same struggle.”
Looking Ahead: The Climb Continues
For Katie and Martin, Everest in the Alps didn’t end on the mountain. It was the beginning of something much bigger.
“We’ve seen what’s possible when a small group of people commit to a single goal,” says Katie. “The research that Everest in the Alps funds is changing how doctors understand and treat these tumours. We can’t stop now.”
That’s why, in 2026, they’re joining us again. – building a new team to take on the challenge in February.
“It’s not about repeating what we did,” Martin explains. “It’s about taking it further. The first climb proved we could do it. The next one is about multiplying the impact – bringing new people in, raising even more, and showing what endurance and purpose can achieve together.”
They’re inviting others to join them – those who are drawn to the mountains, to the challenge, and to a cause that matters.
“If you’re the kind of person who looks at Everest in the Alps and feels that spark – that mix of fear and excitement – that’s who we want beside us,” says Martin. “Because when you’re out there on the slopes, every metre you climb means something. Every blister, every push, every laugh at the end of a brutal day – it all adds up to real change.”
He knows the climb is never easy. But he also knows what’s at stake.
“Alex’s legacy isn’t just about our son,” says Martin. “It’s about every child and family still waiting for better treatments, better answers. That’s why we’ll keep climbing.”
Everest in the Alps 2026 is calling.
Take on the mountains, push your limits, and help raise vital funds for the Everest Centre. Every step you take, every metre you climb, contributes to a legacy of hope – for children and young adults worldwide, and for the scientists striving to change their futures.
This is your chance to challenge yourself, share in the exhilaration of the climb, and turn effort into impact. Every ascent matters. Every moment counts. Join us, and be part of something extraordinary.
