Jamie Kelly, aka Spiderman, gets in some climbing practice on Te Mata Peak, Havelock North, before he takes on the North and South Island peaks. Photo / Warren Buckland
Jamie Kelly, Hawke's Bay's answer to Spiderman, is on a mission to traverse 100 vertical kilometres in a bid to fundraise for two charities including local foodbank Nourished for Nil.
Last year Kelly cycled 1200kmfrom Napier to Invercargill in a Spiderman suit.
His journey "Beating Rock Bottom. From Top to Bottom NZ" raised awareness about male depression and youth suicide while combating his own anxieties along the way.
He was supported by, and fundraised for, Ignite Sports Trust for Kids and Youthline NZ.
In 2020 Kelly, from Napier, intends to help fund-raise for Nourished for Nil who feed 1000s of people each month, as well as Ignite Sports Trust for Kids who, he believes, deserve his continued support.
"Nourished for Nil have helped me before.
"They do a lot of amazing things. Both these organisations do," Kelly said.
"They so deserve our support, and Nourished for Nil could really do with a bit of give back, let that awhi come round full circle.
"And Ignite Sports Trust helps youth with their mental health and wellbeing through their leadership programme."
Kelly plans to "slowly but very surely" summit each mountain peak over 1500 metres in the North Island, then make his way down south to do the top 10 peaks there.
"Beating Rock Bottom with 100 vertical kms," he said.
"The idea behind the initial ride was bringing your mental health on board with your physical.
"I got addicted to it, so I decided to climb the peaks and fundraise along the way," he said.
"The idea to climb the peaks came about when I was riding past Mt Taranaki. I was like 'this is something I want to climb'."
He has been undertaking a fair bit of training to climb the peaks, and apart from recovering from a "blown shoulder" he is doing pretty well.