Disabled man reaches summit of unclimbed mountain

Ed Jackson and his team completed the first recorded ascent of an unclimbed peak

A former professional rugby player who was paralysed in a swimming pool accident has ascended what is thought to be the highest mountain ever climbed by someone with disabilities.

Ed Jackson played for Bath and Wasps before his career suddenly ended when he broke his neck in 2017. He was told he would never walk again but has since regained his mobility.

On Friday, he returned from a month-long expedition to reach the unexplored 4,720 m (15,485 ft) summit of the remote Tien Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan.

Mr Jackson was given the opportunity to name the peak, and with the help of local disabled children from an orphanage in Bishkek, it was dubbed "Hope Mountain".

Though Mr Jackson made a miraculous recovery following his spinal cord injury, he still walks with a limp and suffers from Brown-Sequard Syndrome - a neurological condition which causes weakness or paralysis of one side of the body.

Mr Jackson regained his mobility through sheer resilience and rehabilitation

A year after his accident, he and his wife Lois launched the Millimetres to Mountains Foundation (M2M), which facilitates outdoor challenges for individuals overcoming adversity.

"There was a lot of meaning behind reaching the summit, other than just ticking a box to stand on top of it," he told BBC Radio Bristol.

"Those eight years [since his injury] come flooding through, of how fortunate you are to be there, and all the people that have helped you get to that point.

"Whatever your limitations are, you can get out and do extraordinary things."

The mountain was named Nadezhda, which translates as hope in Russian

Mrs Jackson said she felt "so proud" of her husband's accomplishment, and "so lucky" to have found a shared mission in life.

"We've created such an incredible purpose for both of us that now when we look back at the accident, it just changed our lives, it didn't ruin our lives," she said.

"We're determined to make a difference for other people so they can realise that too."

Mr Jackson expressed his gratitude to the "invaluable" nomads who helped guide him through the difficult terrain

Mr Jackson and his team made the ascent across glacial terrain, steep icy slopes, craggy valleys and perilous ridges, walking "where no man has ever been before".

But the feat would not have been possible without help from the native community, who Mr Jackson said became "close friends" along the way.

"One of the most amazing things was connecting with the local shepherds and the nomads in the mountain," he explained.

"They became invaluable for us to be able to get our kit into different locations, they were lending us their horses or coming with us.

"That immersive side of the experience was really magical."

The money raised from the challenge will go towards supporting individuals who have suffered from trauma, mental health challenges, or physical disabilities

The £6,000 raised from the expedition will be split between M2M and the local children's organisation, CDI Children at Risk, which cares for more than 270 disabled children.

"When we go on adventures in other parts of the world I'm a big believer that you should leave that country in a better place than when you arrived," he said.

"It's not about going to claim a summit and coming home. It's their country.

"The fact that the children we're supporting in Kyrgyzstan will get to name this mountain only seems right to me."