Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service's Chief Fire Officer, Iain Bathgate, together with colleagues from the Sunderland Strategic Partnership are climbing Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, in April in aid of charity.
The group of 20 will start their seven-day climb on 16th April 2010 and plan to raise money for a range of charities such as Grace House Hospice, The Fire Fighters charity, Help for Heroes, the Mayors charities, Scope and Diabetes UK, as well as the African Black Conservation Project (ABPC) in Tanzania. Iain is also raising money for NAG Home for Street Children in Katmandu following a recent visit he made to the city.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service's Group Manager John Allison is also taking part in the challenge.
The team aim to raise £30k collectively for their chosen charities and will be organising a number of fund raising events and activities. These will include things such as treasure hunts and supermarket bag packing.
Local outdoor wear manufacturer Berghaus have provided support to the team giving a training talk and base layer clothing in preparation for the challenge as well as offering discounted kit. Another local company, Sports Performance, have offered advice on nutrition and personal training and Seaham Hall offered every participant the opportunity of a personal fitness assessment.
Iain said: "This is a great opportunity to raise money for some good causes as well as an opportunity to hone our partnership skills in adverse conditions. It has been more years than I care to remember since I have spent a night in a tent and it will be interesting to see how it feels to take it up again.
"I already do a fair amount of hiking so I'm not too worried about the walking. It's the unpredictable impact of high altitude that is the concern. Unfortunately there is no simple way to train for this, nevertheless I'm looking forward to the challenge, as are all my colleagues."
Only 40 percent of climbers who attempt Kilimanjaro ever reach the summit, the main reason people fail is due to altitude sickness. The trek will be led by local guides who are fully trained in high altitude medical care and the team are ensuring they are both properly equipped and physically capable of undertaking the climb.
Others taking part are from the agencies that make up the Sunderland Partnership including City Hospitals NHS Trust, Primary Care Trust, City of Sunderland College, Northumbria Police, Sunderland City Council, Gentoo, Sunderland arc and the Sunderland Community Network as well as Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Representatives from two of the city’s private sector organisations, Grundfos and Liebherr, have also committed to the challenge.
Anyone who would like to sponsor me can do so by logging onto www.justgiving.com/twfrs.
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