In October this year 8 Nottingham adventurers will attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro in less than five days. The team that includes a professional singer, a solicitor and an IT specialist will be travelling to Tanzania to raise £100,000 for The Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity.
As with all the best plans the foundations for the climb were laid whilst having a drink in the pub. Simon Atkin who runs a successful financial advisor company in Mapperley explains.
“One of our
friends, Jasper Spencer was telling us about his forthcoming trip to Africa in
which he plans to travel the entire length of the continent with his
girlfriend, Vili Chung for a year. He mentioned that he was going to be
climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and before the evening was out a few of us had
decided to join him!”
Somewhat
surprisingly the cold light of day did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the
drinking buddies and within a week five more people had signed up.
“We’ve all got
our reasons for going,” continues Simon, “a few of us have just reached
benchmark birthdays and we’re all passionate about raising some money for a
very good cause.”
At 5,891 metres Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa and although considered to be a relatively straight forward ascent it is a peak that must be treated with respect. The altitude and the cold make it a particularly difficult and dangerous trek. Every year, people die whilst making the trip.
As a
professional singer Andy Campbell-Bass, age 46, is more likely to be found
crooning on stage than climbing in .
He’s been described as having one on of the best voices in the Midlands and is
looking forward to achieving a potential first on the expedition. “I’m hoping
I’ll have enough breath to sing “The hills are Alive” at the summit. I bet
that’s never been done before.”
The Karen
Clifford Skin Cancer Charity’s primary goal is to change the attitudes and
perceptions of the UK population to combat the widespread ignorance of the
dangers of exposure to the sun and sunbeds. 80 % of skin cancers are caused by
over exposure to UV making it a largely preventable disease.
Steve Brown, age 49 runs a thriving internet business in Nottingham and is confident that they’ll raise in excess of £100,000 for SKCIN. “It’s a momentous task changing people’s attitude about their exposure to the sun. In fact, it’s another huge mountain to climb. However, armed with our commitment and steely determination I know that we can achieve it.”
For more information visit www.skcin.org
