Matthew Pace, 18, will attempt to scale the Matterhorn on Friday, becoming the youngest Maltese to do so, if successful.
On his way up one of the most difficult mountains in the Alps, located between Switzerland and Italy, Pace will keep in mind the fighting spirit of Rebecca Zammit Lupi, his second cousin who sadly died earlier this year.
The 15-year-old, whose battle with cancer was chronicled by her father and award-winning photographer Darrin Zammit Lupi, is remembered by many for her resilience.
Earlier this year, her friend, Tommy Wallbank ran 1,000 kilometres in memory of Rebecca, raising €10,000 in aid of Puttinu Cares.
Pace, too, is dedicating his climb to Rebecca and, together with his friend, Daniel Lichy he will be donning a shirt in her memory, symbolically taking her with him “high up close to the skies”.
“Rebecca is younger than me a couple of years but she is one of the most inspirational people I know,” Pace said.
Rebecca kept fighting with all her might and I will keep that in mind while climbing the mountain
“She kept fighting with all her might and I will keep that in mind while climbing the mountain: I will try my best and try keep it up as much as I can.”
Born in Luxembourg to Maltese parents, Times of Malta understands Pace would be the youngest Maltese national to scale the mountain.
During one of his frequent visits to the island, Pace said the idea to scale the mountain cropped up while leafing through Lichy’s family album.
The two were inspired by Lichy’s father, who had scaled the Matterhorn with his brother.
They soon set about looking into how to scale the mountain and, for the past six months, have been getting into shape and securing the advice of two mountain guides.
The two teenagers have also spent months preparing themselves mentally, studying the terrain, reading up on the climb and watching interviews with professional mountaineers who have scaled it before.
Climbing up and down the mountain will take around 10 hours. According to Pace, the climb is particularly difficult as the peak is always in sight and looks closer than it is.