Personal message

Hi guys

 

As you might know, on 03 Feb I will be attempting something more challenging than Accounts III but less challenging that trying to understand women (jokes jokes, Accounts III is not that bad :-) I'm taking on Mount Kilimanjaro. I'm not quite sure why I'd want to willing put myself in a situation where I would not have access to a nice hot shower, fresh water or toilet facilities for a week, where I would be subject to rain, hail, snow blizzards, biting wind, temperatures of  -15 degrees, sleeping on a piece of thin foam in a flimsy tent, when I could be nice, warm and comfortable at home. Maybe I'm just mad and cant resist the thrill of adventure.

 

Anyway, I've decided to add a charity spin to this climb and have selected the Smile Foundation (http://www.smilefoundationsa.org/) as the beneficiary. Very simply, I am inviting you to make a pledge to this cause should I succeed in making it to the summit. The foundation raises money for kids that are born with facial deformaties, cleft palates or are disfigured after burns. I'm not expecting to raise thousands, nor do I believe I can change the world, but I would like to try at least :-) I'm not going to inundate you with reminders or spam you to death, if you would like to pledge, go to the page I have set-up at http://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/profile/Nolan-Naidoo. You just need to click on "Kilimanjaro Climb 2012" to go to the page where you can make your pledge. The money goes directly to Smile Foundation and Back-a-Buddy takes 5% for their website fee.

 

Depending where you get your info from, the the climb success rates vary. But it appears that the average success rate is around 60%. So there is realistically a 40% chance I might not make the summit, but if you wish you may still pledge a donation for the attempt! The main reason climbers don’t make it to the top is due to altitude sickness. If you don’t know what that is about, try this, instead of taking in a normal breath, take in air for just 1 second. Then breathe out 20 seconds later. Repeat for 4 hours and throw nausea and disorientation into the mix. As one ascends, the air is extremely thin, so depending how your body acclimatises, that is what breathing may feel like. Its been clinically proven that you will never know how your body will respond to the altitude challenges unless you are in the situation. Overweight smokers have summitted with no hassle and professional athletes have not made it past day 4. It really is your luck of the draw. So wish me luck!

 

Some other quick fact about Kili in case you are interested:

- 5 900m high (6 times higher than Table Mountain)

- Highest mountain in Africa and tallest free-standing mountain in the world

- The climb takes you through 5 major eco-zones: rainforest, heath, moorland, alpine desert and glaciers

- The climb will be different in 20 years time as the glaciers are expected to be completely melted due to global warming

 

If I make it to the summit, I would like to be called Ninja in future.

Thank you.

Nolan

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