Big news from atop one of the world’s largest and most iconic volcanoes! The old rustic sign that sits at Kilimanjaro’s Uhuru peak has now been replaced with a shiny new green one! Compare the two signs below and let us know which one you think is better!
New Kilimanjaro Sign
Old Kilimanjaro Sign
Last night, there was a gathering at Buckingham Palace in honour of the UK contribution to the world of Adventure and Exploration. It was timed to mark the 100th anniversary of Captain Robert Scott’s final expedition to the South Pole*, and was hosted by Her Majesty the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.
Those in attendance included Sir David Attenborough, Sir Chris Bonington, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Michael Palin, Dame Ellen MacArthur, Bear Grylls and we are very humbled to announce that Simon Albert, one of Charity Challenges founding Directors was also invited. As you know the company has supported many thousands of people over the last 12 years to achieve incredible adventures whilst raising over £35m pounds for many worthwhile causes.
Simon said “I was honoured to have been invited and so inspired by the room of legendary explorers, it was quite incredible. I am addicted to Frozen Planet and anything travel documentary related so this was an amazing night for me. In 2011, we launched and ran our first North Pole challenge, and in 2012, one hundred years after Captain Scott’s now infamous expedition took place, we will be helping other adventurers to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for their chosen charities skiing the last degree.”
For more information on the polar challenges please visit www.charitychallenge.com
*On June 15, 1910, a group of explorers, led by Captain Robert Scott, set sail for Antarctica on board the Terra Nova. After months of preparation and planning, the team left base camp and eventually reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912. But their elation was short-lived after discovering that Amundsen’s Norwegian team had arrived before them. On their return journey, Scott and his entire team died from exhaustion, starvation and the freezing conditions.
What with this cold winter weather starting to set in, I thought this was as fine a time as any to reflect on my journey to the fiery Mt Etna, back in September…
Trekking up Mt Etna, day 1…
The Etna volcanic challenge began on September 22, 2011, and we were a little apprehensive as we set out from the Rifugio lodge where we had spent our first night in Sicily. We’d 
had a hearty breakfast of croissants, cheese and tea and coffee, and even then our apprehension was apparent as I spread my bread roll with a layer of butter, then Nutella, then another layer of butter! And my fellow trekker (and now friend) Cara accidently poured orange juice into her coffee. But we were as ready as we were ever going to be, so we set off into the forests of Sicily. The first thing to strike us was the scenery, obviously and predictably it was beautiful, but I wasn’t expecting such variety. Dense pine forests with tall willowy trees gave way to cliff edge pathways bordered with evergreens which in turn gave way to meadow grasslands.
We soon came upon the first of many lava fields we were to cross that day, and instantly, as if crossing a partition line, the variety, greenery and trees cut off and gave way to mounds upon mounds of blackened dried lava. The trees just stopped and gritty dusty gravelly Lava took over, I looked up at the lava field and imagined it pouring all the way from Etna’s crater. In my slightly Sci-Fi obsessed mind, I thought I’d stumbled into Morder – with all this unspoiled scenery, my mind was throwing up all sorts of Lord of The Rings references (and I could almost see Elves and Wargs running around behind the trees). The guides helpfully broke me out of my Tolkien daydreams as they told us a bit about how the lava is created and also some of the history of the eruptions that lead to this particular lava attack. All in all, it proved a majestic introduction to the true force of nature that is Mt Etna!
As we trekked on, the greenery reappeared as startlingly as it disappeared. And once again we were enamoured by the startling views of the natural landscape. By then, we were a couple of hours into what was to be a solid 9 hours or so of trekking and already fatigue was taking its toll. My backpack was not just heavy it was HEAVY! I would shirk at the thought of carrying such a weight across the street, let alone carry it on my back for miles and miles. The straps were beginning to dig into my shoulders, and at some stages it became a case of just putting one foot in front of the other, and reminding myself that the only way I could get to a place where I could stop, was to keep on walking. I soon realised that my trekking heroes were my walking pole (God knows I would have been on the ground within an hour without it – couldn’t recommend it enough!), my fellow trekker Rachel, an experienced charity challenger who kept me going by feeding me Worthers Originals, and Rob, who gallantly offered to carry my heavy water bottle on various occasions and kept me entertained with talk about some of the history and mythology surrounding Sicily. The guides were also great at keeping us entertained and they made sure that we had plenty of rest and snack breaks, and also often took us aside to point out some of Etna’s more stunning natural landmarks, such as some amazing underground caves that had been carved out but the lava. My ‘Lord of the Rings’ delusions quickly gave way to ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ and I had to fight serious temptations to disappear deeper into the volcanic tubes in search of an underground world of dinosaurs and giant mushrooms!
