Officers totake on Mount Kilimanjaro for charity
TWO senior police officers have raised more than £1,000 for a cancer charity by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
Detective superintendent Neil Castle at Leicestershire Police and assistant chief constable at Nottinghamshire, Stu Prior, trekked almost 5,000 metres to the summit of Africa’s tallest mountain.
The pair scaled the dormant volcano in a bid to raise money for Leicester charity Hope Against Cancer - and they smashed their £1,000 target.
Neil said it was a tough challenge, but all their training paid off.
He said: “We were there for 10 days in total and it was very strange walking through the jungle in 30C at the bottom of the mountain, to minus 18C at the summit. The weather was very changeable and the first day of the trek there was tropical, torrential rain.
“It was very challenging, and start- ing the ascent to the summit at 11.15pm was very daunting, but I think it was better that we couldn’t see where we were going.
“Starting in the evening meant that we got to the top just as the sun was coming up at 6.15am. The sunrise and the views were absolutely stunning over the glacier.”
Neil said part of the battle was getting used to the altitude – and the amount of medication they had to take.
He added: “We were taking malaria tablets, altitude sickness tablets which all took it out of you. We were walking with many guides who were there to look after us, and it took a toll on them, and they climb the summit very frequently. It’s a shock to your body.”
Visit http://hopeagainstcancer.org. uk to donate.