Jeremy Gane is a founding director of Gane and Marshall and Charity Challenge. He has been involved in the travel industry in various guises for 24 years and during that time helped manage a number of high-profile events including the 2009 Celebrity Kilimanjaro Climb in aid of Comic Relief, and, more recently, the Extreme Classroom series of events as broadcast by the BBC. Jeremy's passion is mountain climbing.
We completed the Coast to Coast Hadrian’s Wall Challenge last month, reaching the sea at Little Haven Beach, South Shields, on 18th July.
The #walkingsbrilliant group was amazing. Comprised of several ex-pro footballers and other folk connected to the world of football, the group trek was undertaken to support the W.A.T.C.H. non-profit organisation, which raises funds for mental health charities and the NHS.
The challenge was over five trekking days, with each day of the trek being around 30kms, or 18 to 19 miles, and of course we did this over 5 days back to back! The total distance covered was around 90 miles / 144kms. It was a tough and demanding walk, but the group were well-prepared.
CLIMBING AND TREKKING IN EAST AFRICA – where, how and why. Part Three – Climbing Kilimanjaro
In the third of our blogs on climbing and trekking in East Africa, Jeremy Gane looks back fondly on 30 years of leading and organising Kilimanjaro climbs.
I often think of the vast, wild, high slopes of Kilimanjaro. Volcanic rock broken down by millennia of cold and wind to become a moonscape of fractured pinnacles and high-altitude desert. I love so much those higher slopes when I climb Kilimanjaro, these wild and wonderful places, where solitary raptors soar above, shy antelope, and occasionally even a leopard may cross the trail. It is peaceful there.
CLIMBING AND TREKKING IN EAST AFRICA – where, how and why. Part Two – Trekking and climbing in Kenya
South of Ethiopia is found Africa’s original safari destination and also a mecca for rock climbers, mountaineers and trekkers. My first visit to Kenya was in the late Nineties when the famous climber Mark Savage helped me organise a trek on Mount Kenya to Point Lenana – the trekkers’ peak . I recall a leaky tent, awful food and reaching Point Lenana in a heavy snowstorm. Yet, the incredible beauty of the Mount Kenya massif enthralled me. In particular the twin peaks of Nelion and Batian – the technical summits of the mountain. Back then I had no experience of rock climbing and those awesome peaks were totally off limits for me. Much later in 2015 and 2016 I was to return to attempt the technical summits of Mount Kenya – Batian and Nelion. My first and poor attempt on Batian was followed by a happier climb up to Nelion Peak and the Gate of Mists.
CLIMBING AND TREKKING IN EAST AFRICA – where, how and why. Part One – The Rift Valley and Trekking in Ethiopia
The Great African Rift is a set of wonderful geological features that can be seen from space. The Rift Valley connects Arabia to Ethiopia to Kenya to Tanzania, and so onwards south to Mozambique.
Fom the lands around the African Rift Valley come our ancestors, the earliest known hominids to walk the earth. To go full circle and to return there is a privilege which asks in return our respect for the many eco-systems of Africa.
In almost 30 years of working in adventure travel – from 1991 to 2020 – I have had the luck to climb across East Africa, in the Himalayas, in South America, in Europe and the UK. I learned to climb and trek at high altitude when I was middle-aged, and even now in old age I hope to carry on climbing for as long as possible. In fact, a return to Kilimanjaro and a third crack at Mawenzi – little known, but still Africa’s third highest peak – is next on my list! In this series of posts, I will look back on some of my climbing experiences so far. In doing so, I hope to illustrate how middle and old age need not be a barrier to climbing, and how anyone can also climb and trek these wonderful worldwide peaks. The posts will also look forward to after Corona, when climbing and trekking peaks will once again be open – and wild and beautiful as ever.
In the second of her blogs detailing her journey into Antarctica, G&M wildlife consultant Sarah Williams recounts her time spent cruising around South Georgia Island.
Our first landing on South Georgia was at Salisbury Plain, home to grumpy fur seals as well as many thousands of King penguins. The sight of King penguins as far as the eye could see, gathered under beautiful snow-covered mountains, was a vision that I will never forget. So many wildlife programmes have been filmed here, and so it was very special to be observing all the action first hand. There were large groups, known as creche’s, of brown furry youngsters who were vocalising a constant whistling sound as they tried to attract the attention of their parents returning with food – how the adults find their own chicks amongst the huddle is just astonishing!
With the right preparation and the right climb – you can summit Kilimanjaro and enjoy it!
To help you climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro, Jeremy Gane, Project Manager of the 100% successful Comic Relief Red Nose Day Climb of Kilimanjaro 2009, lists 5 Key Notes:
Now the North Face climb group are encamped on the north side of Kilimanjaro. Their location is a completely new camp on a level, sheltered strip of land below a vast scree slope and steep rocky ridges.
It’s day 2 of the North Face climb, and our team of intrepid trekkers have just ascended all the way to Barranco Camp via the very steep, and rarely-trodden, Umbwe Trail.
