Sir Chris Bonington and Doug Scott, centre right, are joined by fellow fundraisers at the festival. Photo: Stuart Holmes

A British climbing legend has praised organisers of fundraising events at a Lake District festival, which boosted an appeal for Nepal earthquake victims by almost £15,000.

Doug Scott who, along with Dougal Haston, was one of the first Britons to successfully summit Everest, said the effort at Keswick Mountain Festival was ‘wonderful’.

This year’s festival was the first major outdoor event to take place in the UK following the Nepal earthquakes. KMF started with the official launch of Climb for CAN, a dedicated fundraising campaign led by Community Action Nepal’s founder Doug Scott and Sir Chris Bonington, and the festival team then helped to publicise all of the initiatives that took place during the weekend.

Lucy Scrase, Keswick Mountain Festival director, said: “Once again, Keswick Mountain Festival has been a huge success and this amazing fundraising total really adds to that.

“We were delighted to be able support the various fundraising initiatives for Community Action Nepal over the weekend, with the blessing of the National Trust, the festival’s official charity partner.

“It’s fantastic to see the totals that have been achieved and we know that all of the money will be put to very good use in Nepal. Thanks to everyone who came up with fundraising ideas and in particular to our wonderfully generous visitors who have donated so much money to this really important cause.”

Contributions included £8,173 raised from a gear sale organised by Trail magazine; outdoor clothing and accessories brand Trekmates raised £4,100 by selling sample products; River Publishing and The Wainwright Society collected £1,008 during a talk by Steve Birkinshaw and Joss Naylor; Keswick Mountain Festival donated £467 from event ticket sales during the weekend; Wanderlust magazine raised £450 through a sale of travel kit on the KE Adventure stall; publisher Cicerone contributed £315 by selling old books; and Wenlock Spring raised £200 through the sale of bottled water.

Over one weekend, the combined fundraising secured enough money to build a village school in one of the affected areas of Nepal.

With the addition of £5,000 pledged by Berghaus, and sponsorship from Right Lines Communications, Mountain Fuel – Peak Performance Nutrition, King Kong Climbing Centre and others, Climb for CAN has already raised more than £20,000 since its launch at the start of Keswick Mountain Festival.

Doug Scott said: “This is a wonderful boost to our campaign. Every penny that has been raised will be spent directly on Community Action Nepal projects.

“Communities have been devastated and they need urgent and sustained help, so I am very grateful to all involved in the timely fundraising during Keswick Mountain Festival – your contributions are hugely appreciated and very important.

“Please continue to support Climb for CAN, as our relief work in Nepal has only just begun.”