Father-son duo raises almost £4,000 for charities after two-week challenge through the world’s toughest terrain

A partner at a Scottish law firm has risen to new heights in his fundraising efforts, completing one of the most spectacular high-altitude journeys in the world to raise almost £4k for  My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Cash for Kids.

Robert Holland, 53, partner and head of employment law at Aberdein Considine, took on the 14-day

K2 Base Camp Trek alongside his son Daniel last month. The pair covered more than 220km through Northern Pakistan’s Baltoro Glacier and Karakoram mountains, battling severe rain, flooding, rockfalls and altitude sickness on their way to the foot of the world’s second-highest peak.

The trek took the father and son deep into one of the most remote regions on earth. “We were walking for up to 10 hours a day, with no Wi-Fi or phone signal, which is the most cut off I’ve been since starting to work”, Robert said. “Even the most experienced trekkers in our group admitted it was more intense than expected. There were moments of real danger, including rockfalls that forced us out of our tents in the middle of the night.”

Despite the physical and mental challenges, Robert said what kept them moving forward were the causes they were supporting, and the memory of the late rugby legend, Doddie Weir, who died in 2022 after living with motor neuron disease for almost six years.

Robert said: “I only knew Doddie briefly – we became commuting pals on the late-night Borders Railway train at the start of his illness. Even in those short journeys from the Capital back to the Borders, his resilience and positivity shone through. Placing a small memento for  My Name’5 Doddie Foundation at the base of K2 felt like a fitting tribute. I think he would have loved seeing people push themselves to achieve something difficult in support of others. And he’d have loved the banter!”

Robert placed the memento alongside other tributes at the Gilkey Memorial, a poignant site that honours those who have lost their lives attempting to climb K2. “It was a moving reminder of both the risks of the mountain and the importance of leaving something behind that matters”, Robert said.

As well as testing their resilience, the trek also gave Robert and Daniel an opportunity to spend some quality time together. “I hadn’t been camping with Daniel since he was about 10 years old,” Robert said. “Sharing a tent again and spending two weeks relying on each other and our wider team gave me a real reality check. It took us all out of the daily professional grind and helped us forge really strong bonds as a group.”

Daniel, (age 23), who is currently studying law at the University of Cambridge, said: “I learned that your body can adapt to almost anything if you give it a chance. Doing something for a cause greater than yourself will always push you on those tough days. And above all, it’s teamwork that gets you across the line. Without our incredible local guides and porters, our group of eight nationalities would never have made it.”

The almost £4,000 raised will be split between  My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Radio Forth 1’s Cash for Kids, which helps give disadvantaged children and young people across the UK the chance to thrive.

Paul Thompson, Director of Fundraising and Communications, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, said: “Trekking to K2 Base Camp is no small feat – it takes guts, resilience and a fair bit of grit, all qualities that Doddie had in abundance. We’re so grateful to Robert and Daniel for pushing themselves to the limit in his memory. Carrying a tribute to Doddie to one of the most remote places on earth is incredibly moving, and the funds they’ve raised will help us keep driving towards effective treatments for MND. It’s a challenge Doddie would have admired, and he would definitely have enjoyed the banter along the way.”

Members of the public can still support the two charities by donating via Robert’s GiveWheel page: https://www.givewheel.com/fundraising/9263/two-men-two-base-camps-too-ambitious-never/.