Latest Training and Personal Development News - 2011

I thought you might like to know that following my Fresh Steps training (both as a participant and then a licensed trainer) the timeline exercise made me realise that it was probably better to go for one of our goals sooner rather than later.

The goal being to climb Kilimanjaro.  We did it – on August bank holiday Monday I was at the top watching the sun rise over Africa. 

It was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done in my life.  It took us 4 days to climb up, 2 to come down. I had mountain sickness on Day 2, but the view on Day 3 as I opened the tent door and we were living above the clouds made it all worth it! 

Day 3 started OK, trekking through the Alpine desert, but the last part became much harder and we found we were losing our breath much more quickly as we were gaining altitude, over 5,000 metres by now. We reached base camp, and it was incredible how exhausting everything was.  Just going to the loo or moving your bag in the tent to get some more clothes out was absolutely exhausting. I knew I was fit having completed the 3 peaks in Yorkshire a few weeks earlier in a record time of 9.5 hours!  

All the things they say about altitude kicked in, the nausea was never far away, and insomnia – it was really difficult to sleep in spite of doing several crosswords etc. I normally fall asleep at home doing just one!

We were woken up at 11.30 pm on the Sunday evening to have 'breakfast',. It was difficult to keep the porridge down, but I drank yet another cup of ginger tea which helped with the nausea and I never want to drink it again!

It took us 6.5 hours to make the final ascent, in the dark with head torches on and several layers of clothing as it was -10 degrees.  The path became very challenging as it changed from rock to very deep shale – like walking in deep snow. It was an incredibly slow pace as you were constantly stopping to catch your breath. I was also sick along the way.

I kept totally focused on my steps thinking the words "pole pole" pronounced poly, pole (which means slowly slowly in Swahili). We slowly traversed the path, zigzagging our way up the mountain, and eventually the sky began to change from a fantastic starry spectacle with shooting stars. It became lighter, and suddenly we were 20 yards from the top, we just had to climb over a load of boulders, and then we saw the sun rise.

I was overcome with emotion and exhaustion and cried. All the tour guides gave me a hug which gave me the boost I needed to make the last clamber over the boulders to get to Gilman's Point (5,685 metres)

We then went for the final highest point, Uhuru Point 5,895 metres in another 200 yards. It took us 1.5 hours to do this but we made it. The views of the glaciers were amazing which made it worth it.

Coming down was much quicker. We raced down, and virtually dry skied vertically down the shale, and we were back at base camp by 11.00 am!  

Out of 11 of us who set out, 7 of us made it to the final point – 3 of us aged 50 or over.  Myself and Kev were the oldest at 52!  One lady at 62 had to turn back before she got to the top – it was so challenging but she did fantastically well.

I'm so glad that Fresh Steps made me realise it was best to go for this now. We did it, and it is something we shall always remember and has made me realise how much strength, endurance and determination I have.

After that – life seems much easier now!
 
Ellie Roberts