Alan Rae stood on a knife-edge ridge nearly eight thousand metres above sea level with the wind tearing at his jacket and the world falling away on either side.
He was exhausted, oxygen-masked, and climbing into thin air, but he knew he was going to make the summit.
That realisation, he says, nearly overwhelmed him.
Because this climb was never just about the mountain.
It was for his mum.
The 29-year-old Merchant Navy officer from Tore has become one of fewer than one hundred people from the United Kingdom to reach the top of Manaslu in Nepal, the eighth highest mountain on the planet, raising thousands of pounds for the MS Society in honour of his mum Isobel, who lives with primary progressive multiple sclerosis.
At 8,163 metres, Manaslu is more than six times the height of Ben Nevis.
It is only a little shorter than Everest, and infamous for its ice walls, unstable terrain and constantly shifting crevasses.
Alan embraced every challenge the mountain threw at him.
“Reaching the summit of Manaslu was an incredible feeling,” he said.
“The last fifteen minutes were my favourite part, walking along the narrow ridge at eight thousand metres with certain death either side of you, even though we were safely roped in.
“When I realised I was going to make the top, I got quite emotional.”
His expedition followed the usual pattern of Himalayan climbing, moving repeatedly between high and low camps to acclimatise to the altitude.
Above eight thousand metres, he wore an oxygen mask for the first time.
“One of the most challenging parts was climbing the ice walls,” he said.
“The first one was about twenty or thirty metres, not too technical.
“The second was shorter but had a slight overhang.
“I took a couple of breaks to shake out my arms and get my breath back.”
The descent brought its own surprises.
“What amazed me most was how different the mountain was from my first rotation.
“Crevasses shifted and opened up.
“On the way up, one had a single ladder.
“On the way down, it had four ladders lashed together.
“My legs were already shaking from the climb, so that was a lot harder.”
He was not the only Scot battling the mountain for the MS Society.
Calum Richardson from Stonehaven was climbing just hours behind him, inspired by his sister’s experience of MS.
“It was nice to hear a Scottish voice,” Alan said.
“There were only a handful of Scots on the mountain.
“Finding out he was fundraising for MS too made it even better.”
In a burst of momentum, Alan then made a spontaneous decision to climb Ama Dablam, becoming the first climber of the season to reach its summit.
With views of Everest and Makalu stretching across the sky, he set his sights on future climbs and future fundraising.
Alan has been raising money for the MS Society for almost a decade through marathons, mountains and endurance challenges.
While he was in Nepal, the Serco Foundation matched his fundraising total of sixteen thousand pounds, doubling the impact of his efforts.
“I spoke to my mum at Base Camp and sent her photos all the way,” he said.
“She was delighted, I want to keep raising money to help find that crucial cure for MS.”
The MS Society says more than seventeen thousand people in Scotland live with MS, and every fundraiser helps push research forward.
Alan plans to hold a fundraising evening next year to share his climb with those who have supported him along the way.
You can sponsor Alan here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/alanrae2025
