Story
Update Posted October 18th 2012
Dear Sponsors
A huge thanks for your contribution to my recent fund raising efforts. The Kilimanjaro Trek was a success in all respects, not least that I got back to the UK on Saturday morning in one piece.
Having left on Thursday evening 4 October for Tanzania via Nairobi, I met up with the rest of my trekking party in Moshi. There were 15 of us, eight were climbing for the Children’s Trust and the other seven for different charities; together with our expedition doctor and the trek leader, we set off for the mountain on Saturday 6.
Mostly up, the trek was a fascinating experience, filled with events that could not have been anticipated, scenes and views that were beyond the imagination and bonding of the team that was fascinating to watch. The group of 15, comprised six women and nine men and although all of us had prepared well for the physical challenge, there was a rarely an hour that went by before another surprise unfolded. Whether the side effects of the altitude drug Diamox, (certainly inappropriate to detail in this mail) or the challenges of sleeping in a tent on the side of a mountain – not much flat ground! the level of humour and mutual support was amazing.
As the trek proceeded towards its ultimate aim, we experienced a host physical and mental challenges as the effects of extreme physical exertion at high altitude became apparent. There was limited opportunity for us to acclimatise to the effects of thinning air as our route and schedule did not provide for any slack. At the end of Day 4, midnight in fact, we left our final camp which was at 4,600 m for the last leg of the climb. Planned to take about 8 hours, we reached the crater rim at Stella Point at just past 7 in the morning. I will leave out the detail of that final ascent, suffice to say that it was right up there with the toughest things that I have ever done.
Having reached the crater rim after an ascent of over 4,000 ft and 7 gruelling hours, the whole party moved on for a further hour of exertion to take us to Uhuru Peak, the highest point on the African continent, a whole 5,895 m – 19,185 ft. Mere words cannot describe the emotions of the group at that moment, it represented the peak of what for most of us was months of training, days of trekking and a night’s experience in which more than a few demons were held at bay.
The descent was a breeze by comparison and after two days we left the Kilimanjaro National Park with tremendous memories, thousands of pictures and I believe a well deserved sense of achievement. The group comprised some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure to spend time with and save for a few minor twinges in my knees and one hip, the whole experience was right up there with the best in my life.
With your help, I have so far been able to raise £13,182 for the Children’s Trust. This does not include something close to £2,500 in Gift Aid and I have additional pledges of a further £1,000 so I’m fairly confident that the final figure is likely to be in the region of £17,500. It’s a stunning result which has far exceeded my initial expectations, on behalf of the Children’s Trust – A Massive Thank You.
Within the next few weeks, all of the photographs will have been uploaded to a central website and I intend to produce a photo book of the best of these and will send you the link once available.
The attached photograph is my Rafiki and Simba moment at Uhuru Peak with a lion cub carried to the top on the specific instructions of my daughter Isobel – Hakuna Matata!
Derek Galloway
Scroll down for updates on the climb – live from Kilimanjaro!
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page which I am dedicating to the memory of my sister Avril who was taken from us on June 7th, much too early and very much missed, she will be walking with me.
The Children's Trust is a wonderful organisation, located less than a mile from where we live, it started out life in the 1920's as a rural branch of Great Ormond Street Hospital (how famous are they following the Olympic opening ceremony!?), looking after children with the scourge diseases of that time such as tuberculosis, rheumatic fever and cystic fibrosis. Facing closure in a period of NHS cuts in the 80's, our family's involvement with what was Tadworth Court dates back to then. A massive national campaign was launched and by March 1984 sufficient cash had been found to stave off the threat of closure and the rest, as they say, is history.
Renamed the The Children's trust in 1994, TCT is now recognised to be at the forefront of the treatment and rehabilitation of profoundly disabled children, usually as the result of an acquired brain injury. As well as being the UK's largest paediatric brain injury rehabilitation centre, the teams of therapists, carers and medical professionals strive to ensure that every child can learn the skills that they will need to manage their lives and reach their maximum potential.
