Last Updated on: 22nd November 2023, 03:37 pm
On 14th June 2023, Ben Spencer, AKA Tube Snapper, will embark on his biggest challenge yet – a 15-hour climb up Mount Snowdon to raise awareness of Ataxia.
Ataxia is a progressive neurological condition that disrupts the messages sent from our brains to our muscles. It affects more than 10,000 adults and 500 children in the UK, with no known cure.
Ben, a wheelchair user, will complete the climb using a wheelchair and rollator walking device for the main climb and then the final push on two adapted walking sticks. He will also be travelling to Snowdonia on accessible public transport to highlight travel providers who take disability travel seriously.
Ben is being supported by Ataxia UK, who fund research to find treatments and cures, as well as offering support to families affected and looking to improve treatment and care for patients. Ben is also receiving help from four volunteers for his challenge.
“Most people can’t conceive the access problems for disabled people when using public transport, unless they’re disabled themselves or they have had close contact with somebody who is disabled,” said Ataxia UK CEO, Sue Millman. “The simplest journeys can become complicated by one or two steps, or the lack of a dropped kerb. We should create an accessible world for everybody.”
Ben recently completed the extraordinary challenge of visiting, entering, exiting, and photographing every single one of the 272 stations on the London Underground network using two especially adapted walking sticks. His journey was covered by the BBC and ITV, multiple newspapers, BBC Radio shows, and numerous online news sites.
You can watch the video explaining Ben’s fund and awareness raising efforts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYntt-a6GHA.
Ben Spencer, AKA Tube Snapper, is set to take on his biggest challenge yet – a 15-hour climb up Mount Snowdon on 14th June 2023. The climb is intended to both raise awareness of Ataxia and highlight the issues mobility impaired travellers face on public transport.
Ataxia is a progressive neurological condition that affects more than 10,000 adults and 500 children in the UK, with no known cure. Ben will complete the climb using a wheelchair and rollator walking device for the main climb and then the final push on two adapted walking sticks. He will also be travelling to Snowdonia on accessible public transport to highlight travel providers who take disability travel seriously.
Ataxia UK, who fund research to find treatments and cures, as well as offering support to families affected and looking to improve treatment and care for patients, are supporting Ben in his efforts. He is also receiving help from four volunteers for his challenge.
“Most people can’t conceive the access problems for disabled people when using public transport, unless they’re disabled themselves or they have had close contact with somebody who is disabled,” said Ataxia UK CEO, Sue Millman. “We should create an accessible world for everybody.”
Ben recently completed the extraordinary challenge of visiting, entering, exiting, and photographing every single one of the 272 stations on the London Underground network using two especially adapted walking sticks. His journey was covered by the BBC and ITV, multiple newspapers, BBC Radio shows, and numerous online news sites.
You can watch the video explaining Ben’s fund and awareness raising efforts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYntt-a6GHA. For more information on Ben and his journey, visit www.snowdon4ataxia.com and for more information about Ataxia, see www.ataxia.org.uk.
On Tuesday 6 June 2023, wheelchair user Ben Spencer, AKA Tube Snapper, will embark on his biggest challenge yet – a 15-hour climb up Mount Snowdon in Snowdonia National Park to raise awareness of Ataxia, a progressive neurological condition that affects more than 10,000 adults and 500 children in the UK with no known cure.
Ben will complete the climb using a wheelchair and rollator walking device for the main climb and then the final push on two adapted walking sticks. He will also be travelling to Snowdonia on accessible public transport to highlight travel providers who take disability travel seriously, with help from four volunteers supporting him.
Ataxia UK are supporting Ben in his efforts, who fund research to find treatments and cures, as well as offering support to families affected and looking to improve treatment and care for patients.
“Most people can’t conceive the access problems for disabled people when using public transport, unless they’re disabled themselves or they have had close contact with somebody
