An initiative to raise awareness of mental health in the construction industry is just days away.

On December 1, builder Glen Thurston will begin a campaign to climb Corner Peak at Lake Hāwea every day for 53 days.

“I’m pretty excited, I’m ready to go,” Glen said.

“It’s just a case of waiting to start now.”

In March this year Glen announced he would summit the 1,683 metre Corner Peak 53 times as that is the average number of suicide deaths annually in the construction industry since 201 - one person every week.

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He said the initiative is to help prevent any more unnecessary deaths in the construction industry, to encourage more education around suicide prevention, and to connect tradies to the support needed.

“Ultimately my goal with this is to make a lot of noise, get people talking about it openly and also get education,” he said. 

Following the launch in March Glen asked local tradies and construction companies to support him by joining him on one climbing day and committing to implementing the MATES in Construction general awareness training programme (GAT) in their businesses.

“I’ve got over 50 companies signed up to join me,” Glen said.

“With the momentum… a lot of companies have reached out to MATES independently so there are hundreds of people getting trained up now, which is ultimately what I wanted.”

Glen described Corner Peak as a “pretty big gnarly mountain” and said he had been preparing for the climb by spending as much time on his feet as possible, hitting peaks on weekends, and walking Wānaka’s Mt Iron during the week.

“Getting out in nature is my way of finding myself when I’m having bad days. It makes me feel happy and it's just epic being out there and I just want to share that with others,” he said.

The 53 day campaign begins at 5.30am on Thursday December 1 and Glen said he will start the following days at 4.30am to beat the heat and wind, with each climb taking between six and nine hours.

The last day, Sunday January 22, 2023, will carry extra significance for Glen when he spreads his father’s ashes at the top of the climb.

“He passed away in March,” Glen said. “He battled severe depression his whole life and ended up in hospital and all sorts of things.”

A function to acknowledge Glen’s feat will be held at the Lake Hāwea Hotel on Saturday January 28. It will be MCed by television celebrity and mental health advocate Matt Chisholm with entertainment by Jody Direen. Tickets can be purchased here.

The MATES programme is designed to build and strengthen communities in the construction industry by helping people be supportive and provide an environment that encourages positive wellbeing.

Locally owned construction company Breen will have employees join Glen on one of the days of climbing Corner Peak (January 6). Find out more and sign up to support Glen here.

Facts about the climb:

• Each ascent and descent of Corner Peak is a return trip of around 17km
• 53 days is a total of 901km
• Each climb has an elevation gain of 1,570m
• 53 days is an elevation gain of 83,210m - climbing Mount Everest around nine times