The last few hours of trekking on that first day seems to be a blur of imposing scenery, aching feet and Worthers Originals. W
hen the hut finally come into sight, it sure was a sight for sore eyes, and sore feet, and sore legs, generally just a sight fit for a sore anatomy! It was a rustic old hut, pretty much just walls and a roof and nothing more. It become apparent very quickly that things were basic, but at least it was a place where we could stop walking for a bit. We had a lovely meaty barbeque for dinner, and I found myself getting into my sleeping bag embarrassingly early, as my fellow trekkers made their way to bed around me, I tried to man up to thoughts of the legions of creepy crawleys that must be inhabiting this place. I switched on my reading light and read some Agatha Christie, it felt like a tiny bit of luxury, which somehow felt that much more rewarding and damn well earned when I looked back on my first day of hard core trekking!
If my experience of my first day in Sicily has inspired you, check out our Etna Volcanic Adventure Challenge here (currently on special money off promotion!), and subscribe to this blog to hear about what happened on my next two days of trekking. To keep up to date on all our challenge news, both volcanic and not, please enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.
We’ve got an Everest Base Camp expedition heading out next week, so we thought it only fitting that we spend some time contemplating altitude. High Altitude can sometimes be a forgotten factor for beginner mountaineers, but when scaling a mountain such as Mt Kilimanjaro or trekking to Everest Base Camp, reaction to high altitude can be the make or break factor!
Here at Charity Challenge, we always want to see as many of you as possible smiling down from the mountain summit, so we work with the London based ‘Altitude centre’ to
bring you the most up-to-date news, training methods and high altitude coping mechanisms. Indeed, Altitude experts at the altitude centre state that the preparations for high altitude are just as important as fitness training when it comes to our mountain challenges.
“To climb a mountain you need a certain level of fitness, but fitness alone will not get you to the top. As you climb higher, the air gets thinner. Each lungful at altitude gives you less oxygen so your body has to work harder to maintain the supply” says Richard from the Altitude Centre.
High Altitude isn’t always simple to get your head around, so I’ve asked the experts to answer some of the most commonly asked questions.
So what is “High Altitude”? And what effect will it have on me?
High altitude generally refers to altitudes greater than 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) above sea level. As altitude increases, atmospheric pressure decreases, which affects humans by reducing the partial pressure of oxygen, basically, there is less available oxygen to breathe as you get higher
At what height do I need to start worrying about high altitude?
The lack of oxygen above 2,400 metres (8,000 ft.) can cause altitude sickness. Altitude sickness, also known as acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the effect of high altitude on humans caused by acute exposure to altitude. It commonly occurs above 2,400m (approx. 8,000feet). The symptoms can be similar to the common flu, severe AMS can be life threatening.
How can I test how susceptible I am to reduced oxygen?
We offer an AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) consultation where you can find out immediately how your body reacts to breathing reduced Oxygen as found at altitude. During the consultation you will be tested at reduced oxygen levels found at 3000m and 5000m to see how you will cope. Our Altitude specialist will also offer tips and guidance which you can use on your trip up the mountain.
(Charity Challenge itineraries we allow good acclimatisation schedules to help your body gradually adjust to reduced oxygen levels, thereby allowing better acclimatisation.)
What can I do to prepare for High Altitude conditions?
At the Altitude Centre, we use the latest technology to simulate altitude conditions. You can come into our office and do a 15-day IHE (Intermittent Hypoxic Exposure) course, designed to pre acclimatise you for your trip. We also hire out machines so you can pre acclimatise in the comfort of your own home, either whilst watching TV or via an altitude tent which will allow you to acclimatise while you sleep! Visit 
our website www.altitudecentre.com to find out more about preparing for trips to altitude.
