TORBAY LIFEBOAT CREW - KILIMANJARO CHALLENGE 2023 - HELP US RAISE THE FLAG

From March 2022, RNLI Torbay crew members have embarked on a series of six intrepid and fearsome tasks, culminating in the 8 oldest climbing to the summit of Kilimanjaro in February 2023. All to raise money for their local lifeboat station.

Our crew have bravely accepted a relay of challenges including skydiving, endurance swimming, cycling, rowing, driving, that culminates in February 2023 with the 8 oldest crew-members (average age of 60) hiking to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the Worlds highest freestanding mountain and seventh highest in the World!

(See the detailed Itinary for the Kilimajaro Climb at the bottom of this page)

We believe these challenges comprise the most ambitious fundraising events ever attempted by any volunteer RNLI lifeboat crew. Over a sequence of tasks involving our entire Torbay crew, different teams will accomplish intrepid feats that will push them outside their comfort zone and experience.

Each team will take a banner on their task, a cherished flag, to keep in their care and pass on to the next team until it is eventually raised at the finish, on the summit of 5,895 metre-high Kilimanjaro.

We will record our progress as we prepare, train and tackle each challenge. We will publish news of our efforts, frustrations as well as successes. Where possible, we plan to celebrate the start, running and finish with our supporters and will issue details accordingly. You can also follow our news online on Facebook (RNLITorbay), Instagram, Twitter and here on our Just Giving page.

During this year of challenges our lifeboats will of course always remain fully operational and ready to respond to the call for help.

We have been reaching out to our local community and wider regional supporters to help us reach our goal which was initially £60k but due to the over whelming response of the community this has now been raised to £80k. Any donations here that help us along the trail to our target, to raise our flag on Kilimanjaro, will be warmly welcomed. The crew are largely self-funding the challenges, therefore all donations will go towards our target.

As a charity, 92% of our funds come from donations and so our lifesaving service relies on the generosity of our supporters.

Here is the itinary for the final Kilimanjaro Challenge:

Thu 9th February - Team departs Torbay Lifeboat Station

Day 1 (Sat 11th) - Arrive in Kilimajaro

Day 2 (Sun 12th) - Drive to Londorossi Gate and hike four hours through the rainforest to the first camp at Mti Mkubwa (2,894m)

Day 3 (Mon 13th) - Six hour hike from rainforset through heathland to camp at Shira One (3,504m)

Day 4 (Tue 14th) - Four hour from heathland through to the moorland to camp at Shira Two (3,610m)

Day 5 (Wed 15th) - Six hour hike to Lava Tower (4,629m) to allow for acclimatization before diverting back down to camp at Moir (4,139m)

Day 6 (Thu 16th) - Seven hour trek through a valley with a moderatley steep climb to the summit of the Lent Hills before crossing a rock field to reach the Buffalo Camp (4,023m)

Day 7 (Fri 17th) - Seven hour trek up to Buffalo Ridge before moving on through remote valleys and alpine deserts to the camp at 3rd Cave on the Northern slopes of Kilimanjaro (3,870m)

Day 8 (Sat 18th) - Five hour climb over the "saddle" which sits between Kibo and Mawenzi, before continuing on to the camp at the School Hut (4,754m) to rest ahead of the climb to the summit the following day

Day 9 (Sun 19th) - Summit Day - waking soon after midnight to start the eight hour final ascent in darkness to the summit, through the stone scree and onto the ice-capped summit, taking frequent breaks on the way. Reaching the Uluru Peak, the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro and the continent of Africa (5,896m) the team will experience a magnificent sunrise and in the early morning light will unfurl the event flag. They will then commence their eight hour decent back down to the Mweka Hut camp site (3,067m) which is situated in the upper forest, where the team will get some well earned sleep

Day 10 (Mon 20th) - After a celebratory breakfast with the guides and porters the team will commence the final five hour walk back down to the Mweka Gate (1,828m)

Day 11 (Tue 21st) - transfer to airport and flights home

Wed 22nd February - Team arrives back at Torbay Lifeboat Station

Your support and encouragement will help us raise the flag at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro - the aim of our challenges is to raise awareness of the work of the RNLI and we really appriciate your donations which will help fund the future lifesaving work of the Torbay Lifeboat crew.