THREE West Cork men discovered their shared love for hiking, which brought them together during Covid-19, and decided to channel this passion into raising funds for various charities and encouraging others to take up hiking.
In August as part of the Get Up that Hill (GUTH) initiative, the three, along with seven others friends tested their physical and mental endurance to the limit, as they undertook their ultimate hike, by scaling 5,895 meters of Kilimanjaro, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world and one of the Seven Summits.
Self-funding the cost of their trip, all of the funds raised from individual supporters, their employers, and sponsors, is to be divided equally between three charities: the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA), Save Elders Tanzania; and the Irish Kidney Association (IKA). With funds still coming in since their expedition in August, to date €11,500 has been raised through their online GoFundMe platform.
The group includes Ruairi Mensink, from Allihies, Ciarán O’Sullivan, from Castletownbere, and Seamus Lyons from Eyeries.
Ciarán who works in Operations for Australian Tech company Halaxy, explained: ‘Seamus, Ruairi and myself went to the same school together, Beara Community School. Through networking and our college connections there are now 10 of us who, together, hiked Kilimanjaro and have forged friendships for life. It was a phenomenal experience and unforgettable personal achievement for each and every one of us.
‘It took us seven days and six nights to complete and in that time we hiked through rainforest, moorland, and the daily changes in temperature of the alpine desert from extreme heat to freezing cold.
‘The scenery was spectacular and different every single day and the terrain and altitude changes brought different challenges including headaches, muscle pain and difficulty breathing.
‘Fortunately, we had recruited four local guides who could help us prepare and navigate through the terrain and, when our resolve began to falter, we gave each other encouragement to push through, motivated by our pledge to help three deserving causes.
‘We took the time away from our workplaces as annual holiday leave and self-financed our trip determined that every cent raised went into the fundraising pot.’
Meanwhile, the Irish Kidney Association’s 37th Annual Service of Remembrance & Thanksgiving for organ donors and transplant recipients will be broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Radio 1 at 11am on Sunday October 30th.