Jane has been very involved in fundraising activities for the Trust since the birth of our son Cameron in 1997 and although I generally have some minor support tasks to perform, this is the first major fund raising event that I have personally undertaken and I am really looking foward to it.
Having decided to accept the challenge in early May, I've really got going with my training, with increased visits to the gym and a lot of hill walking on Box Hill and the surrounding Downs. My walking partner Lucas the retriever is also benefiting from this increase in exercise and we will be very happy if anyone out there wants to join in on the programme, there are some rather nice hostelries tucked away along some of our routes, and Lucas will be happy if you bring along a four legged partner.
A big thanks to David Newman, who walked with me on one of my treks in the hills behind Benahavis during a recent trip to southern Spain. Setting out later than we should have, the comment about mad dogs and Englishmen was particularly aposite. There is now a little less of David than when we started!
I will endeavour to keep this page updated as Lucas and I progress towards our goal and with Kirsty's help, there may be some photographs to illustrate the journey.
Thanks for visiting and if you have been able to make a donation.
Update 1 September
Well that’s it, the summer is over, the weather is now improving and the kids are back to school! I have been working hard over the past couple of months to improve my general fitness and although I was fairly sure that if not exactly a finely tuned mechanism, my years of skiing and gym training would stand me in good stead. Trouble is, going at any speed up hill, particularly steep ones and in the heat employs a whole set of muscles and cardio fitness that tends not to be called upon when going downhill on skis and in the cold. So there has been a bit of adjustment to be made and more than a small amount of effort expended. My hill walks on the Downs have expanded into regular 8 mile hikes through Mickleham and Headley and the family holiday in Spain provided extra time to explore the big hills behind Benehavis and its surroundings. Much hotter than England (no surprises there then) the heat added a very specific and interesting angle to slogging uphill and has taught me quite a lot about the requirements for hydration.
The big challenge was La Concha, at 3,986 feet, the mountain dominates the view from the coast at Marbella and although I did climb it 4 years ago, (yes, I have actually been certifiable for some time now) I’m a little bit older and approaching it from a different perspective, La Concha became the big test. Planned with Cameron, we agreed that there was no need to leave too early (dawn) and that the heat would provide additional exertion and training opportunity. Seduced by the argument, I planned a 9.00 am start and if you’ve ever tried to get a 15 year old boy out of bed, you will understand why our climb started at 11.00! Well it was hot and Cameron was off like a whippet with me in pursuit. The pace was fast and although he did allow me the odd 60 second recovery on the steepest bits we made it to the top in just under 3 hours. The return took about 90 minutes and surprisingly, it appeared to be further than we thought. Perhaps a trick of the heat, but in five hours we must have shed close to 5 litres – everything we drank before, during and a fair amount besides. It was quite knackering, but also tremendously satisfying and a good indication that I may just be able to survive the 6 days on Kili. If you’re reading this and wondering why on earth anyone would want to do this, the first 30 minutes are tough but it actually gets to be exhilarating after that. There’s lots of scientific info on why that is, but it is a very satisfying experience.
I was a bit slow on getting my JustGiving page up and open and even slower at getting the e-mails out and other “marketing” underway, but it appears to be coming together and now that everyone is back from their holidays, it’s fun to read the various comments, if it raises money, as rude as you like!
The next 4 weeks will continue in terms of training, I have a bit of travelling coming up which will divert some effort but I think I know what I have to do and all of the sundries like visas, jabs and special insurance cover are in place. My long suffering wife (21 years on Friday) has been very supportive, she generally just nods sagely and accepts that this is just another phase and certainly approves of the cause.
I intend to update this page at least once more before the off and I will continue to mail out progress reports if time permits.
Another big thanks to everyone who has visited and left a donation, as big a thanks to anyone here now and about to make a donation, I will live in hope for the rest. E-mail me on derekgalloway@aol.com if there is any other info that you need.
