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22
Sept 2024
Knaresborough men tackle Mount Kilimanjaro for cancer charity
Two Knaresborough men have tackled Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
Cancer survivor Michael Moorey, 64, and friend Lewis Denton, 60, embarked on an eight-day trek in Tanzania up the world’s tallest freestanding mountain earlier this month.
Almost 19 years ago Michael underwent lifesaving surgery for a cancerous tumour on his liver. He was told if he had the same cancer a few years earlier it would have been untreatable.
Thanks to advances in cancer treatment, however, he made a full recovery.
He took early retirement after working in the motor trade for 40 years and wanted to “take on a different challenge”.
The pair decided to take on the incredible challenge in what started as a chat in the pub.
They decided to take on the challenge for Cancer Research UK and their challenge was self-funded, meaning every penny donated will go directly to the charity.
Their initial target was £3,000 which they have now exceeded.
They have currently raised over £4,000 and aim to reach £5,000 within the next six weeks, before the fundraiser ends.
The pair set off on the climb on September 6. On their journey along the Lemosho Route they passed through different climate regions from rainforest to glaciers and reached dizzying heights of 5,895 metres.
They joined a team of around twenty people, four fellow climbers and a team made up of guides, porters, and chefs.
They camped each night along the mountain and walked for up to five hours each day.
Camp with the Baranco wall in the background
Michael Moorey told the Stray Ferret that the challenge was “truly incredible.”
He added:
Staying In the tent was filthy there was dust everywhere and trying to stay clean was impossible, it really surprised me.
The team were incredible, the porters packed down camp and carried our tents and the food was good considering where we were. We had pizza one night and even had deep fried jam butties. Everyone just made the best of efforts.
On summit night, September 12, they began walking at midnight to see the sunrise along the way, it took them ten hours to reach the top, arriving just before 10am and battling altitude sickness.
He said:
By the time I got to the summit I was more relieved than feeling a sense of achievement but now the sense of achievement is incredible the money raised and the sights we saw make it wonderful.
It then took three hours to descend the summit.
Lewis Denton (left) and Michael Moorey at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro
Michael said:
The altitude sickness was the worst thing by far. We both worked to get reasonably fit and overall, the walks weren’t too bad, it was just the constant feeling of nausea, but it was offset by the breathtaking views and stunning terrain.
We were looking down onto clouds and there were the most incredible sunrises and sunsets.
I have utter respect to anyone who has tried it, it is not for the faint hearted. We saw a few people turn back around and heard there were around seven helicopter evacuations while we were climbing.
As you get older things become more of a challenge but I’m fitter now than I was 18 months ago.
The pair got back to the UK at 6.30am last Sunday (September 15) and Michael told the Stray Ferret that he is currently “in recovery mode” and has lost a few toenails since.
Upon their return to Knaresborough Michael, Lewis, and their wives celebrated by going to the Guy Fawkes Arms in Scotton for “a very civilised Sunday lunch”
He added that he has got “a couple of future challenges in mind, nut nothing quite as crazy.”
He said:
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has donated and would ask anyone who hasn’t already to donate to a worthwile cause.
To donate click here.
A sunset over Mt Meru, captured by Michael Moorey on Mt Kilimanjaro
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