Calgary dad tackles major mountain challenge to help kids with brain cancer [Video]

A Calgary man is going to great heights to help kids dealing with a deadly disease. For Martin Bell, the important cause that hits very close to home.

Bell is training for a major fundraising effort, heading off to Switzerland in February for a four-day event called Everest in the Alps.

“Hiking up on skis with skins on the underside that allow you to slide up the hill, going up against some of the steepest mountains in the Swiss Alps,” Bell said.

The feat is akin to tackling three consecutive marathons, the team said.

“Over the four days, we’ll do 8,848 meters (in elevation gain), which is the height of (Mount) Everest.”

Bell and his four teammates are motivated by their fundraising goals.

“It’s in aid of pediatric brain tumour research here in Canada,” Bell said.

It’s something that’s close to Bell’s heart – his son Alexander was diagnosed in …