Into the Wilde

On 14th January 2010 Capita Symonds’ Tom Wilde and Mark Morland will be heading off on an 11 day trip which will see them climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Standing at 5,896m above sea level, Mount Kilimanjaro is the world's highest free standing mountain. The breathable oxygen at the top is less than half the amount than is common at sea level and climbers cover at least 80 kilometres unsupported on their journey to the summit and back.

The pair will be joined by nearly 40 colleagues from Capita Group. Each team member has been asked to raise £5,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support which will hopefully create a massive combined total of £200,000!

A number of fundraising events have been taking place, including collections, raffles, bingo nights and bungy jumps. Tom and Mark have also been training in the Lake District (pictured).

Anybody who wishes to support Tom and Mark in raising money for this great cause can do so via their justgiving sites:

www.justgiving.com/tomwilde

www.justgiving.com/Mark-Morland

Kilimanjaro: Post 3

The bags are nearly packed and I think I have remembered all I need to take with me.

I recently heard that some celebrities are going up Kilimanjaro in February for Comic Relief. These include Chris Moyles, Denise Van Outen and Gary Barlow. Alesha Dixon is also going and I’ve warned my wife that if I bump into Alesha, I might not be in a hurry to come home! She understands ;)

The next update I will be sending will, hopefully, be from Moshi in Tanzania and maybe I will try and send some photos.

The fund raising is still going well and the total is just about to go over £1000. Thanks to all who have contributed.

Neil

http://www.justgiving.com/2009kilimanjaro

See photos of Kilimanjaro on Flickr

Kilimanjaro: Post 2

Well, two weeks from today I’ll be in the air on my way to Tanzania. I’ve had all my jabs, picked up my anti-malaria drugs and my visa has arrived.

The company I’m going with has supplied me with a holdall and the packing is well under way.

The fundraising has continued with a very helpful email from Jonathan Goring to all the Capita Symonds staff that raised my sponsorship from under £200 to over £750 including off-line contributions. I would still like to raise over £1000 so I would appreciate any further donations at:

http://www.justgiving.com/2009kilimanjaro

I have also been in contact with a few people who have climbed Kilimanjaro with varying degrees of success and their comments have been very useful and entertaining.

Capita Symonds guys have also provided me with a Capita Symonds flag for me to take but unfortunately it was supplied with a 1 metre pole. I have removed it as I would like to actually be allowed onto the plane!

Cheers

Neil

The peak of Neil's careers

Neil Atkinson, Associate Director (Geotechnics and Instrumentation), based in Capita Symonds' Salford office will shortly be undertaking the challenge of his lifetime by attempting to climb Africa's hightest mountain - Kilimanjaro.

Neil will be keeping us updated with his journey via our blog (first post below). So come back regularly to see how he gets on.

Neil will be raising money for Capita's nominted charity MacMillan Cancer support - go to http://www.justgiving.com/2009kilimanjaro to sponsor him.

Some interesting facts about Kilimanjaro

• The highest point on Kilimanjaro is Uhuru Peak, on the volcano Kibo 5,895 metres (19,341 ft).
• The summit was first reached by the Marangu army scout Yohanas Kinyala Lauwo, German Hans Meyer and Austrian Ludwig Purtscheller, on October 6, 1889.
• Due to Kilimanjaro's equatorial location and high elevation, almost every climate type on earth is represented, including a year-round snow-topped summit.
• The summit of Kilimanjaro is covered by a GSM mobile phone network, and was previously the highest point in the world with mobile phone service.

Find out more about Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro: Post 1

On 2nd February 2009 I’ll be flying out to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro which at 5895 metres is the highest point on the African Continent and the Worlds tallest free standing mountain.

I have been climbing for over 25 years and I’ve always wanted to climb Kilimanjaro.

Each year a large number of people fail to get to the top (some even die!) mainly due to acute mountain sickness (AMS). This is usually due to a lack of acclimatisation. As well as having been at altitude a number of times including the Alps, Bolivia and the Himalayas, I have chosen a route that will allow plenty of time for acclimatisation.

I have also increased my running schedule to 30 miles per week and not using the lift at Emerson House, Salford. We sit on the 10th floor!

I’m also raising money for MacMillan Cancer support, so please sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/2009kilimanjaro

Thanks

Neil