Raising money for the Julia’s House Hospice is an ongoing project close to our hearts here at Loanfinder, so we’re very proud and happy that our all of our team managed to raise so much for them by climbing Kilimanjaro. Our sixteen climbers, which included our very own MD James Benamor, are now back at their desks nursing their blisters. So how did the trip go?
Kilimanjaro is roughly 7 km high, but it took our intrepid team only seven days to make it to the summit. On the way up, they endured extreme freezing temperatures, hallucinations of hoola girls and frogs, and a lack of sleep. Which makes even camping in Wales seem like a five star experience.
While the temperature averaged -10 to -20, the wind chill factor made it even colder – feeling more like -40 at times. But not only did they have sub-zero temperatures to cope with, some of the team were also badly affected by mountain sickness, and suffered from hallucinations, difficulties sleeping and breathing. Because of the mountain sickness, the team arrived at the summit in different stages, with the people who were suffering from the worst of the sickness hampered by the punishing effects of lack of oxygen. But they battled bravely on, and reached the summit fifteen hours after setting off on the final day.
Jon Adams described his final push for the summit to me. ‘We had just one hours sleep before the last stage of our journey. We had to get up at midnight, and climb until we reached the top. I arrived at the edge of the crater and had a ten minute break, before carrying onto the summit at the very highest part of the crater, arriving seven and a half hours after setting off. It was the most amazing experience of my life – I’ll never forget the views.’
It’s a spectacular achievement for them all, and all the punishing hours of training finally paid off. But best of all, people are still donating and Julia’s House stand to gain over £10,000 from the climb. So once again, on behalf of our incredible team, thank you to all who donated.
And if you would like to help, there is still time to donate. Just go to James Benamor’s Just Giving page.
For more information about Julia’s House, click here.
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