Kilimanjaro climbers raise £180k for hospital

The group reached the summit to boost the hospital's appeal to transform its front entrance

More than £180,000 has been raised for Birmingham Children's Hospital, after a group of 28 people climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

A lot had suffered with altitude sickness, said Mike Weaver, who had the idea, before all the group reached the summit in Tanzania.

The money will go towards the hospital's £3m appeal to transform its front entrance to help reduce the fear of the 100,000 sick children treated at the site every year.

Mr Weaver said everyone "supported everybody" and appealed for more money, as the aim was to get £200,000.

The group achieved its ambition on Thursday, six days after starting the journey, with the climber admitting all of them "knew that it was gonna be a challenge".

But he added: "When it came to it, I think none of us expected how much of a bigger challenge it was going to be."

Asked to set the scene ahead of reaching the summit, he said it was an "eight, nine-hour climb from that point" in the early hours of Thursday.

"So it's the equivalent of climbing Snowdon plus another couple of hundred metres after trekking for so many days."

Mike Weaver (centre, wearing reflective glasses) said the team were "just brilliant"

"I think after we'd been trekking for five hours in my group, we asked 'how much longer?'"

"They said 'another three hours to the top' and your heart sinks, because it's dark, it's tiring, there's lack of oxygen and you're just going uphill constantly."

But he also said every day the team "just grew closer and closer" and "that summit night will live in the memories of all of us for a very, very long time".

Mr Weaver added: "It was such a wonderful experience. The team bonded together so, so well."

It was "such a massive challenge for us all", Mr Weaver said

A lot did not know each other beforehand and it was the hardest challenge any of them had undertaken, he stated.

The participants had "so many great letters, from the children, from the hospital".

"I just thought about all the kids that we're doing it for and I know a lot of the team did exactly the same and that was all the motivation that we needed to get up that mountain."

The 28 people, who returned to the UK at the weekend, were pictured after making their way back down Mount Kilimanjaro on Thursday and Friday

Asked if he would take on any other projects in the near future, Mr Weaver replied: "I have mentioned a couple of other ideas to people.

"But they quickly went in the opposite direction. So I'll have to try and catch up with them soon!"