Laura Betts
One more step along the world I go...
Fundraising for Motor Neurone Disease Association
Story
So we did it!! 3 weeks ago we were trekking down from the mountain top after a magical and memorable experience.
We climbed with 40 other people, all of whom were raising money for The Motor Neurone Disease Association. They were a brilliant group and we all shared many jokes and tears along the way – they will now be friends for life and we have to thank them for making such a fantastic trip.
The trek was very enjoyable and interesting. We saw amazing scenery, which changed dramatically from jungle (where we saw Colobus and Blue Monkeys), to moorland, to alpine desert and finally arctic-like conditions at the summit.
The final summit night was indeed the hardest thing we have ever done! We left the camp (4700m) at 11.15pm and began up the steep scree slopes to Gilman’s Point. Due to altitude and lack of sleep, I woke up with a headache which was not a good start but after a few biscuits and a couple of paracetamol, we began the ascent. We were in a long line, all trudging along, one behind the other, zig-zagging up the loose scree. The moon was sparkling so bright that we didn’t even need our head torches on, and with the porters singing 'Akuna Matata' to keep us motivated, it was a magical moment that we stay in our minds forever.
Temperatures were well below freezing and so we could only stop for very small breaks. At this point the air was extremely thin. Breathing was hard work and it wasn’t long before we needed to rest on our poles after only 3 or 4 half steps. Everything became a struggle – even opening our rucksacks to get a bottle of water seemed too much effort! Unfortunately I still had a throbbing headache and despite even more tablets, it just would not shift. Thomas and I (along with everyone else) were finding it extremely tough but as the trudge went on, I became ill and was indeed sick which made me feel even worse.
With sheer gut determination and immense support and encouragement from the African porters, we both finally reached the offical summit (Gilman’s Point) at 6am. (The summit is deemed to be any point where you can see into the crater). Here we could see the volcanic ash, a small glacier and the sun rising over the clouds. Another amazing sight. Even though this is the classed as summiting, the highest peak, Uhuru, was another 2 hours away.
I was still feeling very ill at this point and was sick again at Gilman’s point. I was struggling to keep down any food and water, and every rest point seemed like the ideal place to close my eyes and sleep…something you shouldn’t be doing!
I wanted to keep going though for many different reasons, especially when thinking about why I was doing this challenge. We continued on, still with a throbbing headache and sickness but it all just became too much. After half an hour of half steps, extreme breathlessness and exhaustion, I had to stop and rest. Thomas was brilliant and made me rest and take more tablets, but once again I failed to keep anything down, which together with the exhaustion, was making me quite emotional. It was at this point that the porters, who are very experienced, told me I needed to go down. I was gutted to say the least. I had come all this way and although I had reached the summit, I felt that I hadn’t quite got all the way there! However, hindsight is a wonderful thing and now I can appreciate how dangerous it would have been to have gone on. The day before we had seen 4 people rushed down on stretchers and 2 men dragged down by porters, and so I knew if I had have continued, I would have risked being brought down in the same way.
Thomas and I had previously discussed what we would do if one of us was unable to go all the way, and so I insisted that he went on. After a more gruelling hours and whipping winds, he made it to Uhuru Peak - the highest point in Africa!! I was so proud of him, but I am still just disappointed I wasn't able to share the emotional yet rewarding experience. On the way down, Thomas also fell victim to altitude sickness and was indeed sick.
Despite the sickness and sheer exhaustion, it was an amazing experience as well as a real challenge…physically, mentally and emotionally – one we can not do justice to with our recounts or pictures! We will never forget the things we have seen and experienced, and also the kindness that everyone has shown to us.
So a really big big thank you to everyone who has been generous and made donations towards our challenge. Thomas and I are almost at our target of £7000 and together with the other 38 people, we have raised in excess of £160,000 for Motor Neurone Disease, with still more to be collected – a fantastic amount which will help many sufferers of MND and will hopefully help find a cure for this awful disease.
Watch the space for the next big adventure….
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