Sunday 15 May 2011

Martin Osborne

Martin Osborne raised over £5,000 for Wood Green by climbing the highest mountain in Africa in memory of his sister.

Mr Osborne (38), from Sleaford, trekked to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in September in aid of the charity, a charity close to the heart of his sister, Bridget.

It took Martin five days to reach the Uhuru Peak, 5,895 metres above sea level, and only 14 out of the 22 people Martin trekked with made it to the top because of altitude sickness.

Mr Osborne said: 'Although the initial trek through the rainforest to the foothills of the mountain was fairly easy going, once we reached 4,000 metres it was tough and we all started to suffer from the lack of oxygen.

It made me feel very lightheaded but I was determined not to let down my sister or the people who had sponsored me.

'When we reached the summit at 8am on Thursday 23rd September I felt very relieved and very pleased to have done it. I enjoyed it so much I’m doing a 10-day trek to Machu Picchu in Peru!'.