ONE month, FIVE volcanoes, TWO men – and a pick-up truck!
Two Edinburgh ex-Servicemen today (Tuesday 14 April) launched their challenge to raise as much money as possible for Poppyscotland.
Operation Ragnarok will involve driving on tricky off-road terrain to the summits of five or six volcanoes across Iceland in a Mitsubishi L200 pick-up truck during the month of August.
At an event at the outdoor quarry area of the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena at Ratho, Matthew (Matt) McHugh (26) and Rhys Rowlands (29) undertook training for the treacherous conditions that they will face during their challenge, which included winching their pick-up truck, named Louis, on a rock face at a near vertical angle!
Matt trained as a mine clearance diver with the Royal Navy for two years but had to leave after being diagnosed with a heart condition. After discharge he received employment training support from Poppyscotland.
Rhys served with 2 SCOTS and retired from the Army last year following a serious leg injury sustained while on tour in Afghanistan.
Both men are passionate about the work of Poppyscotland and are raising funds to ensure that serving and ex-Service people and their families can receive support when they need it, both now and in the future. Their challenge is entirely self-funded which means that all money raised will be donated to Poppyscotland.
The name Operation Ragnarok is derived from an old Norse term that is interpreted as Final Destiny of the Gods and the pair are bracing themselves for a tough time ahead.
Matt said: “I have always wanted to see lava and, admittedly, there might be simpler ways to do this but tackling these volcanoes and reaching the summits is going to be a huge adventure and will test our endurance and stamina to the maximum.
“Raising money for Poppyscotland is just as important as the physical challenge. I was helped by the charity to train for a new career and I want to give something back so that they can carry on helping veterans lead fulfilling lives on their return to civilian life.”
Rhys added: “The rocky, off-road environment and varying climate of Iceland will test our resilience, and perseverance. The attributes and skills we learned in the military will help us to operate in this remote area but it will still be extremely hazardous. As a former soldier, Poppyscotland is a cause close to my heart and I really hope people will get behind Operation Ragnarok and donate as much as they can to help the charity continue to make a difference to those in need.”
Poppyscotland’s events fundraiser Marianne Craig said: “We feel privileged that Matt and Rhys have chosen Poppyscotland to benefit from their fundraising efforts. It is a unique challenge and we admire them for their drive and determination.
“We need to raise money all year round to ensure that members of the Armed Forces community can get the help they need to get their lives back on track. We rely on the enthusiasm and imagination of supporters like Matt and Rhys to help us make a difference and we wish them all the best.”
Matt and Rhys have gained sponsorship and financial support from a number of businesses including JÖTTNAR clothing and Belmont Group. The pair are also grateful to Edinburgh Leisure for hosting the launch at EICA: Ratho.
People can donate at www.justgiving.com/Team-Ragnarok or text 70070 with the letters OPRK88£ and the amount you wish to donate.
Find out more at www.operation-ragnarok.co.uk
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,…….so, did davepickering ever do a follow on story,……. ?
These guys have been doing some seroius and illegal offroad driving in Icleand. They will be charged in next days and will be fined, see e.g http://icelandmag.visir.is/article/police-investigating-scottish-adventurers-criminal-road-driving
Today there was a public outcry on their message board as the news broke yesterday evening about their illegal off-road driving and thus they had to close down their message board which they say is due to “offensive language”, see e.g.
http://www.operation-ragnarok.co.uk/messages.html
Please stop supporting these guys, as they are destorying the vulnerable Icelandic nature in the Icleandic highlands.
I sincerely hope they find another way to fund this. As others have said here before me off road driving in Iceland is illegal and an downright insult to us Icelanders. The nature here is very delicate and driving off road damages it and leaves a permanent mark. The damages to moss alone can take hundreds of years to heal and frankly traveling to a country that is known for its untouched nature only to damage its nature is idiotic
Yes off road driving is illegal in Iceland. Stay on our roads or stay home!
OMG do not support these idiots! Driving offroad is strictly forbidden in Iceland in order to support the fragile nature!!!!
This is as illegal as it gets in Iceland, you can not do offroad driving in Iceland. I hope this is just a honest mistake and that you two are not one of the people to leave scars in the fragile environment that we are responsible for!
I recommend skipping the cars and do this challenge as hikes instead, and before making any plans contact http://www.icesar.com/ and get recommendations and help with your plans. Icesar the umbrella organization for all Search and Rescue units all over the country that would be responsible for your safety if anything goes wrong.
Search and Rescue units in Iceland are volunteer forces, people from every walks of life that drop anything they are doing to respond to any crisis. They don’t get paid for their work and the units they work for rely on donations to operate, so consider donating to the units in the area you will be traveling in as a show of support for their support.
I have been told that the police would really like to find these heroes. Not only have they apparently driven where cars are forbidden, they even boast and brag about it.
Drive to the summit of 5 to 6 volcanoes in Iceland in August ????, what kind of nonsense is that ??, not possible, because as Kristján Ingi Jónsson are writing here below, of road driving is forbidden here in Iceland. However there are dirt tracks across Iceland that it’s allowed to drive on. But never go of road, respect the Icelandic environment. You make it sound like its a big thing that what you’re doing in Iceland, to be honest it’s not. What you guys are going to do ( or not to do because it’s illegal to drive of road ) is really not that difficult.
Actually all offroad driving is forbidden by law in Iceland so funding this is futile. There are heavy fines or jailtime for up to 2 years for anyone foolish enough to damage vulnerable nature in Iceland with offroad driving.