Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Kelsa and I in early 2016 decided it may be "fun" to climb Mount Kilimanjaro - the largest freestanding mountain in the world. 

Neither of us are great regular walkers or climbers and I have a fear of heights but this challenge has given us something totally different to look forward to - and is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Over the last 6 months or so we have prepared by working on our cardio by doing Insanity and other workouts and also going for walks in various small hills in Scotland mainly the Ochils.

We did climb Ben Nevis in September on one of the worst days of the year - our image of Kili with Kelsa and I on this page is from the top of Ben Nevis - but that trek was just small fry at 4411 feet. 

Kili is 19,341 feet........so a wee bit bigger. In fact on the final ascent of Kili - we have to climb almost the height of Ben Nevis in the pitch dark starting from around midnight!

Our total climb will take us 8 days - as we are doing the Lemosho route. The biggest reason for failing to reach the summit is altitude sickness and there is no way for us to know how we will cope with the altitude until we experience it - however this route is meant to give us a better chance of achieving the summit than others due to the additional few days set aside to help acclimatise.

We never planned on doing this climb for charity - however why should we not help a great charity out if we can and as such I have set up this page somewhat at the last minute.

Our chosen charity is Capability Scotland - my brother Andrew has cerebral palsy - and Capability Scotland in his younger years were a great help not only to him but to my family in helping them through difficult times and we all owe them a great deal of debt. Please could you give even just a small amount to this great cause as every penny counts and will help individuals and families similar to my own in the future. 

Kelsa and I would like to thank you in advance for any support you may give.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.