“We’ve done it!” Blind Trustee Michael Smith and his sighted boss, our Chairman Jack Stacy succeed in climbing 24 peaks in 24 hours raising tens of thousands of pounds for SeeAbility.

With thanks to our sponsors: Revantage Real Estate, Thirdway, Knight Frank LLP, Arthur Cox, Herbert Smith Freehills, Socrates, DLA Piper, Taylor Wessing, Cushman & Wakefield, Savills, CMS and HWBC.

Michael Smith, who is registered blind, and Jack Stacy have successfully summited 24 mountain peaks in 24 hours over the weekend (7-8 Sept) to raise vital funds and awareness for SeeAbility and celebrate our 225th anniversary.  

Michael has only around 10% vision and no depth perception. At just 19, he and his twin brother, Dan, both lost the majority of their sight very quickly because of a rare disease called Leber’s Optic Neuropathy, an inherited condition that affects the optic nerve and causes sight loss in the centre of the field of vision. 

Jack Stacy works with Michael as a Senior Vice President at Revantage Real Estate, a real estate affiliate of the private equity giant, Blackstone.   

Throughout the two-day gruelling challenge, through which they have raised nearly £165,000 for SeeAbility, Jack provided sighted guiding and support. And despite rain and heavy fog on Sunday, the pair worked in unison to complete the challenge which is officially graded ‘extreme’, with Jack planting his own feet on the ground and then guiding Michael where to plant his feet. 

For Jack, who became Chair of SeeAbility a year ago, the challenge is also deeply personal. His brother, Matty, was born prematurely and spent the first four months of his life in an incubator. The oxygen treatment that saved his life caused him to lose his sight, and he also has learning disabilities and has never been able to speak. Matty lives in Wellington, Somerset, where he has been supported by SeeAbility for 24 years.  

Michael and Jack summited 24 mountain peaks in the Lake District, including Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England. They covered at least 28 miles, while ascending a total of 12,000ft. It was 12 hours of hiking a day, with day one covering the first nine peaks and day two the other 15 peaks. 

Michael says: “We’re over the moon that we’ve done it! It was incredibly challenging and emotional at times. Jack had the hardest job in many ways as he had to plant his feet and then tell me where to plant mine, and he had to keep that up every step of the way. 

“The experience has been pretty emotional. When I lost the majority of my sight 13 years ago, I thought it’s curtains for me, the career path in front of me pretty quickly disappeared, and I had to take a couple of years, with support of charities like SeeAbility, to relearn everything, learn a whole new language on the computer, as well as relearning basic things like how to make a cup of tea. I chose this challenge as I knew it would be way out of my comfort zone, using so many faculties that I’ve developed since my sight loss.” 

“When we reached the last peak, I felt a real outpouring of emotions and it wasn’t just the physical aspect of it, it’s the fact that but for Jack, I wouldn’t have been able to set foot on the first mountain, let alone the 24th, so it means a huge amount to me.”