Sponsored climb to Kilimanjaro

On the 13th October 2011 our good friend Sarah embarked on a journey to the peak of the worlds highest freestanding mountain Kilimanjaro to raise money for the charity scope. Trendy Products sponsored Sarah to help with her fundraising and she was kind enough to share some photographs and a diary of her exciting journey.

Sarah’s Journey

Day 1 – We arrived at Machame Gate and started our 6 hour trek through the lush vegetation of the humid rainforest. Reaching our camp at 3,000 metres that afternoon we settled down to our first night at Machame Camp. I was lucky enough to spot Colobus monkeys during this day but the weather at this point was very grim, constantly raining which made our first day harder.

Day 2 – The 7 hour trek route took us through the ever changing scenery, as we made the steep ascent up through heather and moorland to the Shira Plateau across the plateau to Shire Camp at 3,840 metres.  Our camp was now beyond cloud level but we were still unable to see any view due to the rain and cloud.

Day 3 – We trekked for 7 hours across a beautiful, barren, moonlike landscape.  We reached the Lava Tower, where we stopped for lunch. This was the highest point of our trek so far, at 4,526 metres, and is a tough ascent. We then descend to reach Barrano Camp at 3,950 metres by late afternoon. The descent aids the acclimatisation process and allowed our bodies to adjust to the ever-changing altitude.

Day 4 – This was the first morning we actually woke up to views and the realisation hit me of how high we were! We left camp early for a short climb and scramble up the volcanic rock of the Barranco wall. From here we had fantastic views over to Barafu. For the rest of the day we made the steady ascent to Barafu Camp at 4,600 metres, positioned on a ridge overlooking the south east valley. After an early dinner, we got a few hours sleep from 6pm til 11.00pm before the tough summit challenge.

Day 5 – Summit day! – We awoke just before midnight, and trekked for about eight hours by torchlight up the steepest and most demanding part of the route to reach Stella point at the crater rim. We then make our final traverse to Uhuru Peak, the highest point on the African continent at 5,895 metres. The morning sunlight gave us spectacular views across the plains below and of Mount Meru in the distance. I cannot even express the feeling when I was at that point but a lot of tears were shed!

We then had a tough 3 hours descent back to Barafu camp, where we stop for an hours rest and some breakfast before continuing trekking for another 3 hours onto Mweka camp.

Day 6 – After wearing the same clothes for days, no access to a shower and 5 nights of sleeping in a tent it was at this point I could not wait to get back off the mountain.  After breakfast we continued our descent back through the rainforest back to Mweka Gate.

I have always wanted to do a life changing experience and this certainly was one, along with the most challenging…physically, mentally and emotionally…experience I have ever done!

I was a part of a team of 20, 8 of which are friends of mine and it was great to share it with them. We also had a doctor and a guide with us who were amazing as well as the epic support from the porters we had around us. The porters were out of this world with the way they climbed Kilimanjaro whilst carrying their bags, our camp bags and also helping us!

The charity I did this challenge for was Scope.  They are one of the largest disability charities in the UK and I want to support their work with adults and children with cerebal palsy. Scope is currently only able to reach one in four people who need help.  We were the first ever group to fully complete the summit for Scope which was a great achievement also.

I had so much support during my fundraising especially from Trendy Products who I cannot thank enough!

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