50 peaks before 50 – ‘Rather than buy a sports car and play golf, I decided on vertical goals’

With a big birthday on the horizon, our writer set herself a challenge — to climb 50 peaks over 800 metres. From looking like ‘a wet motorcycle courier’ in Co Wicklow to conquering 4000-ers in the Alps, here, she tracks her progress to date..

. Barbara McCarthy hiking up to Gornergrat in Switzerland I can’t stop time, but I can do things that time can’t take away. I turn 50 next year, and one of the benefits of getting older is spending my time more wisely.

An example? I climbed and subsequently skied down the 4,164m Breithorn mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland. The jewel in the Swiss Alpine crown, Zermatt sits at the foot of the Matterhorn, close to the Italian border, surrounded by stunning peaks. It’s magic.

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