Mal Law has today began one of the biggest challenges of his life - for a good cause. Photo / Supplied
Mal Law has today began one of the biggest challenges of his life - for a good cause. Photo / Supplied
Kiwi man Mal Law has today embarked on one of his biggest projects yet - one that will take him all of 2019 to achieve.
The Wanaka-based adventurer will dedicate this year to climbing one million feet (304,800 metres), getting him to the summits of mountains all over New Zealand.
He's not doing it just for fun - in fact, there'll be many times where it'll be anything but fun - but with a greater goal in mind. Law will raise money for the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand (MHF) and aims to draw attention to the powerful positive effect being outdoors can have on people's mental health.
"I'm doing this because I have first hand experience of the devastating consequences that depression can have," he says, adding that he is "a great believer in the value of being active in the great outdoors as a way of boosting mental wellbeing".
Mal Law will spend all of 2019 climbing peaks for mental health.
"Nearly 50 per cent of New Zealanders will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime, and I don't want them to face it on their own," he explains.
For him, mental health and exploring wild places are two things that go hand-in-hand. By literally getting on top of things, he feels like he can get better at getting on top of things when it comes to his wellbeing.
As explorer since his childhood years climbing munros with his father in Scotland, Law says that, at 58, peak bagging still gives him the greatest buzz.
"Time in the mountains is time in my happy place and this is the all-important connection to mental health. I want to reinforce the intrinsic link between time spent being active outdoors and mental wellbeing.
"In this way the project provides a platform for encouraging other, less active people, to get outside and feel the benefits for their own mental health."
Mal Law hopes to encourage others to seek joy in exploring wild places. Photo / Supplied
Law, 58, is no stranger to achieving big gnarly goals. In 2015, he ran 50 marathons over 50 mountains in 50 days. His High Five-0 challenge was billed as "the most audacious feat of endurance ever attempted on New Zealand soil" and raised a staggering $510,000 for the Mental Health Foundation.
Rather than resting on his laurels, he's at it again. And when the Herald caught up with him on new year's eve, he admitted he was "gagging at the bit to get going".
This morning, at the dawn of the new year, he set off to bag his first peak of the challenge - Crown Peak, between his home in Wanaka and Queenstown.
It's the first of many he will have to climb this year if he wants to reach his goal of one million feet. To put it into perspective, his total ascent will be the equivalent of climbing to the observation deck of Auckland's Sky Tower 1640 times, to the tip of the Eiffel Tower 940 times, or climbing Everest from Base Camp more than 87 times.
Can it be done? No one can be sure. But then again, as he points out, if he knew he could do it, it wouldn't really be a challenge.
Time in the mountains is time in my happy place and this is the all-important connection to mental health. I want to reinforce the intrinsic link between time spent being active outdoors and mental wellbeing.
Law has spent the past year and a half battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and bouts of depression and the ghosts of those ailments will no doubt be chasing him up each hill.
One of his challenges will be "managing the inevitable fatigue that comes not only from the physical effort but the mental and emotional commitment, especially around the fundraising".
"Having spent a miserable 18 months with CFS a couple of years back I'll need to be very disciplined and smart in my approach to this challenge to avoid this trap," he adds.
Injuries are also a real possibility, as his body will be put to the test with thousands of metres of ascent and descent every week.
With a project this size, which will take up a considerable number of hours every day, he is also worried about keeping a healthy balance and not letting it take over his life to the detriment of his family and friends as well as his own wellbeing.
"I know I have a tendency to become quite obsessive when I have a project like this on the go. That's not always good for my own mental wellbeing [or that of my loved ones!] so I'm going to be making a huge effort to keep life and my state of mind as balanced as possible over the course of the year," he says.
Mal and Sal Law are both keen peak baggers. Photo / Supplied
His wife Sally Law is "as ever, super supportive". An ultrarunner and mountain climber in her own right, her husband has no doubt she's looking forward to joining him on many of the year's outings. "I myself feel so much better for having this goal to chase so I hope she's noticed a big lift in my mood too."
All his favourite memories in life all come from time spent up in mountains, leaving all his worries down at sea level. And that's exactly how he plans to spend this year.
