Achi news desk-
He also recently gave evidence during an ‘examination of facts’ at Edinburgh Sheriff Court relating to former Edinburgh Academy teacher John Brownlee, when the Sheriff ruled that Brownlee had committed a number of violent attacks against children at the school.
He is one of 12 men and women in ‘Team rebellion’ who has traveled to Nepal to walk 150km at a very high altitude on the highest mountain in the world.
The team will walk over nine days to Everest Base Camp together, after which Mr Moffatt will continue with fellow Edinburgh Academy abuse survivors Neil MacDonald and Neil Russell along with friends and supporters, Andy Leslie and Mitch Smith, to ice climb to the 6,119- meter peak of Lobuche.
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Then Mr Moffatt and Mr Leslie will aim for the summit of the highest mountain in the world, with the intention of reaching the summit by the end of May.
Mr Moffat, who lives in Rye, East Sussex, said: “Childhood abuse causes mental health problems, addiction, self-harm, low self-worth, anxiety, relationship and work problems throughout life.
“We want to use our own negative childhood experiences to help other children who have been abused, and those who may be at risk, and raise awareness of the widespread and long-lasting impact of childhood abuse.
“This trip is part climbing, part fundraising, part therapy.
“We cannot change our past, but we can do something to prevent other children from experiencing the horrors we suffered. We want zero tolerance of any form of child abuse and hope to inspire others to be brave enough to speak up and seek support.”
Another member of Team Uprising, Neil Russell, 67, also gave evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in Edinburgh last year about his experience of physical, sexual and emotional abuse when he was a pupil at Edinburgh Academy.
The main perpetrator of his abuse was Hamish Dawson, who died in 2009. In the investigation Dawson was accused of multiple cases of emotional and physical abuse of young boys at the school, some of which had been experienced and witnessed by Neil.
Mr Russell has struggled with the impact of the abuse throughout his adult life. It has caused him difficulties with his mental health, including severe depression and anxiety, emotional and physical breakdowns and he has attempted suicide.
He has also struggled to maintain relationships, including previous marriages, because he finds it difficult to trust people.
Mr Russell, who lives in Bedfordshire but plans to move to Perthshire this year, said: “Dawson would beat all the boys if something happened, and no one would admit it. Dawson’s abuse has shocked me and haunted my mind throughout my life.
“The normal and extreme violence has stayed with me. It took me two years of psychotherapy before I could even say his name.”
On the border between China and Nepal, Everest is the world’s highest peak, at 8,848.86m.
The first confirmed ascent was in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, and by the 2010 season more than 3,000 individuals had reached the summit.
Almost all climbers bring supplemental oxygen as the pressure above 8,000m in the so-called ‘death zone’ is so low that it can cause accidents due to poor decisions caused by impaired brain function or death itself due to lack of oxygen.
Close to the summit of Everest is ‘Rainbow Valley’ so called for the colorful jackets of climbers who have died either trying to reach the summit or on the way down.
Due to the altitude helicopters cannot normally operate close to the summit and the effort involved makes it difficult for other climbers to find bodies – as such there are believed to be around 200 on the mountain without them restore
In 1998, Francys Arsentiev was the first woman to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen but she and her husband died on the descent. Her body lay near the climbing route until 2007 when it was moved to a more discreet location on the mountain.
Only Mr Moffatt and Mr Leslie will attempt to reach the summit of Everest, with the rest of Team Uprising climbing either to base camp or to Lobuche.
