Couple climb Kilimanjaro for the Heli2 Appeal

A couple have raised a staggering £15,000 for Cornwall Air Ambulance by taking on the Mount Kilimanjaro trek for your charity.

Having always wanted to climb Africa’s highest mountain, which stands at 5,895 metres tall, Gemma Shonfeld signed up along with partner James Law through Global Adventure Challenges.

The pair spent months preparing for the trip, by walking the Cornish coastline, trekking in the UK, carrying out altitude training and motivating each other.

They then set off on the 69-kilometre bucket list challenge in September, spanning 11 days, with the rest of their group and a team of highly trained leaders and medics. The trek took them through dense tropical rainforest, moorland and scree until reaching Uhuru Peak, the highest point.

The trek, which follows the Machame Route, approaches Kilimanjaro from the south. The route has been designed allowing gradual acclimatisation to the altitude – with an extra day included from the more traditional Machame Route, giving the platform for summit success.

Gemma said: “I think the best bit was meeting the people that we met, the team and guides, all the people doing it with us. The views were amazing, and the best bit was getting to the top, but that’s just a tiny bit of it. The experience was everything and it was like a great big family.”

James added: “There was a supermoon for the last climb and the sunrise came up just as we got the top, it couldn’t have been better.”

As well as completing the extreme challenge, the pair managed to raise £15,665 for Cornwall Air Ambulance along the way after being inspired to help their local lifesaving charity. They are now encouraging others to take on a challenge of their own.

Gemma said: “Both of us have been fortunate enough not to have ever needed the service, but living in Cornwall you see it flying over all the time. When I heard about the Heli2 Appeal on the radio I thought I wanted to be apart of that. I want to be able to look up in the sky and see the helicopter and know I helped get that helicopter up there.”

“It’s such a fantastic charity”, added James. “We all know someone who it has touched, and that’s the incredible thing. It is so empowering to go and do a challenge like that, the achievement you feel within yourself is just amazing, let alone the money you raise. It doesn’t matter what challenge you decide to do, you’re going to a great sense of achievement from it, and it will be so worthwhile.”

Inspired? Take on a challenge for Cornwall Air Ambulance in 2025: https://cornwallairambulancetrust.org/challenges/