Here at the office, we’re often asked about effects of high altitude on our more mountainous challenges, so we’re really happy to be working with the team at the Altitude Centre in bringing you a series of altitude focussed blogs, which will cover everything altitude that you need to know to make it to the top of the mountain.
If you want to learn more about high altitude and how it affects you, subscribe to this blog and visit the ‘Altitude centre’ website for up-to-date news, and information about booking a high altitude preparation session.
To keep up to date on all our challenge news, both mountainous and not, please enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.
In May of this year Charity Challenge sent me over to Peru to spend some time with our local leaders, guides and porters to do some retraining in health, safety and welfare with our local staff.
It was a great experience for me to get out and see one of our challenges in action rather than just organising it from my desk half way across the world in North London! Best of all was to see just how enthusiastic our local crew are about working with Charity Challenge groups.
My favourite part of the trip was to spe
nd some time with the porters for our challenges, who in my view are the unsung hero’s of our expeditions. They work like titans to get your luggage moved from one campsite to another, your tents set up for you in the evening and the chefs tent and mess tent up so that you can have a warm cup of coca tea waiting for you when you get back into the camp and it was fascinating to learn how they work as a team to get all these jobs done quickly and safely.
We spent time together with all of the crew learning how to work together so that both the team and all of the passengers stay safe and happy, we went on to do some role play exercises and brainstormed some new ideas on how we could keep up and improve all this fantastic work.
Of course I loved being out on the Lares route – it’s unspoiled beauty, meeting the local communities and the incredible clear starry skies at night were fa
ntastic, but I really believe it is our outstanding local crew that make the experience of trekking in the Andean mountains a once in a lifetime experience.
“We are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size.”
-Ng a Ton g, Porter
Great porters, and also – if the above quote is anything to go by – great poets!
To learn more about our responsible tourism policies , stay tuned to this blog series (by clicking the orange RSS button). If you’d like to receive up-to-date news on our latest challenges, promotions and developments, please enter your name and email address into the adjacent box.
The Charity Challenge top training tips for cycling:
1. Get up an hour earlier and go out for a quick cycle in the morning before work.
2. If you can cycle to work, do so. If you get to work by public transport, get off a stop or two earlier than usual, so that you can cycle some distance each day. If you drive, park further away than usual, get the cycle out of the car and cycle the rest of the distance 
to work.
3. Cross training such as swimming, squash, badminton, running, walking and any other sport will also help get you prepared.
4. Joining a leisure centre is a good idea as the local fitness instructors may well be able to design a programme specifically for you using the many different cycle trainers in gyms. Most good gyms have exercise bikes and leg resistance trainers.
5. Book onto a regular spinning class and / or circuit training class to improve your leg strength and stamina.
6. Book weekends away with the family or friends to some mountainous region in the UK to experience cycling on different road surfaces with different gradients and in a mountain environment to test out all your equipment.
7. Book onto the Pre-Expedition Training Weekends in Snowdonia run by Expedition Wise.
8. Turbo trainers are very good, although quite expensive to buy – try out e-bay. They come in to their own in the long winter months as they enable you to train indoors on a “real” bike. It will keep you fit and get you used to the shape of your bike. Fluid turbo trainers are quieter if noise is a problem in your household and changing the tyres to road tyres will help if you are using a mountain bike.
9. Use your lunchtimes to take regular brisk walks or cycle around your work area.
10. You should make the time to cycle on some consecutive long days as on the training schedule. It is the accumulation of cycling day after day that really tests you on expedition.
Click here to check out all our cycle challenges. For more challenge tips, stay tuned to this blog series (by clicking the orange RSS button). If you’d like to receive up-to-date news on our latest challenges, promotions and developments, please enter your name and email address into the adjacent box.
These notes were compiled by Brian Jackson, BA (Hons) in Sport, Health and Physical Education, who operates a series of Pre-Expedition Training Weekends for both trekking and cycling charity challenges. See www.charitychallenge.com for more information.
