AT 68, Ron Skinner had never climbed a mountain before.

But this winter he trekked for three weeks across the Himalayas to raise more than £1,000 for an Oxfordshire charity.

The divorced-father-of-two, of Boxhill Road, Abingdon, said after his first day hiking, he collapsed and had to be carried into a tea hut.

But he was propelled forward by the knowledge he was raising vital funds for Maggie’s Cancer Centre at Oxford’s Churchill Hospital.

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He chose the centre, which offers emotional and practical support to sufferers and their families, after it helped look after a friend’s mother.

And as a member of the Abingdon Lions, he also helped cut the ribbon when the centre opened, with a donation of £2,460 – the same as one day’s running costs.

The former employee at Didcot’s Tesco distribution centre said: “I jumped into this with both feet, but even the experienced Malaysian guys on the trip said it was the hardest trek they had ever done.

“The first day our guide got the route wrong and took us two hours the wrong way.

“They had to carry me into the tea house I was so tired.”

The next day, he said he had a “dodgy stomach”, then he got altitude sickness.

He said: “The accommodation was wooden and cold, the beds were wooden, I slept in my clothes and sleeping bag.

“The food wasn’t very good or nutritious, it was the same meal from start to finish.

“But the scenery was breathtaking, and the comradeship between all 11 of us was brilliant.”

Mr Skinner said he was inspired to take on the challenge by his friend Roger Brodie, a retired police officer from Abingdon.

He said: “My age made me take a proper look at myself, take a grip and say ‘I’m going to do this’.”

He and Mr Brodie flew to Malaysia on October 16 to begin acclimatising and training before embarking on their hike on October 29.

Setting off from Langtang, Nepal, they trekked for 16 days across the frozen mountains to the country’s capital, Kathmandu.

So far, Mr Skinner has raised £1,056 for Maggie’s Centre, helped by donations from the Lions and Tesco distribution centre.

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