Well as was reported by Stuart on Friday "The eagle has landed".
I am thrilled to report that both Fiona and I made it to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Was it hard I hear you ask? Every day was a challenge climbing in temperatures in excess of 90 degrees. Then off to bed in the smallest tent imaginable in below minus conditions!
The summit climb is hard to describe. This is partly due to the bodies remarkable ability to block off painful memories. Having already walked for 6 hours in the morning then rested, we left camp at midnight and reached the summit at 7.45am. We feel that having a lung extracted with no anaesthetic would have been preferable to the climb itself!
Poor Fiona had to really dig deep as she suffered terribly from altitude sickness.
A huge part of our motivation in not giving up was thinking about all of your donations and knowing that you were willing us on. We cannot overstate how important that was to us.
We could wax lyrical about the entire trip but you'll have to wait for us to bore you to death with all the details and photos hopefully over a glass of wine.
Thank you so much for your incredibly generous donations and kind thoughts. Special thanks also to Andrew Templeton who put a tremendous effort into helping us raise funds.
Gill & Fiona
Hi,
Thanks so much for considering donating to our fund raiser. At the end of February, Fiona and I are attempting to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to "celebrate" my 50th birthday. We thought it would be a superb opportunity to have a once in a lifetime adventure, and raise money for a great charity. We have chosen to support the Sandpiper Trust for a number of reasons.
1. Every penny raised goes to the charity which provides trained medical practitioners with a life-saving pre-hospital emergency equipment bag.
2. Great visibility as to what you get for your money. A lifesaving bag costs £1000.00
3. We could all find ourselves in a situation where the Sandpiper Bag could transform our lives. It enables life-saving pre-hospital procedures to be carried out during that critical period known as the Golden Hour.
We are already well into our training programme and can be seen weekly out and about walking or running. We are having mild panic attacks as we think of hauling our buts up 5895m. Still, think of the great shape I should be in for my 50th. Perhaps we should be sponsored by Scottish Slimmers!
How to support us:
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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now. When we are gasping for breath or crawling out of our tents in the morning facing another gruelling climb to the summit at 5895m, your support will be tremendous in giving us a motivational boost.
Thanks so much,
Gill & Fiona
