![]() She said she would climb it with me, which was brilliant! We kept talking and both agreed we wanted to go to Everest Base Camp (EBC) as well. I enjoy walking challenges and was talking with my best friend and fellow challenger about the fact that I wanted to climb Kilimanjaro. I started to put things into place to help me get on the path to doing the things I’d always wanted to do, but up until this point had only ever been abstract thoughts and desires. I was in an unhappy relationship and being suddenly confronted with that sense of my own mortality meant I took a long hard look at my life and re-evaluated. She had a brain haemorrhage which no-one could have predicted but as a fellow migraine sufferer, it sent me into a bit of a tailspin and made me think, what if that happened to me? At her funeral, there was a beautifully uplifting eulogy, full of fun stories and adventures she’d had and I thought, “What if I died tomorrow, what would people say at my funeral? What have I done with my life?” I felt I had achieved nothing. She was just the most fabulous person and to lose her so suddenly without warning hit harder than I thought. It was a real shock to me because she was only 43 years old, was vivacious, was at her peak fitness wise, didn’t smoke or drink excessively and she always looked after herself. I had a friend who passed away very suddenly almost 4 years ago. What made you decide to attempt this phenomenal challenge? ![]() Nicola Cooper completed this amazing, inspirational achievement this time last year and I am thrilled she has agreed to share the highs (see what I did there!) and lows with us. From the steep climbs, altitude sickness, passing yaks on terrifyingly high rope bridges and the absence of any of the kind of facilities we take for granted in western life, the mental resources needed to keep going day after day is not to be underestimated.
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