On the 19th August, at 7:53am, I made it to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro! All 5895m of it!
Following the Marangu Route of the largest volcano in the world, the quickest route to the top possible, my experience took me from 30 degree heat at the base, through rainforest, moorland, then arid desert, before pushing through the night on volcanic ash, glaciers, and temperatures of -10 as I reached the summit in the early morning sunshine.
The ascent was genuinely the hardest night of my life. A real emotional rollercoaster, especially as we neared the summit alongside my six team mates, with only one person not making it to the top through altitude sickness.
The experience was very different this time round from my first visit in 2011. Being much quicker, it meant that you didn’t really have chance to get tired, or let the demons enter your mind. That said, physically, it was much tougher than expected. We were a great team, and knowing each other as well as we did certainly helped with moral.
We have raised a magnificent total of £23,337 so far amongst the team, of which of over £4,500 was donated by yourselves to support me personally.
I cannot thank you all enough for your support. It meant so much to us all as we climbed, and it will mean so much more to those that receive it.
I said it before, but I mean it this time – Never Again!
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