Great Southern mates in audacious attempt to climb Bluff Knoll in snow skis for mental health

Climbing Bluff Knoll in skis does not even sound possible, but that is exactly what Boyd Rae and Beau Vaux will be trying to do this coming Friday.

“It was a hare-brained idea over a few beers,” Mr Vaux said.

The two mates from the Great Southern hope their efforts will help them raise money for Active Farmers.

They have set up a Facebook event for anyone hoping to watch their attempt via live stream from 7am and a GoFundMe account for donations.

“Beau and myself wanted to do something to raise money for Active Farmers to further improve the mental and physical health of rural Australians,” Mr Rae said.

“It initially started off as some sort of hike or walk, but who would want to donate to that?

“No, it needed to be entertaining and ridiculous, well, how about we climb Bluff Knoll, but make it difficult as possible?”

The hardest option Mr Boyd could come up with was climbing the mountain in snow skis.

“Needless to say, the Bluff Knoll Ski Club is thrilled,” he said.

Active Farmers is a not-for-profit organisation which focuses on improving the mental and physical health of regional Australians through regular fitness sessions as well as mental health workshops.

“I talked to the founder, Ginny Stevens, nearly four years ago now about bring Active Farmers to WA, we started in Borden and the rest is history,” Mr Rae said.

“We currently run in 16 communities over WA and over 50 across Australia. From Hyden to Kellerberrin, Ongerup to Cranbrook and many others in between.”

Mr Rae and Mr Vaux are looking to raise $5000 to train a community member to become an instructor and start a new six-week program in their community.

“With $5000, Active Farmers can start up a new community and run a free six-week program in the community for absolutely everyone — that includes equipment, venue hire, trainer and some extras,” Mr Rae said.

“We would love to be able to continue allowing more and more access to fitness classes designed for all levels of fitness.”

Visit Climbing Bluff Knoll WEARING SKIIS 4 Mental Health on Facebook.