Pierrefonds man to tackle African peak for charity

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

A former Boy Scout leader is about to take the longest hike of his life, right to the top of one of Africa’s highest peaks.

Pierrefonds resident Michael Dogniaux will climb Morocco’s 4,167-metre Jebel Toubkal in September to raise funds for a hospice in Birmingham, England.

He’s hosting a benefit concert this Saturday at Clydes in Pointe Claire Village. “I want to do some good,” said the 56-year-old musician. “Even though this fund is going to another community, at least it gets local people up and involved. Who knows, maybe next time around I’ll do something for a local foundation.”

Dogniaux’s band, Boys Night Out, along with the groups Tebo and Out of Mind, will take the stage at the fundraiser to support of the Marie Curie Cancer Centre.

He’s paying his way to Morocco, so all funds go to the hospice. Dogniaux, whose friend works at the centre, will meet up with a team of climbers from England.

He aims to raise at least $3,300.

In a decade-long stint as a leader for the St. Thomas A. Becket Scouting Group, Dogniaux did his share of hiking and winter camping — sometimes in temperatures as low as -25 C.

But this will be his first significant climb. “It’s not a technical mountain, but it’s a hike,” he said of the ascent he expects will take eight to 10 hours.

The show, which Dogniaux said will feature rock and pop music for all ages, gets underway at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5.