Angus Scott-Brown has just returned to his Scottish homeland after successfully summitting Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise funds for the Highland and Islands Society for Blind People.

“My initial interest in climbing Kilimanjaro for charity for charity started when my employer’s charity drive looked for possible participants to join a group expedition.  Unfortunately, I was not selected, but my research fuelled my desire to do it anyway” says Angus.  “My first challenge was to select a charity, “Angus continues “My grandmother suffered from glaucoma for a number of years, and my father suffered from macular degeneration, further complicated by diabetic retinopathy, before he passed away in 2010.  The Highland and Islands Society for Blind People provides care for those who are registered visually impaired and also helps to employ disabled workers in Inverness.  My family were first involved with the charity over 25 years ago, when my mother was a fundraiser for them so it seemed a perfect fit given our family history.”

“Fundraising was certainly a challenge given the current economic situation” explains Angus.  “I mainly raised money through a raffle which had a number of prizes from local companies or companies with connections with the Highlands.  Go Outdoors, in Inverness, were particularly very supportive. I also set up a fundraising page at www.kili2012.com, which is still open for donations.”

“Private Kilimanjaro, the climb tour operator, have been supportive from the start. Given my erratic communications as I struggled to get everything finalized and finance the trip, it would have been easy for them just to throw their hands up and tell me to forget about it, but they never did” adds Angus

My guide, Elibahati, was great and right from the very first day, he got me into the rhythm for reaching the top.  Unfortunately, I saw other people on Mount Kilimanjaro having a radically different experience, having been told to start the hike on their own and their guide would catch them up- an hour after we first saw them upon arrival, they were still sitting at the registration hut, no sign of the guide and no tents to relax in.  So a warning to other climbers, just make sure you choose a good climb operator like I did, it makes all the difference; make sure you ask for real live testimonials.”

“To add to the challenge I decided to sleep in Crater Camp, an experience not to be missed! It was a tough, steep descent down into the Crater after having summitted Uhuru Peak at 5554 metres, but the peace and quiet of the highest camp site in Africa was amazing, as was the chance to look into the Reusch Crater.”

“Would I do it again?” asks Angus.   “I really don’t know.  It was definitely a challenge, and allowed a lot of self- evaluation.  I might be tempted to try a different Kilimanjaro route, however, I have also set my sights on a Himalayan challenge – Mera Peak sounds great, at 6654m it is a greater height than Kilimanjaro, and I understand gives great views of Everest!”

Jane Deakin of Private Kilimanjaro commented “A big congratulations to Angus, not only for scaling one of the world’s 7 highest summits, but also raising funds for charity.  Mount Kilimanjaro is a tough mountain to climb due to the rapid ascent to high altitude and not all people cope well with that, but Angus really stepped up to the challenge.   Sleeping in Kibo Crater is an amazing appearance achieved by only a few, but it is definitely not for the faint-hearted and must only be undertaken by those who have acclimatized well or who have previous experience at altitude.”