Mum braves biggest fear for daredevil Arctic Challenge raising money for Liverpool charity Nugent

A mum from St Helens is facing her biggest fear to take part in a thrilling Arctic Challenge.

Zoe Donoghue, 52, wants to raise thousands for Liverpool charity Nugent with the daredevil adventure next month – and to do that she has to conquer her crippling claustrophobia.

Part of the week-long feat will be a two-day survival experience, testing her resilience in the unknown wilderness and sleeping in holes dug out from the snow: “And I hate small spaces,” admits Zoe. “I literally have a panic attack.

“The thought of sleeping in an icy cave is already waking me up at night with sweats and gasping for breath.  It really is my worst nightmare.”

But she says: “I’m having training to learn mechanisms which will help me to cope.

“And, at the end of the day, I have to try to remember that it’s just a week of taking myself out of my comfort zone and facing difficulties, but the money raised could make things better for other people for the rest of their lives.”

Zoe is one of 10 people taking part in the Arctic Challenge in Sweden to raise money for ‘Our Future Now’, one of Nugent’s key charitable initiatives. 

The programme’s designed to support individuals who often fall through the cracks due to public funding limitations. Many of them face significant barriers like unstable housing, mental health struggles, and systemic inequalities that can make it really difficult to break the cycle of hardship. 

Through Our Future Now, Nugent provides essential resources, opportunities, and networks of support to help them build brighter futures.

Taking place between March 2 and 9, part of the challenge will involve the adventurers immersing themselves in the tranquillity and wonder of the Arctic; taking the reins and guiding a team of huskies through the pristine snow-covered landscapes, trekking across the snow, and discovering the art of ice fishing as they try their hand at catching fish beneath the frozen surface.

They’ll ski across-country, build snowfires, and enjoy treks through stunning scenery on snowmobiles.

And the challenge will become increasingly gruelling.

It will culminate in two survival days where they will have to fend for themselves, purifying their own water, eating rations, and digging their own shelter beneath the snow when hypothermia will be a huge risk.

“Maybe it’s brave.  Possibly a bit crazy,” says Zoe, who’s married to Dave, with whom she has a 29-year-old daughter, Nicki.

“I decided I wanted to do the challenge last year when colleagues came back from trekking across the Sahara,” adds Zoe, who is project manager for Nugent, arranging their gala and staff awards events. “There was a fear of missing out. Seeing all their pictures made me a bit jealous; it was places you were never going to go to.

“Plus when I signed up it was the end of my 50th year and I just thought, it’s now or never.

“It was only when I’d signed up that I read into it a bit more and found out exactly what I’d be doing! The thought of going into a small hole built out of snow and ice terrifies me. The roof can come down as it melts, and you have a candle lit so you know if that goes out there’s not enough oxygen and you have to get out. It’s scary.

“You have to keep an eye on each other for signs of frost bite and snow blindness, and someone needs to be on watch in the snow hole by the hour looking for signs of hypothermia. I think I’m going to bagsy a spot near the exit!

“Fortunately, as part of Nugent’s leadership team we have coaches who come in once a month and – very luckily for me – one of our coaches is Sharon Curry, a former member of the Royal Navy who trained the troops on the icebreaker HMS Endurance, so she is helping me with coping mechanisms and knowledge of what we might come across.”

As well as a targeted training day Zoe, who’s persuaded a friend of 45 years to join her on the journey, has taken part in various hill walks and maintained 10,000 steps a day with her English Bull Terrier Albert, and kept up a routine to work on strength at the gym. 

This month she’ll join fellow participant and her sponsor Simon Krol on a climb up Helvellyn in the Lake District, and she’ll embrace the cold of the River Mersey with the rest of the Artic team at Wyld Sauna, Liverpool.

“I am lucky that my sponsor Simon Krol from Krol Construction, who’s a champion of Nugent, is an experienced mountaineer who’s climbed Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, and Grand Paradiso, and reached Everest base camp.

“So he will be supporting me – I just don’t think he realises yet how much he will be supporting me,” grins Zoe.

“The Arctic Challenge is not going to be easy.  It is going to test me. But I’m looking forward to that. I’m looking forward to being out of my comfort zone and hopefully raising £3,000.

“Life is about living and making the most of opportunities.

“One of my favourite quotes is the title of the book by Susan Jeffers, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. And that’s what I’m doing. I’m feeling the fear, but I’m doing it anyway.”

You can donate to help Zoe raise funds for Liverpool Charity Nugent here.

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