AN Alloa man recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro raising funds for charity.
Sam Wright and his friend from university Ross Cocoran trekked up to “The Roof of Africa” as part of a group of 23 people. Together, they raised £69,000 for Worldwide Cancer Research and Sam told the Advertiser that the expedition was “an unbelievable experience”.
He said: “I’ve never been off the continent before so even the plane journey was an adventure for me. The climb was brilliant, we had met a few times for nights out, but nobody could have really expected the group to gel together the way it did.
“It was mentally draining more than physically. I can remember thinking after the first day, which was an eight hour trek through the rainforest, that my legs were aching and there was no way that I would ever be able to complete a more challenging day the next day when I would be starting in more pain and after a night sleeping in a tent on a rocky wasteland.”
He said that their guides Silvester (who has climbed Kilimanjaro 307 times), Frank and Ali were fantastic and helped the whole group along the way.
Each day Sam, Ross and the group woke up at 6am after what was usually an unpleasant night, but every day they would get more excited as they caught new glimpses of the peak.
After a few days, they made it to base camp early evening, and set off again at night, as most of the loose mud is frozen, which gives a more solid footing.
Some struggled with headaches and nausea because of the altitude and he himself was sick before the most intense part of the trek.

“It was pitch black so we were all lead single file with our headlamps on up a winding path which seemed to go on forever. The guides tried to reassure us by saying it’s only an hour away.
“This went on for a good seven or eight hours and their good nature must have been tested by the rantings of 23 tired and cold students. When the sun rose about 6am it really motivated the whole group and gave us the energy for the last push.”
The 22-year-old Alloa Athletic fan said everyone he met during the trip, from hotel staff to guides and team mates, were very open and friendly. He told how reaching the summit was “a really strange experience”, adding: “When we got to the top I was scanning looking for the next climb and I can remember being surprised by how flat this next part was.

“It was only when I seen the sign I realised we had reached the first peak, Stella point. It was a euphoric experience and I have never been so glad to have a lie down.
“We knew that we were not finished though because Uhuru peak was the highest pointto this poin. After a few photos we dragged ourselves back to our feet and set off.
“We finally made it around 9.45am after leaving around 11pm. Seeing the writing with ‘Africa’s highest point, world’s tallest freestanding mountain’ made it finally feel real and only then did I really appreciate the size of what our group had achieved.”

The climbers were only allowed to stay for around 20 minutes because of the altitude, but Sam said he does not think he’ll ever forget the experience.
Sam has a lot of memorable stories from his trip and said he would urge anyone to do a similar adventure through Choose a Challenge, “who have been brilliant”.
He thanked the many people who helped him along the way: his family and friends who donated, colleagues at Morrisons, Kevin O’Neill who lent kit and group leaders Michelle and Will.