Ed Jackson was a professional rugby player when, in April 2017, he broke his neck in an accident while diving into a pool. It left him completely paralysed from the neck down, and doctors warned him he’d never walk again. Less than a year later, he’d climbed Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). With his wife, Lois, he founded the Millimetres 2 Mountains Foundation — a support network built on adventure and community, alongside a development programme bolstered by a team of industry-leading experts. In this interview, he talks about a recent summit climb in Kyrgyzstan, his charity Millimetres 2 Mountains, and the Berghaus Adapts programme, which supports people living with physical disabilities to get active outdoors.
You’ve climbed major peaks since your accident. Why did this one in Kyrgyzstan feel so significant?
I’ve stood on summits before and felt elation, that outpouring of celebration. This time was completely different. I just crumpled over and sobbed on a rock.
The guys had a drone up waiting for me to stand and do something, but I couldn’t. It felt like a release, a pressure that had been building for a while. With other big challenges like Mirror Peak, or even Snowdon after my accident, there was always this sense of ‘what’s next? what’s next?’. This felt like closing a volume rather than a chapter. I came away with peace and contentment, not an urge to prove anything.
Afterwards, the children at a nearby orphanage helped to name the peak. Tell us about that moment.
We went to Belovodsk Orphanage and showed them pictures and videos from the expedition. I wasn’t sure how engaged they’d be, but they were completely absorbed, crowded around the laptop. I asked if they wanted to name the mountain and one of the older kids said a word in Russian that translates as hope. So it became Hope Peak. We’d talked about calling the glacier beneath it the Hand of Hope, because it has five fingers radiating from it. So now we’ve got Hope Peak above the Hand of Hope Glacier. It was perfect. It just felt right.
What benefit did including other climbers from Millimetres 2 Mountains have?
That’s what made it so important. We had two of our beneficiaries with us: Will, who’s completely blind, and Hannah, who can’t use her leg. Hannah made it to the top of a 4,000-metre peak, and it was gruelling for her. That changed the whole dynamic. This one, more than ever, felt like something for the disabled community, not just a personal challenge.
When, for you, did kit stop being about comfort and start being about possibility?
My spinal cord injury means poor movement down the left side, lack of sensation on the right, and issues with temperature regulation, bladder and bowel. All of that is amplified in the mountains, so eventually, it got to the point where kit could genuinely unlock the next stage.
Your relationship with Berghaus goes back a long way. How did it start?
After my accident, I wrote to loads of outdoor brands asking for some kit for a fundraising trip to Nepal. Only a couple replied. Then I got an email from Kev McFadyen, who was CEO at the time, saying this sounds great, I’d love to hear more. There was nothing I could offer them. No profile, no sponsorship angle. It was just a genuine connection.
What kind of adaptations made the most significant difference?
Small things. A knee loop to help me lift my leg through deep snow. Extra ventilation so I can dump heat. Full access zips so I can manage medical equipment. Those tweaks make a massive difference when you’re living in that environment.
At what point did you realise this could help others too?
I started sharing what we were doing, and people got in touch saying that the zip system would help with insulin injections, or that the design would work for them. It made me realise these adaptations weren’t niche at all.
What do you hope the broader impact will be?
Seeing a big brand care about accessibility sends a powerful message. Even if someone doesn’t use the kit, they might see someone like them outside and think, maybe I could do that too. That’s when real change happens.
Learn more about Millimetres 2 Mountains.
Learn more about Berghaus Adapts.
Learn more about YHA's own commitment to accessibility.
Discover more about YHA.
