Seven friends. One mountain. One mission.
For the Summit Saints, Everest in the Alps isn’t just a physical challenge.
It’s a story that spans decades – rooted in university friendships, strengthened through family bonds, and driven by a shared commitment to changing outcomes for children diagnosed with brain tumours.
Many of the team met more than 30 years ago at St Andrews. Now, scattered across the UK and living very different lives, they are coming together again to take on one of the toughest civilian endurance challenges in the world:
8,848m of vertical ascent, on skis, over four days.
Some are returning to the mountains. Some are stepping into the unknown.
But together, they share one conviction:
We climb for the families facing the unimaginable.
We climb for the next breakthroughs.
We climb because action speaks louder than words.
Meet the Summit Saints.
Rob Ritchie
Founder | EiA Veteran
Rob is the thread connecting this team. His son Toby was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of five, and Everest in the Alps was founded in response to the urgent need for better treatments and research.
Now 18, Toby continues to inspire Rob and everyone who takes on this challenge.
Rob feels nervous about the physical demands, especially training at 52 compared with training at 42. But his motivation has never changed.
“It is heartbreaking watching how young people suffer this disease. The Everest Centre will find the answers as long as we support it.”
Rob trains early in the mornings, adds long sessions at weekends and stretches regularly. His toughest moment is always the night before the challenge begins, when the scale of what lies ahead becomes real.
His message to supporters is clear.
“Please support this team. These tumours change young lives forever.”
Craig Sanders
Cybersecurity Lead | First-time EiA Challenger
Craig was inspired to join EiA by the real and lasting difference it has made over the past decade. He describes himself as “cautiously excited”, looking forward to time in the mountains with old friends and a united purpose. His predicted toughest challenge?
“Uncomfortable boots!”
Raising funds is deeply personal. Craig will be climbing in memory of his friend Al Vachon, who died from a brain tumour six years ago, shortly after becoming a father.
“Long-term health challenges can be incredibly lonely. Showing you care is one way of tackling that sense of isolation.
I’ll be looking out for Al in the spindrift, and feeling grateful for the privilege of fatherhood.”
His fundraising plan will involve something creatively uncomfortable relating to 8,848m (“or is it 8,849 now?”).
Training has begun “with too much haste and too little stretching,” powered by music and the team’s unique motivational cocktail: kindness and sarcasm.
Team spirit, for Craig, is practical and profound:
“The thing that matters most is understanding how you can best contribute to the collective achievement.”
He hopes to carry away humility, friendship and purpose, and leaves challengers with a quote from Wear Sunscreen:
“Use your body every way you can… it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.”
Flo Kipling
Housewife | First-time EiA Challenger
Flo has admired Everest in the Alps for years, watching the extraordinary impact it has created. Now she’s stepping out of her comfort zone to help drive the fundraising even further.
She feels “daunted but excited” about the challenge, especially as she begins her fitness journey from scratch. But she’s looking forward to the shared experiences – and the moment they reach the finish line with smiles and a full fundraising total.
Her Why is heartfelt:
“When you hear of a child diagnosed with such a horrible disease, you just want to help in any way you can.”
Flo is working on fundraising ideas including a spring event and outreach to charitable funds. Her go-to gear: trail shoes, essential for the long training ahead.
She’s new to the team (connected through her cousin’s husband, Rupert), but already sees strong team spirit forming – and welcomes the accountability of shared training videos.
She hopes to come home with a huge sense of achievement, new friends, and memories of sunrise on the mountain.
Her message to supporters:
“Don’t wait to see if I get to the top – the real heroes are those working to find the cure. They get closer with every pound you give.”
Duncan Fraser
Insurance Broker | EiA 2020 Finisher
Duncan returns to EiA with insider knowledge: this challenge is beautiful, meaningful, and extremely tough. And yet he’s “super excited” to be back.
He’s motivated by the mountains, the camaraderie, and raising money for a cause that affects people of all ages.
He already knows his wall: Day 3.
Training is “slow and steady,” and his essential piece of kit is his couteaux – vital for icy ascents.
For Duncan, team spirit is “everything,” and he climbs to make a meaningful contribution to a vital cause.
“This is a tough challenge!”
Rupert Welchman
Entrepreneur | First-time EiA Challenger
Rupert’s connection to EiA goes back to the day Toby was diagnosed. He ran the London Marathon in Toby’s name, raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity. Eleven years later, he’s returning to do more.
He describes himself as “apprehensive” but motivated by raising funds, getting fit, and spending time with old friends.
“We will work damn hard, in every avenue, with every supporter, to raise the target.”
Training is mostly solo, supported by the Nadder Centre in Tisbury. His wife is his biggest supporter at home.
The team keeps each other grounded through a lively WhatsApp thread where they “show each other how unfit and old we are”, fuelled by humour and honesty.
Rupert defines team spirit simply:
“Supporting each other, leaving no one behind, getting it done.”
His advice to future challengers:
“If I can do it, you most definitely can.”
David Bucknall
CEO, INEOS Energy | First time EiA challenger
David joined the Summit Saints after a conversation with Rob – and hasn’t looked back. He describes himself as excited, with “a little fear knowing the scale of the physical challenge,” which is perhaps the most honest summary of EiA there is.
What he’s most looking forward to:
“Meeting new people and the sense of achievement on finishing.”
His predicted toughest moment?
Day 3. (The day of deep fatigue and mental grit – a notorious wall for many challengers.)
Why he’s raising funds:
“Previous funding has been used successfully for research and development that is making a tangible difference to people’s lives. It’s amazing to find an opportunity where you feel the fundraising truly makes a difference.”
Training involves ramping up cardio, especially lunchtime spin sessions, and he considers the cross trainer his essential bit of kit.
Team spirit, for David, is the heart of the challenge:
“Being there for each other when motivation and energy are low.”
He hopes to walk away with a strong sense of achievement – from both the physical challenge and the fundraising impact.
Toby Wemyss
Reinsurance Broker | First-time EiA Challenger
Inspired by Rob and a conversation with old St Andrews friends, Toby signed up knowing exactly what he wanted: challenge, teamwork, and purpose.
He’s “nervous but excited” as February approaches. What he’s most looking forward to:
“Being part of a team, the physical challenge, and making sure we complete the challenge together.”
His biggest personal challenge?
“I can be a grumpy sod at times (so I’m told), so keeping a positive attitude!”
Why he’s raising funds:
“I’m humbled by what has been achieved already, but hearing more about what families endure makes me want to be a small part of making a difference.”
His training is heroic, chaotic, and deeply entertaining:
4.30am Peloton Power Zone sessions and cold-water swimming in his children’s paddling pool.
His family is “very understanding” – perhaps more than they expected to need to be.
He’s concerned (only half-jokingly) that everyone else is secretly fitter than they admit, creating a healthy, competitive edge.
Team spirit for Toby is crystal clear:
“We start and finish together.”
His message to supporters:
“Thank you. This is an amazing cause and one I’m hugely proud to be part of – please join in as much as you can.”
Why the Summit Saints Climb
Each member of the Summit Saints brings their own story, their own motivation, and their own mountain to this challenge.
But they stand united in the belief that progress must continue.
Brain tumours remain the leading cancer killer of children.
The Everest Centre is driving the next breakthroughs.
And every metre climbed – every donation – brings us closer to a cure.
They climb for Toby.
They climb for Al.
They climb for every child and family facing the unimaginable.
Support their journey.
Share their mission.
Be part of the next breakthrough.
Help fund the cure
