We made it to the roof of North Africa at 2.15pm on Wednesday 19th March!  It took us longer than we thought, as there was snow for quite a distance even before reaching the refuge on the first day with our full packs.  The effects of altitude also slowed us down.  But we made it, and got back too!

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page in aid of Autism NI!

And thank you to everyone who has been so kind as to donate money - I have now exceeded my target, following my day collecting in O'Neill's Costcutter, Portglenone, where the management, staff and customers helped me to raise £395!  Thanks again for your help (and free food samples!)

We climbed Jebel Toubkal (4167m/13671ft), which is in Morocco and is the highest mountain in North Africa.  We did a winter ascent (crampons, ice axe and all) unsupported, lugging not only ourselves but all kit up there without the aid of porters or mules.  We hadn't intended making it this difficult, but we couldn't find a travel company to take us up in winter, mules don't 'do' ice and these are the only dates that suited both of us!  We would have much rather done this in shorts and shades, until we found that summer temperatures have reached 54 degrees!  We made all arrangements and funded all trip costs personally, so all money donated goes straight to charity!

I am doing this for Autism NI because a close family member has Asperger's syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder.  Provision is scarce and Autism NI provides valuable services to assist those with such disorders.

I hope that you feel this to be a worthwhile cause and may I thank you for your support and encouragement.

Best wishes,

Simon Ball