“It’s one of the best and hardest things I’ve ever done”: Weston Park Cancer Charity trustee David Grey MBE on climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

Last October, 9 intrepid Weston Park Cancer Charity supporters had the adventure of a lifetime when they hiked up Mount Kilimanjaro.

The 8-day trek saw the group ascend to heights of 19,400 feet, braving altitude and rocky terrain to raise an incredible £140k for our ‘see it. treat it.’ appeal.

This campaign seeks to raise £1.85 million for a breakthrough MRI simulator, which will transform the way we plan and deliver radiotherapy at the hospital.

Here, our trustee David Grey MBE shares his Mount Kilimanjaro experience and explains why you should consider taking on the challenge in 2027!

It’s fair to say that I like a challenge and I love anything to do with speed. But one thing I can’t stand is walking up hills – so I knew from the outset that climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was going to be a real challenge for me!

I was 68 at the time and had undergone heart surgery 12 months before. So, when the suggestion that a group of us go for a little yomp up Kili, I thought “why not?”.

I spent a year training, to make sure I was as prepared as possible. I signed up to a local hiking group, and I had weekly training sessions with an ex Royal Marines Commando, Robbie Spence. We’re lucky in Sheffield because we’ve got beautiful scenery and lots of big hills. They’re not 19,000 feet, but hiking up and down them was still good practice.

The adventure begins

As we flew out to Tanzania, all I could think about was succeeding and getting myself to the summit. Within 48 hours, that had completely changed. It became much more important to me that everyone in our team reached the top together. The youngest in our group was 20 and we were all very different people - but we got on incredibly well and everyone supported each other. It was just a tremendous group of individuals.

On average, we climbed for about 7 hours each day. I really thought it would be hiking up trails but there is a fair amount of rock climbing as well. Nothing that you need ropes for but still a challenge for the lungs and knees.

One of my favourite days came halfway through the trek. We were walking across a flat plain and it was around 23 degrees. I remember thinking – this is my kind of hike! We came to a place called Cathedral Point and then we had to climb up a big, rocky outcrop. It was tough going, but when we reached the top, we could see for 100 miles in every direction. There was nothing to see but nature. We could have been the last dozen people on the planet. It was awe-inspiring. It felt like you could touch the sky.

Final summit day

Our final summit day kicked off at 6am. We were at 13,500 feet and at that altitude, everything is hard work. Getting dressed and putting away sleeping bags, sorting out kit, brushing teeth etc took the better part of 40 minutes. We then had breakfast and got our backpack together, so it was 07:30am by the time we were ready to move.

We climbed to 15,000 feet which took us until the late afternoon. We rested for a couple of hours, then had dinner and slept for 3 hours. We then repeated the morning’s fun and games.

There are several routes up Kilimanjaro, but everyone congregates at the bottom of the final summit. There is an endless sea of tents with climbers leaving for the summit every few minutes. We joined the stream at 11.30pm. It was pitch black outside and with our head torches switched on, we started our 9-hour climb to the summit. I stopped looking up as I found the mountain ahead daunting. I kept my head down and repeated my mantra of “just one more step” (keep reading for an explanation of that!).

As we walked, the sun started to come up, inch by inch. At 05:30am, we stopped and sat together as a warm red glow emerged from the ground and bathed everything in the most beautiful colour. It was so calm and peaceful.

When we finally got to the top I thought I’d be jumping around in delight, but I was wiped out! I gave everyone a big hug, and we got some group photos. You can only stay up there for about 15 minutes because there’s 47% of the oxygen at the summit that you find at sea level and our team leader was keen to get us back to where there was a bit more air to breathe.

Unfortunately, we were not finished. We then had to descend to a safe altitude of 12,500 feet for our last night. That took another 7 hours. It is fair to say that we were pretty tired by the time we got to bed.

Reflecting on the challenge

It’s a great feeling to have raised over £140k for Weston Park Cancer Charity. It’s a fantastic charity and, as a trustee, I know that every penny will be put to really good use.

Everyone has their own reasons for taking on Mount Kilimanjaro; I had three. First and most importantly, I wanted to raise a load of money for the charity. Secondly, I wanted to show my grandchildren that if you put your heart and soul into something, you can achieve anything. And finally, I wanted to see if my surgeon was as good as everyone said he was!

The best advice that I received (and you will receive a lot of advice, if you decide to go) came from my ex Royal Marine Commando trainer, Robbie Spence. I will share it with you, because it applies to life as much as anything else. He said:

There are 4 things that will allow you to fail.

1. Organisation. If that is poor, you will forget something vitally important.
2. Kit. Make sure that it is of good quality and fit for the purpose. If your boots or straps rub, or your equipment doesn’t keep you warm, dry or cool – it will grind you down.
3. Altitude. There is nothing that you can do except proper acclimatisation. You are either susceptible to it or not.
4. The most important thing is inside your head. It is so easy to find a reason to stop. When you are exhausted, wet through, cold, morale on the floor or injured – it is easy to give up. Remember this. No matter how bad you feel, you can always walk one more step. And if you can walk one more step then you can walk one more step.

I can honestly say that climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the best and hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. I’m extremely proud that I did it, and I got so much out of it personally. To anyone considering signing up, I’d say go for it!

To register your interest and receive more information on our 2027 Mount Kilimanjaro hike, please email events@wpcancercharity.org.uk.