Keith Hickey took part in Team RNIB's Kilimanjaro trek and raised over £7,300 for RNIB. Here he tells the story of his experience in his own words.
Preparing for the challenge
"I have always enjoyed walking in the hills and there are a number of overseas walks that I have in mind when the dreaded age of retirement finally gets me. 'Kili' has been in my mind as one of those walks for a number of years now. The idea formed that I could take part in a sponsored event to raise money for RNIB; I knew it had to be something special to raise a significant sum of money and the rest as they say is history.
There were times that I thought that I was daft, and times when I wondered if I could do it. However, as the fundraising started to come in there was no going back and as it kept on coming in it added to the resolve and reminded me just why I was doing it. So I set off, fitter than I have been for a while, over a stone lighter, with it seems like every jab possible and full of nervous excitement.
Whilst climbing to 19,335 feet is no easy task, each of the days we had ahead would be straightforward in the UK; however our major enemy was going to be altitude sickness. So to minimise the effects of altitude sickness and maximise energy levels we drank a lot of water, walked very slowly to conserve energy and went to sleep very early each night.
Summit night
It was never ending and so probably a good job that you couldn't see how far you still had to go. Apart from the people near to you the only other thing that you could see was the headlamps of the other people above and below you in the party. I found it exhilarating and very emotional after nine months of planning, training and fundraising. It was certainly a big challenge and I was just so pleased that I was able to do it.
It was hard work and at times very cold (although luckily not as cold as it could have been as the wind dropped on summit day) but I am still on a high.
I have travelled the world and done many amazing things but this has to be right up there with the best of them. The feeling of achievement is massive. If you add to that the fundraising total is standing at over £7,300, far, far more than I ever hoped to fundraise when I started out then it beat all expectations."
Could you be our next success story?
We are so grateful to Keith for all of the hard work he put in to this challenge. Feel inspired? You can register online for Trek Kilimanjaro today, safely and securely. Or, why not take a look at one of our other great events and challenges? You can choose from overseas events, 10ks to 10 mile runs, half marathons, or UK challenges.