African adventure raises £1,500 for spinal charity

Paul Bergin and his sons, Gary and Lee, along with their pal Daniel Hegarty, jetted off to Tanzania in a bid to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, which stands at almost 20,000 feet high.

The four thrill-seekers were on a mission to raise funds for Ballygally man Peter Steele, who was left paralysed from the waist down after a freak accident in 2009. Peter has set up his own charity, Spinal Injury Northern Ireland (SpINI) in an effort to help other’s in his position.

And Gary has told how the gruelling six-day climb quickly took its toll on the group, forcing two of them to turn back before they had reached the summit.

He said: “We started to struggle during the second day of the climb with the arrival of altitude-induced headaches, which turned out to be an ongoing pain that we had to try and get used to. That night wasn’t nice either, as Daniel got sick. When he woke up the next day, he felt he couldn’t go any further. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro at full fitness is hard enough, but it would have been impossible for him to do it when he was sick. So the guide decided it would be best if he turned and came off the mountain.”

After Daniel’s sudden departure from the expedition and with the headaches getting worse, the trekkers began feeling demoralised by the third day. Gary added: “Spirits were not so good. We saw some people being carried down the mountain in a stretcher, and the landscape was completely lifeless - it was like walking along the surface of Mars.”

To keep his mind occupied, Gary decided to focus on making a SpINI sign for when the group reached the summit. “This was important because it gave me something to do - something positive that I could put my mind to and help me remember why I was climbing in the first place,” he added.

As the remaining three hikers continued their ascent on day four, they put on several layers of clothing to protect against the plummeting temperatures. And it was not long before Paul began to struggle, forcing the group to stop more often and take longer breaks. “My dad couldn’t go any further, so Lee and I said goodbye to him and pushed on, which was hard. A few hours later, Lee told me he didn’t mind if I wanted to turn back and said he would go back with me - but there was no way that was going to happen.”

As Gary and Lee struggled on towards the summit, their headaches grew even worse and they found it hard to stay awake. Gary added: “I sat down and fell asleep, but the guide said it was dangerous as I could freeze and never wake up. By this stage I was permanently out of breath and panting, and there was a tug of war going on inside me. On the one hand I really didn’t want to walk anymore, but on the other hand I also really wanted to make it to the top.”

Eventually, after battling exhaustion, a lack of food and pounding headaches, the pair reached the summit of Africa’s tallest peak. And Gary said his initially feeling was relief rather than joy. “I would like to say that I was singing and doing cartwheels, but I barely had the energy to be happy. I am not saying that I didn’t enjoy it, as it was a fantastic achievement to make it up their with my wee brother.”

Gary said that the return trip down the mountain was every bit as tough as the ascent, but he was delighted to meet up with his dad again on the way.

“Paul was a very proud father and he walked back down again with us. Getting to the bottom was a greater feeling of joy than getting to the top, because we had raised money for charity and it was now over. It was an amazing experience, something I am very proud to have accomplished and one that I will never forget.”

The group said a big thank you to everyone who donated to their cause, and encouraged people to continue sponsoring them online at www.justgiving.com/Peter-Steele-Climb-Mount-KIlimanjaro