The pair departed from the UK on August 14 and the next day started the assent/descent and acclimatization programme on nearby Mount Meru, which is itself 14,000 feet high. The Kilimanjaro climb commenced on August 19 and it took four and a half days to climb and one and a half days to descend.

Although the challenge was extremely physical, Quentin Stott believes that he and Kevin were even more emotionally drained by the experience. “Both Kevin and I thought it was more of a mental than a physical challenge,” he said. “We had hour after hour of walking each day, while feeling the effects of altitude sickness. We also suffered poor hygiene with bad food preparation from the cooks, squalid toilets, and the strain of being away from home for two weeks!”

“We reached the summit after a 7.5 hour climb from the high camp,” he continued. “We departed at midnight walking in pitch darkness only using head torches until sunrise at 6.30am. The last hour was walking in daybreak around the crater rim from Stella Point to Uhuru peak which stands at 5,895 metres (nearly 20,000 feet).”

The most moving part of the experience was when the pair unfurled their banner at the summit. “That was a very emotional moment and I had a sense of punctuating the last year’s focus on raising money and awareness in memory of Dylan,” said Stott.

“I just want to say thank you now to everyone who pledged money and helped us raise a staggering £42,000 for Meningitis UK. I’d also like to say a special thank you to Kevin Temple, who was with me every step of the way. He is a true friend.”

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