A large scale charity appeal

Climb of Kilimanjaro

By Gen "Suisse" OJ

At only 18 years old, Dean Thomas is soon to embark on a challenge of a colossal scale. In a few months time, he will be climbing all 5,886 metres of the Uhuru peak of the tallest freestanding mountain in the world – Mount Kilimanjaro.

Leeds Student: Have you got any mountaineering experience, or is this your first climb?
Dean Thomas: This is the first time.

LS: That’s quite a hefty challenge for a first time trip.
DT: It is, yes. I like keeping fit and I walk quite a lot as well so I’m just doing this to help others really.

LS: And have you ever done anything like this for charity before?
DT: No, this is the first time for that too.

LS: So what did your family and friends have to say when you told them about this?

DT: They were all a bit jealous of it actually.

LS: I’d have thought your parents would be a bit nervous for you - it is quite a challenge, physically and mentally.
DT: Yes definitely. It’s the altitude that’ll probably cause problems for most people. I’ve not had a lot of training or experience to do with the altitude. My family have just  said, ‘It’s something to tick off the list’ (laughs).

LS: It’s definitely an achievement.  Do you know how long it’s going to take to get to the top?
DT: We’re climbing the Marangu Route, which is 5886m high. The whole thing takes nine days, six of which is taken to get to the top. On the final day, the final walk to the summit will take between 15-17 hours. It’s been planned so that we get to the summit just in time for the sunrise.
LS: And how are you feeling about it?
DT: I’m really excited, but also nervous about raising the money.

LS: Are you not more nervous about the danger aspect of the climb?
DT: No. That’s just an adrenaline rush for me.

LS: Are you a bit of an adrenaline junkie then?
DT: (laughs) Yeah.

LS: Have you started training yet?
DT: Well the actual climb will be in September 2010, but for my first event to try to raise money I will be climbing the Worsley building 120 times, which is the equivalent height of Mount Kilimanjaro.

LS: That in itself is pretty impressive. Did you have any trouble getting permission for that from the University?
DT: No, they were actually very supportive.

LS: What about training for the actual climb?
DT: I train six times a week. Strength training is important because there’s a lot of weight on your back with all the equipment you have to carry and there’s a lot of pressure on your legs too. I’m doing a lot of aero (aerobic training) for that with running and I’m starting to do some climbing as well.

LS: Do the sports facilities on campus provide you with everything you need for that?
DT: I do the strength training here at the University but I also go home at weekends and that’s where I do a lot of my aero.

LS: Will you be doing the climb alone?
DT: No, I’m doing it with a friend from back home, Jamie Shemwell (Aeronautical Engineering student at Salford University). He does cadets so he has a fair bit of mountaineering experience from that.

LS: Is it just the two of you or are you part of a larger group?
DT: We’re part of a larger organisation – Action Challenge. I think there’s going to be about 30-40 of us. We’re just two out of those and we have to raise £3,400 each.

LS: And how are you doing so far?
DT: At the moment we’ve just been focusing on organising loads of events. We’ve only just started raising money.

LS: So it’s still early days then?
DT: Yes. We’ve raised an average of about £300 each so far.

LS: Not a bad start! How did you first get involved?
DT: Basically, it’s something we’ve always wanted to do. We started by looking around different organisations and charities and seeing which we thought offered the best. With the Haiti earthquake disaster, we both wanted to raise some money for that. With Action Challenge we had the freedom to choose who we wanted our funds to go to, so we decided to go with them.


LS: So does the money go straight to Haiti?
DT: Well, the money goes to UNICEF who are in conjunction with the aid effort for Haiti. They’re a charity aimed at helping with supplying water, food and nutrition to the people that need it. They help get aid to those who have no access to clean water and after the breakdown of industry, just like in Haiti .

LS: Well at least you have a friend there with you so you can support each other through it.
DT: Yeah. We’re trying to raise £3,400 each but we’re doing it together. We are doing events separately, like my Worsley building climb because we’re at different universities but we’re also doing some local events in our hometown.
    We’ve both agreed that if one person doesn’t reach their target and the other goes beyond it we’ll balance out the difference.

LS: How can our readers could offer some support and sponsor you?
DT: Yes. I have a Just Giving page. All donations would be greatly appreciated.

LS: And when is your Worsley building climb?
DT:That’ll be in the first week after Easter. It should be on Wednesday April 22.

To donate to Dean’s cause visit www.justgiving.com/dean-thomas0. All donations will be going to a good cause to help those in need after the Haiti earthquake disaster.