A POOLE man will take on a challenge to climb a Himalayan mountain six times the height of Snowdon for charity. 

Jim Hart, 41, from Lilliput, has taken on the mission to climb as many mountains as it takes to raise £10,000 for Dorset Mind. 

Already climbing some of the world's toughest peaks from Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to Mount Toubkal in Morocco, Jim has become fearless in his aim to raise money for the mental health charity. 

He said: "I used to deal with people suffering with mental health pretty much on a daily basis, sometimes turning to self harm and suicide.

"I saw first hand through that profession how much Mind was there and always there day and night to help people who were suffering with their mental health. I wanted to do my but to give back to what I believe is an amazing charity."

Jim will leave the UK in September to hike the Himalayan mountain, Mera Peak, in Nepal which sits at 6476 metres tall. 

Jim believes the biggest difficulty lies in altitude acclimatisation and learning how to navigate the icy terrain. 

He said: "I've been training all over the UK and spent quite a lot of time in Scotland over specific ice climbing training that I need from there.

"This will be the hardest and most dangerous climb I've done, you've got to be aware of altitude sickness, deaths on any of these large mountains in the Himalayas are a daily occurrence. I'm going into this in peak fitness and well trained."

Jim will spend three weeks in Nepal, two of which he will spend climbing. 

A life-long mountaineer, Jim's obsession began at seven on a hike with his father. 

He said: "I first summited Mount Snowdon with my father when I was seven and I grew up with my dad climbing mountains. It's a passion that's never worn off me. 

"There's nothing quite like the freedom of standing on top of a high mountain in the Himalayas where everything else is insignificant because you're so small compared to the mountains around you."

To donate or find out more, visit Jim's JustGiving.