Rael

My family is really diverse. My mum was born in Uruguay and she’s half French, half Italian. My Dad was born in Malaysia and he’s a mix of English, Dutch, Nepalese, Indian, Hungarian and more. It’s insane. I’m a genetic disaster actually. In saying that they’ve pretty much shaped who I am in the world, my beliefs and why I’m doing what I’m doing. I’ve travelled so much of the world. I love travelling and I really love Mountaineering. It’s a passion of mine.

I’m here at Southern Cross Uni doing Environmental Science and I’m in my final semester. I’ll be leaving Lismore pretty soon.

I want to climb Mount Blanc. My family in France and Italy had a lot to do with that mountain especially during the war. It’s not the highest mountain in the world but it’s pretty high, 5 kms actually. It’s a dangerous climb from what I’ve heard. There’s a couple of reasons why I’m doing it. My Mum’s heritage and the mountain is right in the centre of both countries.

My mum passed away recently unexpectedly at the age of 60. It was her lifestyle. Mum was a very stressed person. She was an RN and grew up in a poor family in Uruguay. She worked so hard always. There was a lot of political unrest when she was growing up. Her family were Socialists and my Uncle was a 3 star General. It was the army who were killing all the Socialists so there was always a lot of tension in the family. She fled that country to come here to find a better life. She always felt that she had to keeping working hard so we could have a better life than she had. We had a farm as well so when she came home from work she had to keep working. She had anxiety too and in the end her heart gave way. This climb is symbolic in the sense that I want to do it for her but it also has a lot of family history to it. Many of my ancestors fled through the mountain into France to escape fascism in Italy. A lot of people died on that trek. On a personal note it would be good to conquer something my family tried to conquer so long ago.

My aim is to climb it during winter in Europe. I want to do it this December which is going to be colder than cold. I’m from Dorrigo so I’m somewhat prepared (laughs). I will be doing it on my own. I want to solo it. I’ve done mountaineering but nothing to this extent. I may have to have someone come with me as there are uncontrolled risks. I exercise regularly to prepare. I swim to help with my breathing. I do a lot of mountain climbing and I’m 4 days a week in the gym. The other 3 days I do cardio and I aim to keep my diet in check. If all goes well the climb takes 2 days.

The other reason I want to do this is to raise funds for all the people in Lismore who lost all their belongings and their livelihoods in the recent Lismore floods. One big thing hindering my fundraising is I don’t have a public image. People don’t know me. I could be anyone with a Gofund me page. Now I’m working with Lifeline to use me to get donations and to work at showing people what I’m doing it for.

I have spoken to the regional manager of Lifeline and all funds raised will go directly to Lifeline. He says there is different services, mental health, homelessness, all sorts of problems caused by the floods. Whatever way they use the money will be the right way.

I want to go on a trip anyway after I finish UNI so I will pay for my trip and will incorporate the climb into it.

My father will be moving to Goonellabah soon so I can still call both Lismore and Dorrigo home. I have lived here in Lismore for 4 years and I’ve never seen anything like those floods. To live in a town and then overnight see people lose their homes, their businesses, just everything. I can’t imagine being in that situation. Most of those people have to reach out for help. I would like to think that I can contribute to a community I have been a part of for 4 years.

If you would like to donate click on link below. Thank you.