We made the papers!!

With thanks to Jane who pulled the strings to get this, here is the article that featured on page 1 no less of the Milton Keynes Citizen last week.

The photo features (left to right) 6 of us training in Snowdonia. Those present were Peter (who must of been standing on high ground as he really isn't that tall!!), Jacky, Jane, Jez, myself and Simon. Charlie (our leader...) is taking the photo. Unfortunately on this trip Mark and Dean couldn't make it.

Internet or not?

Following receipt of information from Simon and Mark, I've been looking into the type of mobile signal on Kilimanjaro. Whilst it seems that the Tanzanian Vodacom GSM signal can be reached all the way up to the top of Kilimanjaro, the UK service providers in O2 and Vodafone (I have an iphone with O2) only have a text and voice service contract with the Tanzanian mobile network.

We are being told that we still might be able to access the internet but that the service will be intermitant at best as we climb. Thus, it is distinctly possible that the daily blog update during the climb from my iphone will be text only and that pictures (which require an internet connection) will not be able to be posted. Hopefully we will still be able to post text and pictures but if not apologies in advance.

Cheers for now.

A week and a bit left

Well I now have all my kit and after using everyone else's ideas it all fits into my bag! The big day looms large but I think I'm as ready as I can be. I have managed to lose two stone in weight (alas not the three I'd hoped for) but I'm consoling myself that I've done lots of training and my fitness level is as good as it has been for many a year.

Tonight my thoughts have turned to a favorite topic of mine: the weather. I found a great website that shows the weather on Kilimanjaro (bottom, midle and top) http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Kilimanjaro and from a quick perusal I learned that it has been raining at Kilimanjaro airport now for quite a few days(it is unusual at this time of year) though it is not too cold at the summit - minus 16 degrees with windchill.

For those doubting thomases that don't believe that Africa gets rain in their summer months - just have a read of the Apline Ascent blog on http://www.alpineascents.com/kilimanjaro-cybercast.asp Here you will see that during a climb just a few days ago they had 4 hours of continuous hail stones such that the mountain turned white !!! Actually this is a great website all around to be honest and worth a read. The good news for us however is that the weather is forecast to be drier for when we get there.

I can sense from the increasingly frequent emails between the team that the excitement is building. Can't wait to be honest! This is a great challenge, being undertaken by group of fantastic and determined people - and I truly believe that it will be the adventure of a lifetime for all of us. Roll on the 6th Feb !

Training at Dovedale

On Sunday 25th January Peter King, his wife Charlie, Mark Thompson and myself went on a training walk around Dovedale in Derbyshire. We parked at the car park by the Izaak hotel in Ilam., about an hour and a half away from Milton Keynes.

Immediately struck by the peace and tranquility of the environment, we began our 9.3 mile walk at a brisk but not overbearing pace. Unfortunately due to my boots failing to be stable enough on the ice at Snowdon, I was wearing brand new boots (not too clever just a few days before the Kili climb) but it had to be done.

Half an hour into the walk the newness of the leather began to rub against my over-wide ankle bones. It did however ease a little as the walk progressed. Walking through quite beautiful scenery, though often slippery underfoot, the walk lasted some 4 3/4 hours (including a drinks stop on the way). It was also challenging in places, rising from 200ft to 1100 feet on two seperate occasions - in a continuous climb with no flat area to catch one's breath.

All in all we spent a great few hours walking in some magnificent english countryside. It is a walk that I will no doubt repeat many times. Having returned home I certainly know I've been out for a big walk today that's for sure. Great practice for the big one which is now only 12 days away.

Training in Snowdonia

During the weekend of 17th January, 7 of the 9 the Kilimanjaro team (sadly Dean and Mark couldn't make it) braved the battering winds, freezing temperatures and ice-laden rocks to climb Mount Snowdon in North Wales.

Standing at just over 3,560 feet tall, Snowdon is only a fraction of the height of Kilimanjaro. Nevertheless, its rapid transformation from a calm shallow climb to steep rock faces, severe wind chill and quite literally hands and kness climbing (at least on the "Miners Track" route that we did), would, we hoped provide a good test for us.

And boy we were not disappointed. In the conditions, the climb was most definitely the hardest thing I have ever done. So much so that at one point I slipped on the ice - quite badly - right over a sheer drop of a few hundred feet. Very scary indeed. The wind became so severe that the two lightest members of the team, Jane and Jacqui sensibly decided to call it a day half way up. A very good call by them as, within a few yards of them deciding it was too extreme, the wind got even worse.

5 of us made it to the top: Charlie, Jez, Simon, Peter and myself. It was incredibly rewarding. The feeling of getting to the top in such atrocious weather was a real spur to pressing on for the big days to come.