This article was originally written by Adam Dutton for SWNS — the U.K.’s largest independent news agency, providing globally relevant original, verified, and engaging content to the world’s leading media outlets.
A grieving dad ascended the tallest mountains in Scotland, England, and Wales wearing a vest the weight of his late daughter, so he could carry her with him every step of the way.
Nathan Norris, 44, completed the Three Peaks Challenge on April 17 in honor of Zoë, who died from cancer in 2017 just three months shy of her 2nd birthday. She’d been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at 4 months old.
Accompanied by four of his friends, Norris tackled the mammoth challenge wearing a 22-pound vest, the same weight Zoë was when she died. He accomplished his goal of climbing all three peaks — Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England, and Snowdon in Wales — in under a day, clocking in at 23 hours and 37 minutes.
“The idea was I’m carrying her through the whole challenge,” Norris told SWNS, noting that the added weight was tough, and his friends offered to take it for him at certain points. “For me it was part of the significance of doing it and digging in and showing the significance of the resilience my daughter showed through treatment. Grief is something that you carry every day and bereavement is something that you carry every day — it was also an expression of that.”
The group managed to defy the odds and complete the trek despite below freezing temperatures and snow at the top of Ben Nevis. “I’ve never done anything like this before, I haven’t had a challenge like it before,” said Norris, a strength and conditioning coach from Greater Manchester, England. He added: “It was quite emotional finishing with Zoë, and all our family and friends were there.”
The impressive feat has so far raised over $12,000 in aid of the Zoë Hope Fund, part of The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association. Norris and his wife started the fund in 2024 after realizing how poorly funded pediatric cancer research is, he said.
“When our daughter was going through treatment in 2015, the consultant said a lot of the treatments were archaic as they hadn’t had the funds to update this,” Norris shared. “We want safer treatment for children and it’s about looking at cancer treatments that are more effective for survival.”
Zoë’s mom, Laura Norris, added: “Part of why Nathan came up with this idea is to mark carrying Zoë with him as he does every day, but also the weight that bereaved families carry with them. In bereavement you move forwards, but you always carry them with them. The fund for us is really continuing Zoë’s legacy, the impact she had on us and her beauty.”
The fundraising will help drive progress in both treatment and care, so that kids not only survive cancer but have fewer long-term side effects as well, explained Ashley Ball-Gamble, CEO of The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association: “Nathan and his team’s challenge, and the poignancy of his weighted vest tribute to Zoë, shines a light on the stark reality of childhood cancer, and the need to keep pushing forward to create change for other families facing a childhood cancer diagnosis in the future.”
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