Yesterday afternoon was Dougie’s final day at Pearly Grey before he & Troy travel to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
Kilimanjaro sits on the northern border of Tanzania, overlooking Kenya, and just over 200 miles south of the Equator. The area is not particularly mountainous; indeed, the nearest mountain to Kilimanjaro is Mount Meru, over 60km away to the south-west.
Rising 4800m above the East African plains, 270km from the Indian Ocean and measuring up to 40km across, Kilimanjaro is the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, formed, shaped and eroded by the natural elements of fire and ice.
Kilimanjaro is actually a volcano, a trait it shares with Tenerife?s own majestic Mount Teide.
Dougie & Troy have been training on Mount Teide as part of their preparation for the Kilimanjaro climb, helping them to get used to climbing and also acclimatising their lungs to the high altitude and the resulting lack of oxygen.
Today (Friday 4th December 2009) they set off on this adventure to meet up with James & Karen Beckley before beginning their ascent of the mountain. They leave Tenerife with the support and admiration of all the owners & staff at Pearly Grey, returning in around 10 days time to what will be a heroes welcome.
We salute you!!
