A Port Coquitlam dad has climbed a mountain - in the Himalayas, no less - to honour his daughter's newborn struggles and raise money for BC Children's Hospital.
Peter Hunter made it to Everest base camp with Summits of Hope (SOH), a non-profit organization established in 1999 that is affiliated with and raises funds for BC Children's (BCCH).
It was a personal challenge for the father but one that echoed the challenges faced by his 10-year-old daughter when she was born prematurely - at just 26 weeks and weighing a mere 575 grams.
"She basically fit in the palm of my husband's hand," said Anita Hunter of her daughter, Madison, who spent the first two months of her life in BC Children's neo-natal intensive care unit followed by another two months at Royal Columbian Hospital.
Hunter said BCCH was "really instrumental in giving her the best chance at survival. They took very good care of her and very good care of us." Since then, the family has donated to the hospital monthly but recently, her husband decided he wanted to give back in an even bigger way.
His friend, Trevor Johnson, had climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with SOH seven years earlier in Madison's honour and was keen to take on another climb. Peter Hunter jumped at the chance to tackle some of the world's most challenging hikes and the two signed up for SOH's Everest trek.
Each climber is responsible for the cost of his own trip and to raise funds for BCCH, of which 100% is donated to the hospital. Peter Hunter has reached his $10,000 fundraising goal while Johnson is aiming for $20,300.
After the two friends reached base camp, they suffered the effects of altitude sickness but still managed to press on with their own goal, branching off from the SOH group with a sherpa to summit Imja Tse (Island Mountain), which at 20,200 feet, is partway between Everest's first (17,500 feet) and second (21,000 feet) base camps.
"We were all really concerned about them," Anita Hunter said. "He called Friday and it was very spotty reception but both Peter and Trevor had a stomach bug and at that point they weren't sure if they were going to do the summit. I didn't hear back from him until late Monday night, and they had summited and descended safely, and now they're on their way back."
The pair posted on SOH's website an account of their nearly nine-hour trek up the mountain, stating, "The summit bid was very difficult and tested us fully but when we arrived at the top, the view was sensational and worth all the effort."
The hikers have also posted emotional audio messages on SOH's website about the reasons they're climbing and raising money for BCCH.
Hunter said her daughter made a complete recovery from her early days in the hospital, calling the Grade 5 student at Hope Lutheran Christian school "our little miracle."
The school got involved with the trek as well, donating the chapel offerings once a week throughout November to Peter Hunter's campaign. The students also signed a Summit of Hope flag the hikers brought with them to the climb.
Hunter said the family is "extremely proud" of Peter and that Madison was happy to share her story to support her dad's efforts.
"She's become quite shy about it but she's quite proud," Hunter said. "She had a mountain to climb and a journey to go on, and this is Peter's journey."
To learn more about Summits of Hope and to donate, visit www.summitsofhope.com and click on "Climbers."
