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I discovered the joys of walking fairly recently while hiking up a hill in the Lake District with my tribe.   I now hope to climb a mountain in Africa. 'Kill-a-man' jaro sounded tough and tall so that’s where my midlife machismo-tastic crisis is taking me! I’m heading off with a merry band of friends on the 28 August and aim to complete the trek in 6 days. I would love you to sponsor me and raise funds for the fantastic Bradford Hospitals Children Charity.  

Bradford Hospital Children's Charity aims to make the experience of babies, children and their families using our services as comfortable as possible by providing additional extras. These include innovative distraction toys and games, family-friendly waiting areas and additional medical equipment.

 

‘Treat it like a weekend stroll’ advised ‘Robby’ our tour operator as he puffed his way through his second cigarette in 20 minutes. We felt reassured that a man of his considerable stature, lifestyle and experience had confidence in us. We had chosen to do the Machame route, fondly nicknamed the ‘whiskey route’ because of its reputation for being a short and hard climb.

DAY 1 We were met by our Masai guide, Ismael and his team of porters at the Machame Gate.  I had expected to hear an orchestra of sound as we snaked through the rainforest.  Instead it was eerily quiet and strangely dry. We reached our first camp at dusk – 3000 metres above sea level (MASL). It was unexpectedly cold. After a quick bite to eat we dived into our tents and the warmth of our sleeping bags.  DAY 2 and 3 We continued to ascend through valleys and steep heather covered rocky ridges. Ismael described the mountain and surrounding hills as his 'office'. Here he was in charge. At the end of DAY 3 We camped opposite the Barranco Wall -our challenge for DAY 4. The Barranco Wall was a lot of fun- this was proper mountaineering!  As we climbed we had spectacular views of Kilimanjaro’s volcanic cones - Mawenzi and Kibo. We made camp at 4600 MASL and prepared our kit for summit day.   Day 5 We started climbing just after midnight. The temperature was -15C. A trail of torch lights meandered before us as we started the final ascent between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers.  We past Stella point and then as a team, reached Uhuru Peak, the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro and the continent of Africa at 5895 MASL . The descent was a lot harder than expected. The loose gravel and larger boulders made coming down slow and exhausting. Kilimanjaro was certainly tough and tall and full of adventure. We celebrated our success and adventure with our guides and chef back at the hotel.  Ismael proudly donned the Bradford Hospital’s Children Charity tee shirt as we said our goodbyes.

Thank you for your generous sponsorship for the trek.

Psalm 121:1-A song of ascents: I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.