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Jo Gunter recently climbed Kilimanjaro to raise money for Momentum. Her trek was completely self-funded so all the money she has fundraised has gone straight towards our river-boat – to read more about the boat’s refurb please visit our blog.
Jo not only asked for sponsorship for her trek, but she also held a cake and coffee morning to fundraise and has volunteered at many events for Momentum. In total she has raised a staggering £2,368.22! We are in awe of her incredible achievement and truly grateful for her wonderful support.
“I retired in November 2015 after 34 years as a police officer and decided that I needed a challenge. I chose to trek up Kilimanjaro on the Lemosho Route - the same route as taken by the celebrities for Comic Relief a few years ago.
In March 2016 I flew to Kilimanjaro via Nairobi and began my trek with a mountain leader and a Doctor. There were 72 porters for the 19 of us and they were amazing - some of them have climbed Kilimanjaro over 300 times!
The trek starts in a rain forest; then as you climb higher, there is very little vegetation and in the distance you can see snow on top of the mountain - the highest in Africa - a height of 5895 metres.
The trek was hard right from the start but the porters kept the group going with lots of singing and dancing. We slept in small 2 man tents, had to drink at least 3 litres of water a day and were fed well - I have no idea how they managed to make a birthday cake!
Summit night started after being woken for breakfast at 11pm then leaving at midnight with head torches on. I sadly was sent down at 3.30am at a height of 5410 metres by the team doctor due to illness but it is still a long way up hill! It was a fantastic experience and challenge and I am very happy to have raised a large amount of money for Momentum to be used towards the running of the recent purchase of a boat.”
Jo Gunter on her experiences climbing Kilimanjaro.