Category: Mount Kilimanjaro

Bryan Robson has climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the world's biggest free-standing peak. On Thursday, the 56-year-old ex-England captain, together with his Manchester United colleague Kevin Moran, son Ben, and daughter Claire, completed the journey. Due to the tough weather, five of the 25-man trek team failed to reach the peak. Click here to book your Kilimanjaro trek The trekkers set out from camp at 11 p.m. on Wednesday night in order to reach the 5,895-meter summit by 5 a.m. on Thursday, walking through temperatures as low as -22 degrees with windchill. The temperature was so high that the water in their backpacks froze, making it difficult to drink anything throughout the 10-hour hike, and many of the team members had trouble breathing owing to the high altitude. Robson, who has been battling throat cancer, and his teammates have raised almost £30,000 for the Manchester United Foundation, and they intend to raise much more when they return to England. Manchester United Legend Climbs Kilimanjaro for Charity The charity collaborates with organizations such as Unicef, Francis House, a hospice for terminally ill children, and The Christie Charity, a prominent cancer treatment center, to give football instruction to persons with disabilities and to utilize football to engage youth in underserved communities. 'I don't believe I felt any sense of happiness when I got to the top first because I was just so crushed!' said Moran, a former United teammate. But now that we've waited and slept for a time, you're feeling a sense of accomplishment. 'With the wind-chill factor, it's -22C up here, so hurry up and turn that thing [the camera] off so we can go down!' Summit Night The trekkers left camp at 11 p.m. last night in temperatures as low as -22 degrees with windchill, and walked

After witnessing the breast cancer deaths of her sister and a friend, Dawn Brocklesby felt inspired to take constructive action. She chose to climb Mount Kilimanjaro despite having breast cancer herself. To demonstrate that there is life after cancer, Dawn Brocklesby made the decision to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with Macmillan Cancer Support. Although I've always had a strong sense of adventure, I had never considered climbing Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro. After a two-year battle with breast cancer, I wasn't in the best of physical shape and was in remission. However, after watching my sister and a close friend pass away from the illness, I was inspired to take good action for myself and to demonstrate to others that there is life after cancer. In terms of training, I didn't do anything. Every day I took the dog up the hill near my house. I was supposed to have a walking vacation in the French Alps, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to go. Of course, even a trip to the Alps cannot adequately prepare you for the altitude. When I realized I had forgotten my walking boots at home, the trip got off to a horrible start. I had to exit the highway, which meant I was late for my journey to London. I purchased a new one in Manchester, but when I got to Heathrow, my luggage was gone. I wished for the carousel to come while I sat there feeling ill. I went to the counter for lost baggage, but they were unable to find anything. Before I learned that my suitcase had turned up in a different terminal, tears started to spring up in my eyes. I had plenty of time to get on the plane. My seat was upright when I slept off just before

Robbie Savage has said that he believed his 'brain was going to explode' after failing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro's full 19,000 feet during a charity hike. The 38-year-old had climbed to 12,000 feet on Tanzania's highest peak before succumbing to possibly lethal altitude sickness. Later, Savage was diagnosed with fluid on the lungs and low oxygen levels in his blood. Learn how to combat altitude sickness on your Kilimanjaro trek 'Thank you everybody for your get well comments, I'm out of danger now after fantastic work by medics and my guide in Kilimanjaro,' the ex-Derby County midfielder posted on Twitter. 'Severe altitude sickness at 13,000 feet is a dreadful and frightening scenario, with fluid on the lungs, a feeling like my head was about to burst, and dangerously low oxygen levels in the blood.' 'Vomiting and dizziness, then trying to go below 9,000 feet as fast as possible when you're unable to walk straight and informed you might die if you go much higher is terrifying.' 'But, happily, I'm OK now, and my team is doing fantastically well, they're such courageous and amazing people.' The BBC Radio 5 Live commentator was participating in the Charity Kilimanjaro Expedition to raise money for the Responsible Gambling Trust and a project to support Kenyan schoolchildren. 'On the descent down my guide stated we had to be quick to miss the animal crossing of lions, buffalo, and elephants, which was not fantastic news,' Savage said of his route to safety. Then there was a ride in the rescue truck through the darkest of Kilimanjaro's roads, unlit, with motorcyclists without lights, and people wandering on the road, which was so frightening that it was one day I will never forget!!'

Scientists warn that the peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro, the world's tallest free-standing mountain, may soon be ice-free. According to Nasa's Earth Observatory, the mass of ice on the peak of the 19,341ft dormant stratovolcano in Tanzania fell by more than 85% between 1912 and 2011. Kilimanjaro's north ice field has also fragmented, according to Kimberly Casey, a glaciologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre, who visited the mountain earlier this year. The glacier has been growing a hole since the 1970s, but this is the first year it has been witnessed splitting in half. Dr. Casey explained, 'We were able to walk on land — or even ride a bicycle — right through the chasm.' Scientists now say it's not a question of whether, but when, Kilimanjaro's ice will go. Estimates vary, but some scientists believe it will be extinct by the year 2060. The views from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro are both bizarre and breathtaking. Climbers may stare down on a dense blanket of clouds below that seems to extend eternally in the horizon after rising through numerous habitats, including farming, luxuriant rainforest, alpine desert, and a virtual dead zone near the peak. However, ice dominates the image in the near foreground. On an otherwise featureless, sand-covered plateau to the north, a shelf-like slab of ice with a sheer vertical cliff rests. A second ice field pours down the edge of the plateau and down the mountain's southern face in the opposite direction. Mount Kilimanjaro's southern ice field: Despite its tropical position, the dry, cold air at the summit of the mountain has supported enormous amounts of ice for over 10,000 years. 'We could have rode a bicycle across the fissure,' says Kimberly Casey, a Nasa glaciologist who visited Kilimanjaro earlier this year and discovered the north ice

Scaling one of the planet's highest peaks is a challenge most able-bodied individuals would struggle to do. Spencer West did it with only his hands. After a grueling, arduous, and awe-inspiring climb, the 31-year-old from Toronto, Canada, who lost his legs when he was five years old, reached the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro on Tuesday. Mr. West was born with sacral agenesis, a genetic disease that caused his lower spine to be underdeveloped and his legs to be crossed all the time. At the age of three, he had his legs amputated below the knees, and two years later, he had them severed below the pelvis. Medical professionals said that the brave Canadian would never be able to function in society, but he has defied physicians his whole life. He spent a year preparing to climb Africa's tallest mountain without using his legs, and he started out on June 12 with closest pals David Johnson and Alex Meers. Mr West had to hike through Tanzania's rainforests, snowfields, and deserts for seven days, and he had to do 80 percent of the route on his hands, only using a custom-made wheelchair when the terrain permitted. After a seven-hour walk, they arrived at the summit at 11:15 a.m. Only half of those who attempt to climb the mountain succeed, and Mr West described the moment he reached the peak as "amazing." 'The summit sign appeared almost like a hallucination,' he added. 'We glanced around and realized that we had made it after seven days of continuous climbing, 20,000 feet of our blood, sweat, tears, and vomit. 'It was all worth it, even the bleeding fingers and blisters.' Doctors informed Mr West as a kid that he would struggle to fit into society, but he has stayed adamant in proving them wrong. Spencer