A RAHEEN grandmother has achieved a tremendous feat by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. Norrie Sherlock, from the Father Russell Road, mother of two and grandmother of two, wanted a challenge, and made the decision to climb the mountain in aid of The National Children’s Hospital in Tallaght this March, managing to raise almost €6,000 for the charity.
Preparation for the monumental challenge included hill walking with the Limerick climbing club, before heading out on her adventure on March 19.
“A friend was supposed to go with me but pulled out, so I was on my own heading over”, Norrie told the Limerick Post.
“But I met up with 26 others who were taking part in the walk, that was organised by www.actionchallenge.com, in Heathrow. From Heathrow to Nairobi and then on to Kilimanjaro airport, I got to know some of the group. On arrival we met up with a further 12 who had taken a different route”.
Norrie explained that the group met with their guides and porters at the gate to the National Park and began the first leg of the journey to reach the summit of Africa’s highest free-standing mountain.
“We trekked for eight hours through lush rainforest on Sunday to sleep under the canvas in the Machame camp at 2980 metres.
“Porters working in the national park are incredible people carrying everything from tents to cooking equipment on their heads”.
The next two days the group also spent walking for eight or nine hours.
“We were always trying to acclimatise. Some people got bad headaches, but I’m not sure they were from the malaria tablets, the Diamox tablets to treat altitude sickness, or the altitude itself”.
Wednesday was the crunch day for the group, who faced the last stretch to the summit.
“Our first task was to scale the famous Barranco Wall, a sheer wall with narrow paths that zig zag to the top. Locals call it breakfast”.
After a rest and dinner the group took off again at 11pm in order to reach the summit at daybreak.
“We had snow from the base of the mountain and a snow blizzard which made it very very cold, around -21C.
“Around 6am, I got to Stella Point, and the views were unbelievable. Another hour got me to The Roof of Africa and the famous sign Uhuru Peak 5895 m. It was one of the most fantastic feelings reaching the top”.
Of Norrie’s group of 36, 26 reached the summit, two got frostbite and eight got altitude sickness.
“This has been one of the most physically, mentally and emotionally demanding things I have ever done but I am so happy to have achieved it. I couldn’t have done it without my porter Byson, or my husband, Tom, who texted words of encouragement every day”.
After taking a rest for the rest of the year, Norrie is planning a new adventure in the near future.
Our picture shows Norrie Sherlock and her porter Byson at The Roof of Africa