Update October 2nd
Its late Tuesday evening, I’ve got shed loads to do before Thursday but I think all the details are in place. The trekking kit is laid out in the spare room, loads of it and next to a small bag into which I have to try and get it all packed! Where on earth is Dr Who when you need him?
The training is all done although I may make it to the gym on Thursday morning, but having spent the day running up escalators on the tube today, I’m feeling fairly confident on the fitness front. Altitude still worries me but hey, who needs oxygen.
The donations keep coming in and I think that’s the bit that is the most humbling, it didn’t occur to me that there would be so many people who would be so supportive. My in box at home and work has been stuffed with messages of support; should I be touched or worried, what do these people know? :)
I’ve been inoculated against just about every known pathogen including quite a few I didn’t know lived in Africa! I fly out of Heathrow on Thursday night arriving in Kenya Friday morning and then a short hop over to Tanzania to meet up with the rest of my trekking group. We arrive at the mountain on Saturday 6th and spend the next 6 days trekking to the summit and back.
6 days in a tent, 4 major climactic zones, 19,000 + feet and probably not the best food, but they tell me the views are to die for. Not sure I would have put it that way but sensitivity is something that is probably going to be parked for the next couple of weeks.
I probably wont get another chance to update this page so thanks to everyone who has helped along the way. Jane in particular has put up with a lot; the whole exercise has been massively consumptive of time and effort, so she has had to pick up quite a bit of the slack. For me, the whole experience has been great, the real danger is that I might want to do something similar again.
If you’re inclined to know what is happening on the trip, communications permitting, I will be blogging on this page and tweeting at: https://twitter.com/DerekonKili
When I get back there will be an update and I hope to have some pictures to put up on the web.
Thanks again for being interested and reading this far. DG
The Trek Day 1.
Made it to first camp by about 4.00. 3,050 m that's 1250 climb or 4,000 ft. Quite tough all the way but not too bad.
Camp is two person tents with 2 larger tents for eating. Cloudy most of the way but not cold. Dark by 6.30 and then really cold, food was fine and by about 8.30 nothing to do but turn in.
The altitude drugs cause tingling in the hands and feet and an overwhelming need to pee very often. Not too bad for me but some of the group were up and down all night. The chemical toilets are interesting!
Really cold in the night but snug in the sleeping bag which was very tight so similar to sleeping in a straight jacket, never tried but it must be. Slept ok but woke every time I moved. Up at 6.00, basic ablutions, breakfast, edible and off by 7.20.
The Trek Day 2.
Shorter day, shorter climb - about 850 m but over rocks and steep most of the way. Made camp at about 1.00. Lunch at 2.00 and an acclimatisation walk at 4.00 - altitude just beginning to cut in but nothing much yet.
The Trek Day 3.
Very Cold!
7am start - trek from 3.8 to 4.6 in 5 hours. 4.6 was used as a test for altitude sickness, group doing well but with mild headaches.
Next camp at 3.9, trip down very scenic & rocky - took 3 hours. Tomorrow, up at 5 out at 6 to reach camp summit - 1 - The Big One!
The Trek Day 4.
Up at 5 & trek at 6. Up and down day - very tough, a lot of steep rock climbs, big ones. Weather kind. Made the final camp at 3pm, 4,600 m, dinner at 5pm, sleep and then on way for summit at midnight. Last 1,300 m should arrive at 8am!
On top of the world
Exhausting. We left at midnight, trekked continuously up hill (very steep) for 7 hours. Arrived at Stellar Point and after a brief catch of breath we trekked on for an hour to Uhuru peak which is actually the highest point in Africa.
The down took about 3 hours, we broke camp and have just trekked another 2 hours through snow to get back to lower altitudes as some of the group were having problems.
Absolutely brilliant but the hardest thing I have ever done. Has left me with a strong sense of achievement, not only for having done it but having done it at 60 but I'm not sure that this will become a permanent feature. I may carry on with the odd local trek, but this has excluded anything that looks like a creature comfort and I think that would be the same for any other major trekking peak.
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