In early March, lifelong Blues supporter Tony Heald went on a 7 day trek to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. It began with a flight to Addis Ababa then a second flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport, total distance over 4900 miles and a journey time of 16 hours. If you like a challenge, here is a summary of what is involved.

The first four days involve 21 hours of hiking to an altitude of 12700 feet. For those of you who have climbed Mount Snowdon, that ascent is only 2410 feet! The next two days involve just 8 hours climbing through the thin cold air to a height of 15090 feet, giving chance to acclimatise ready for the final ascent. The final day begins at 11 pm, climbing for 7 hours in darkness before sunrise, then a further 1 hour climb to the freezing 19341 feet summit, followed by a further 7 hours trek down to the final camp. That is 15 hours of trekking through thin air in extremely cold conditions.

On reaching the summit, Tony had just seconds to remove his high altitude top to reveal the LFC shirt he had worn for the final day of the climb. The dedication of some supporters knows no bounds. Well done Tony!

Tony financed the trip himself, but also raised over £500 in contributions from friends and family towards the Liver and Pancreatic Cancer Research Charity, having lost two grandparents to these conditions. His Just Giving page is still open for donations at

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/TonyHeald