On Boxing Day, my long-awaited adventure began, and after travelling to Tanzania, I started trekking up Mount Kilimanjaro on 28 December with 12 fellow trekkers.

I signed up for this challenge over a year ago; to fundraise for The Wave Project charity whose mission is to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people through the power of surf therapy. I started to engage with the charity after the sudden loss of our son, Will in 2022, as I needed a renewed purpose in life and felt this was a cause he would have wanted me to support.

The 63.5km extreme challenge was even tougher than I ever imagined as we walked for six continuous days in challenging conditions, with minimal sleep and various health challenges caused by the altitude and other factors.

The first day was spent climbing steadily through stunning rainforest and we arrived at our camp in the dark. We were already at a height of 3,100m and starting to feel the effects of altitude but managed my first dinner of pumpkin soup and pasta with vegetables, which was surprisingly good!

The following day we were woken by a porter at 06:30 bringing us a hot drink before starting the next stage of the trek, in the heath/ moorland zone. It was a slow hike due to us needing to scramble over boulders and slippery rocks, and we needed to acclimatise. We reached Shira Plateau Camp (3,830m) by early afternoon and were later invited to meet the porters and support team, and get to know them. There was lots of “Oggi Oggi Oggi, Oy Oy Oy” chanting followed by the famous ‘Jambo Bwana’ song and dancing, which was a perfect ice breaker!

The next morning, we trekked across Shira Plateau and climbed through alpine moorlands to the Lava Tower Camp (4,600m). There were glimpses of Kilimanjaro ahead of us, but cloud would soon obscure the view again. Breathlessness was becoming a real issue for me as the altitude increased and so the guides kept repeating “pole pole” and “sippy sippy’”– walk slow and drink often. After the exposure at high altitude, we descended down a steep rocky section into a valley, walking past very strange trees that were over 90 years old and never lost their leaves. It felt like we were in another world! On New Year’s Eve we descended into a huge ravine and then climbed up the Great Barranco Wall, a single file steep path up a rockface, with porters having to get by with their loads balancing on their heads. There were a few narrow ledges to get across, and quite a bit of scrambling using our hands.

The greatest challenge was the Kissing Wall, where you have to hug a rock and step across a gap with a huge drop beneath it. Once at the top, we ascended steeply through a strange alpine desert until we reached Barafu Camp, which was a barren, inhospitable place full of rocks and tiny patches of cleared ground for tents. Situated at 4,600m, just unpacking your sleeping bag, taking off your boots, walking to the mess tent   for food left you struggling to breathe and required a lot of effort.

After very little sleep, we left camp at just after midnight on New Year’s Day for our summit attempt. As I looked up, I could see a row of gently swaying lights like a magical lantern parade, weaving up and up. No matter how far back you tilted your head, the lights continued until eventually it was impossible to tell which lights were head torches and which were stars. It looked like we had a long, long way to go.

I continued very slowly, walking a few paces and stopping to catch my breath, with high winds and sub-zero temperatures making conditions even more difficult. A few hours later, the sky slowly started to lighten, and a band of orange gradually expanded, bringing much needed light, hope and a bit of warmth, with the most beautiful sunrise. I continued to trek over scree and rock and was rewarded with amazing views of the ice cliffs surrounding me, until I eventually reached the top of the mountain. After having photographs in a Wave Project t-shirt and holding a banner, I left a shell from Fistral Beach, in memory of Will, who used to surf from that beach in Cornwall. It was such a special moment.

My reflection now is that whilst this trek was the most physically and mentally demanding experience of my life, it was an adventure that I’ll never forget. The highlights were the Tanzanian support team who helped us realise our dreams, the starry nights, beautiful landscapes and reaching the top of Kilimanjaro.

If anyone would like to donate to The Wave Project Charity, My JustGiving page is still live https://www.justgiving.com/page/helen-jones-1702655786026. Every contribution is very welcome and will go directly to the charity.

Helen Jones