MOUNTAINS FOR THE MIND
After a week of crisis in which he became homeless and lost his job, Damon Alexander Cole turned to the hills to recover. Now his group hikes help hundreds of other people in similar situations.
I’ve still got all the memories of that first trip to the mountains,” says Damon Alexander-Cole. “We were driving to Snowdonia and I remember singing along in the car to What about us? by Michael Jackson and Bohemian Rhapsody.” He was five then and that trip would plant a seed that would save his life nearly 30 years later.
“My uncle is ex-Army and ex-Mountain Rescue, so he’s been taking me up into the rocks since I was a child,” he says. “When we first climbed Snowdon, he told me there was a café at the top and I wouldn’t believe him. But when we got there, there it was!
“He got me this cup with a picture of the mountain on it and told me I was the first five-year-old to climb Snowdon and that they wanted to give me the cup as a reward. Obviously loads of kids probably do it at that age but I was so happy. It made me feel like, ‘Wow, I’m part of this mountain’.”
Growing up in Hawarden on the Welsh Border, trips like this were frequent, but when he moved south as a young adult the mountains fell into the distance. In 2020, after a catastrophic week that ended with him living in his car, without savings or family to help, going to the mountains helped Damon reconstruct his life. Now he leads monthly walks in the Peak District and annual Christmas walks for those who would otherwise spend the day alone.
“It was a proper mad experience but I’m so glad I went through it,” he says, “It’s taught me so much and now I’m doing more with my life than I’ve ever done before.”
IN 2020, AFTER LIVING IN HIS CAR, WITHOUT SAVINGS OR FAMILY TO HELP, GOING TO THE MOUNTAINS HELPED DAMON RECONSTRUCT HIS LIFE
“I lost everything”
Keen to share his experience in the hope that it might help other people who are going through a similarly tough time, Damon speaks openly about this period in his life, with the confidence that the worst is probably behind him and that, if not, he will have the skills and ability to weather the losses and difficulties that come his way.
“I was living in Manchester managing restaurants and working 70-80 hours a week,” he recalls. “It was horrible and massively took a toll on my mental health. Then, in the space of just six days, everything went wrong. I broke up with my fiancé, got evicted from my house, lost almost all my savings and got made redundant.” Thinking it would be a short-term blip, Damon moved into his car, making his bed in the back seat and storing all his remaining possessions in baskets in the boot.
