Bad news..

Just had two guys, Steve and Bob, drop out on health grounds. I haven't met Bob, but I know how much Steve wanted to go, and I feel really bad for him as this was a bolt out of the blue. It brings us to six, so I'm still looking for two more.

.....as if

I wasn't already nervous enough, Mark Chisholm (the one with the Union Flag and the ludicrous rugby onion hat) just got back to the ship with graphic tales of steep precipices, feeling like you're breathing through a pillow, rapid temperature drops and that the mountain is incredibly big when you see it first hand.

Thanks Mark.

By the way. Just under a year to go now.

The team's complete

That's it folks. I finally convinced Eric 'Catfish' Atwood, and Steve Chambers has a mate called Bob Shuter. This brings us to eight which Team Kilimanjaro consider the optimum number.
It's all starting to seem very real now. I know Mark Chisholm was getting nervous a few weeks ago before his climb this year, and he's quite a fitness freak. He tells me that it wasn't so much the legs as the lungs which make it so hard.

This year's bunch

Three of my friends have just got back from doing the same route we'll be taking (apart from the Crater day which is reserved for real men).
Mark Chisholm, Scott Thomson and JJ Pretorius are three shipmates I met on the Express, my previous ship. Mark is now on the Endeavour with me. I'm really proud of them, and Mark says it's the toughest thing he's ever done in his life.
Given that Mark is the super competitive type this puts even more pressure on me. So I've decided that even if they have to restart my heart at the summit I'm still going to come down and say it was easy. This is our secret blogmates.

I'm really under no illusions. A couple of weeks back I did a hike in Yosemite which I have to admit I found quite tough. So I know that the training has to intensify from this point on. I'm not blessed with much gym equipment or much space on my present ship, but I'm going up and down the helideck stairs with a heavy pack on. It doesn't really simulate a slope, but it's all I've got.

Number 6

One more party member joined today. Steve Chambers is an engineer I worked with several years ago. Steve's a bit of a fitness freak (much unlike myself). In his younger days he was a member of one of the Royal Navy's field gun teams, those guys who strip down a field gun, race it across a stadium, assemble it and fire it. Ludicrously fit people.

Milestone

Great news. I've cracked 50% today on the donations. With more than a year to go I'm really hopeful I can beat the £2000. More people showing interest in coming along so here's hoping.

Greece

I changed jobs a few weeks ago. No more swanky gym on the new ship I'm afraid, but we're laying alongside in Piraeus, Athens. Awfuly hilly here. I cover some miles because I consistently get lost on my way back to the ship.

By the way, if you ever find yourself in this predicament remember that it's better to be stranded in a strange town with possibly hours of walking ahead of you than to get a taxi in Athens. These guys are the most obnoxious, inept bunch of rip off merchants on the planet.

...messing with the Rongai

Change of plan. After Jay spoke to Team Kilimanjaro we now figure that their TK Rongai route is the one to go for instead of Machame. The main advantage being it's uncrowded and there just might be a better chance of encountering wildlife. The usual Rongai route has a pretty low success rate as there are no real provisions for acclimatisation on it. However TK have their own variation designed to get round that.
More good news. Karl's brother, Neil is in so now we're at five.

....the fear is here.

Well, that's it. I've gone and booked it. There was a lump in my throat as I clicked 'send'.
So, that's four of us going to start the climb on 30th September 2010 with Team Kilimanjaro.
I've read a lot of praise about this company and when you look at some of the people they employ it looks as though they have an extremely professional approach. They even have the lady who holds the world record for running up it. (Author's note - running up mountains is just wrong. Don't do it, and certainly don't try it at home.)
We're going to be doing their 8 day TK Machame route with the crater night after the summit.
"After the summit". Three little words. If that came across as matter of fact, believe me it wasn't meant to.
I'm still hoping we get more people roped in, but TK are pretty flexible about late bookings.

....pestering

I've got my fingers and toes crossed that my mate Eric 'Blackened Catfish' Atwood is going to come. He says he can't afford it, but I sense he's wavering. I'll leave it a couple of weeks and then continue e-mailing him with articles on hiking boots.....again.
He's just the kind of tenacious character this trek needs and the mountain will benefit him hugely.

For one thing it will give him the solitude to ponder and come to terms with what will almost certainly be another abjectly disappointing season for the Ottawa Senators, and for another it will keep him at a safe distance from cooking utensils.

...swotting

Since deciding to do this I've worn out my mouse dredging up bits of information from here there and everywhere. A lot of the outfitters' websites contain a mass off information and it's pretty bewildering trying to compare.
I got a bit of a telling off by one company for e-mailing them twice with the same questions.
(Well, we all make mistakes as the dalek said climbing off the dustbin).
Also there are some excellent blogs out there by people who've been there and done it.
I'd particularly like to mention Gary Brown who's site was particularly helpful and who took the time to write to me with advice and encouragement. Thanks Gary.
It's pretty obvious that it's not a walk in the park, but thousands of people a year are doing it and they can't all be super fit.
One lady put a statement on her page which stuck in my mind. I hope she's right:

"If you think it's easy, you're wrong. If you think you can't do it, you're wrong".

...and then there were four.

Karl, the crane operator who's on my rotation says he wants in. Excellent news (or is it).
The only trouble is Karl's a big fan of Hull FC (Google..the dark side....never won at Wembley) and with me being a devoted follower of Hull Kingston Rovers (Google...all's that's pure and good in rugby league.....10-5) there could be friction. And that's before all the personal hygiene problems associated with Hull FC players and supporters come into play.

He's not sharing my tent!





On the subject of a tent sharing buddy I think it's rather rude of Fearne Cotton (pictured) not to answer my e-mail. Also the restraining order was, I feel, somewhat uncalled for.

Kilimanjaro - why???

Well, I guess the brainstorm struck on Red Nose Day 2009. A group of the lads on my ship had already arranged to climb 'Kili' later in the year and I would have loved to go up with them but there were a couple of major obstacles in the way:

1/ I was out of their rotation

2/ My waistline (in mountaineering terms I guess it's a Massif Central).

I had been working out on the ship that trip though and continued by joining a gym at home.
Then Denise and I sat down to watch the celebs doing their bit for Children in Need and that was it.
Inspired by Chris Moyles and co. I declared that I was doing it.
Denise gave me one of them "Here we go again" type looks, as past flashes of inspiration such as getting a motorbike, jumping from a perfectly good aeroplane and snowboarding had all come to nowt.

Well, this time it's different. I've started my recruitment drive in earnest. For the most part the potential recruits have been a little less earnest than me, but as of today I believe I have two definites and a couple of good possibles.

I also started hiking, tackling the dreaded Farndale Daffodil Walk. Not for the faint hearted I can tell you. Slopes of anything up to 1 foot in 1 mile.

Paul, Steff, Denise, Lewis and Me (note the looks of dread)

Back on the ship I've really stepped up the training. Hill walks on the treadmill with a 20 pound pack and running further than ever before in my life.

Of course all of this counts for nothing if I don't actually go to Kilimanjaro.
So, the next step was to start collecting for a charity. I'm going to do this thing in September 2010 to raise funds for Dreams Come True, a great charity who try to fulfill the wishes of terminally and seriously ill children and young people.
The way I see it I'm collecting for a wonderful cause but it benefits me too, because now I've painted myself into a corner. I have to go, and if it means I'll raise more money then I WILL reach that summit.

So that's the story so far. Hope you come with me every step of the way, and I hope this blog will eventually have a good photo of me at the summit.