Moray whisky team take on lofty challenge
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A CONSTELLATION of 18 sparkling stars will brighten the top of Britain's highest peak if a team of local fundraisers reach their towering goal.
Colleagues from Gordon & MacPhail will attempt to summit Ben Nevis on Sunday, September 8.
Along the way, they are raising money for Abbie's Sparkle Foundation, which is the company's chosen charity this year.
The foundation, which provides support for children with cancer across the UK, was established in memory of Elgin schoolgirl Abbie Main, who passed away at the age of 15 on Christmas Day, 2017, after living with a rare form of cancer for four years and four months.
Gordon & MacPhail's managing director Ewen Mackintosh is among those taking part in the fundraising trek to the top of the 1345m peak.
Along with his team mates, he will don a Foundation t-shirt, which features a pink star to encapsulate Abbie's sparkle and infectious enthusiasm.
Mr Mackintosh said: "We have a colleague-nominated charity every year and this year we are raising money for Abbie's Sparkle Foundation.
"Quite a number of people in the business know the family well so it is nice we can do this.
"We have already held raffles internally and do things like dress down days and other fundraisers.
"Later in the year we will have the colleague dance and Abbie's parents Russell and Tammy are coming along to that."
For now, the focus is on Ben Nevis and the intrepid group have already conquered Ben Rinnes and Ben Macdui to strengthen their hillwalking muscles ahead of the big weekend.
Mr Mackintosh said: "When we did Ben Rinnes, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face so we are hoping for better weather.
"There is a good spread of people taking part so we aim to get there early in the day so we can make it quite a leisurely stroll.
"It will be a big challenge so we want to take our time and hopefully enjoy the day while raising money for this fantastic charity."
You can visit the group's crowdfunding page to back them as they attempt to bag Britain's biggest Ben to spread more of Abbie's Sparkles to children across the UK.
