To the roof of Africa

A trek on the beautiful peak of Mount Kilimanjaro - the roof of Africa, one of the world's coveted seven summits, is a daunting, exciting challenge in defiance of extreme altitude.

The scenery along the climb is awe-inspiring, humbling, primaeval and indescribably beautiful, yet looking at the summit one is constantly reminded of ominous warnings. Mount Kilimanjaro has become something of an icon to environmentalists because of its rapidly vanishing glaciers and ice cap. Climatologists predict that in 15 to 20 years there will be no ice left on the mountain.

The effect of that on the surrounding area and its economy will be devastating. The Chagga people of the region depend on the water flowing from the glaciers for their crops, and their water supplies, not to mention the tourism benefits of some 20,000 visitors trekking up the mountain annually to see the glaciers for themselves.

A climbing party of 20 Maltese volunteers, coming from all walks of life and aged between their early 20s to early 50s, has just completed the challenge with flying colours, beating the statistical odds of a 70 per cent success rate by getting 95 per cent of the team to the 5,895-metre high summit at Uhuru Peak.

The euphoria following the success was dampened by the news that three Americans had been killed the same day climbing the mountain from the far side, at Arrow Glacier Camp near the Western Breach.

The Kilimanjaro Challenge 2 team reached the summit on January 4. Now all that's left for them to do is to complete the even bigger challenge of raising Lm38,000 for the construction of a convent and medical clinic adjacent to the school in Bulbula, Ethiopia, built with the funds raised by last year's first Kilimanjaro Challenge.

Donations may be made via SMS on the following numbers: 5061 8076 (Lm2), 5061 8927 (Lm3) and 5061 9203 (Lm5).

Donations can also be made at Bank of Valletta account number 40014418635, HSBC account 061020731050 and at the APS account 200003165100.

Kilimanjaro Challenge 2 was sponsored by Nivea, Alberta Firefighting and Security Equipment, Quaker Energy Mix, Attard Brothers Co. Ltd and Urban Jungle, among others.

More photos may be seen at http://www.timesofmalta.com/misc/news/kilimanjaro/index.htm