Hello friends,

It was last year whilst on safari in Kenya that Robin (www.justgiving.com/robingill) and I after one too many beers (Kilimanjaro Beer, of course) decided that we should attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest free standing mountain in the world. It stands at 5895m or 19,341' and although the route we are taking is non-technical (meaning no ropes etc.) it is a pretty serious hike, given the altitude.

We are a team of three, and along with Thomas Davis we are attempting to climb the mountain commencing the 7th October. If all goes to plan, we will summit on the 13th October, my 34th birthday!

I have decided to climb the mountain for charity and have chosen the Village Education Project Kilimanjaro (www.kiliproject.org). The overall purpose of the charity is to promote and provide for the advancement of education and the relief of poverty in the Kilimanjaro area of Tanzania.

The climb is 100% self sponsored and all money raised by the climb will go to the charity, so please dig deep!

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Village Education Project Kilimanjaro gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me!

Update: We all sucessfully reached Uhuru summit on the 13th October 2008 after a 6 hour climb in freezing, windy conditions. Thanks everyone for raising such a fantastic amount for VEPK. You can check out the images of the trip on www.pbase.com/jetlagged/mt_kilimanjaro