Reflection & Thanks from Sam

My Family, Friends and supporters,

We did it, 19340 ft, to the peak of Africa, Uhuru (Freedom) Peak, Mt Kilimanjaro

Now I’ve had time to settle into life back home and had time to let the whole journey sink in, I wanted to express my gratitude to you all.

What can I say, this has to go down as one of the most amazing weeks of my life, and needless to say of the Teams. From the rain forest to the barren landscape midway, to the blizzard on the last day, we went through all the elements. Hot and humid, cold and dry, this mountain had it all, and it wasn’t afraid of letting you know! It definitely wanted to test the endurance of the team yet teased us enough to let us know that what awaited us at the top was worth every ounce of energy we would spend getting there.

I could go on and on, but feel that you all need to know the main event. With limited sleep due to the climb earlier in the day and the lack of oxygen the group assembled at 16,000ft at midnight. This was it, the final push, the remaining 3,340 ft. Exhausted yet silently excited, the team knew what was required. This was the moment of truth, no matter what, we needed to ensure we all made it, 12 climbers one great cause. The evening was clear, you could reach out and grab the stars, we were even treated to a display of shooting stars, with a moon in the background that looked like it was on fire. But for the guides voices, you would have thought you were dreaming, yet the bitter cold told you it was real. It all seemed too good to be true, sure enough, it was, the clouds came in and then the snow. It just added to the drama, one step in front of the other, one breath at a time, head down, oh the monotony. Pole, Pole, slowly, slowly in Swahili, we all thought the same, when will it end?? But that’s part of the experience. And then before you know it, and to your surprise, you’re at the crater rim, hugs all around, we’ve done it. Not that easy, this is just the crater rim, Stella Point, after 6 hours of climbing we’re still not there. The top of Africa lies further afield, another hour away. (We all knew this but inside, secretly we were all thinking about turning around, what’s the point, this is good enough, who will know)? The hike starts again, at this altitude each step takes your breath away, each step takes all the energy you have, but again, all you think about is the end goal. (Not the top of the mountain but the cold beer that awaits you at camp, 10,000 ft below. Only joking, but it’s these thoughts that keep you going).

The blizzard still howled all around yet you don’t notice it any more. Then, as if to give the team the additional boost it needed, the snow stopped, the clouds cleared and the sun rose. The guide informed us that the top of Africa was just around the corner. Uhuru Peak, Freedom Peak. Could this be it, could we be this lucky that the clouds and weather would clear so much that we would be blessed with pure sunshine. Sure enough, upon reaching the summit of Africa, with not a dry eye between us, (we all had sunglasses on but we all knew) we were drenched in the most beautiful light, that shone down upon us, almost biblical, you’ve reached your goal, you’ve achieved what few people can only imagine, the TOP OF AFRICA. All the months of preparation, all the sleepless nights, all the hardship of the previous days, were distant memories. We had all done it, and it was spectacular, words couldn’t express your feelings.. You just try and take it in, the never ending views, the glistening glaciers, pure poetry. You just try to take it in, as best you can. You forget how exhausted you are, who cares about the lack of oxygen, we’ve done it and that’s all that matters!!!!!!!!!

I hope the above gives you an understanding of our journey. It is hopefully my way of thanking you all, this wouldn’t have been possible without you, all your words of encouragement, positive attitude and personal votes of confidence. You were all with me every step of the way and most importantly at the top.

-Sam