Eoin & Andy's Kilimanjaro Trek -ICS

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Andy(38) & Eoin(48) who have no real hiking or trekking experience, and who both also have a fear of heights are aiming to climb the tallest mountain in Africa (Kilimanjaro) in order to raise money for the fantastic organisation that is the Irish Cancer Society.!! 

What’s not to like about that.! 

Below are links to a local newspaper write up and radio podcast:

(Limerick 95 FM Radio Podcast: https://www.live95fm.ie/on-air/shows/limerick-today/limerick-today-podcasts/february-2018/limerick-today-two-limerick-men-attempt-to-conqu/     )

(Local paper write up: https://www.facebook.com/LimerickLeader/posts/1742359675784186  )

  Why are we doing it? Cancer really does affect everyone in some way, shape or form. I dont think there is anyone in Ireland who does not know someone who has suffered from Cancer at some point, or has seen the effects that cancer has on someones family or friends. Andy and Eoin have felt these effects on a personal level with uncles, friends, siblings and grandfathers who have fought various types of cancer, most recently Eoins father who passed away from cancer ~ 18 months ago.


This trek is about doing a little extra, pushing physical boundaries in the hope that people will donate to a very worthy cause and organisation.  With regard this trek, here are some useful trivia: Every year, approximately 25,000 people climb the mountain using the various routes to the summit.  Its the tallest free standing mountain in the world/the highest point in Africa. It has a 66% summit success rate on average, with several thousand who dont make it to the summit due to Altitude Sickness and on average 10 people die per annum climbing Kilimanjaro.    

We will be taking the Machame route, also known as the "Whiskey" route. Its regarded as  the most popular route on Kilimanjaro. Machame’s draw is in its scenic beauty. However, the trail is considered quite difficult, very steep and challenging and not for the faint hearted. The Machame Route is approximately 62 km/ 37 miles from gate to gate. At the summit, Uhuru Point, the night time temperatures can range between +20 and -20 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 to -29 degrees Celsius). Due to Mount Kilimanjaro's great height, the mountain creates its own weather. You are above the clouds after all!

The event is on in October 2018 and will require  Andy and Eoin to undertake extensive preparation and training in the 9 months leading up to the trek . The ICS is a great organisation. When the Irish Cancer Society was created in 1963, only 3 out of 10 people survived their cancer diagnosis. Today, 6 out of 10 people survive their cancer diagnosis. More information about the ICC and what they do with your donations can be found on https://www.cancer.ie/ .  

Simply put, ICS helps to fight cancer on many levels. Did you know that every 3 minutes in Ireland someone gets a cancer diagnosis.?  Every hour someone dies from cancer. Incidence of cancer is growing year on year and it is estimated, that  by 2020, 1 in 2 of us will get a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime. 

In Ireland an average of 40,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year. Through cancer research funded by you through the ICS, we are finding out more and more about how to diagnose, treat and how to stop cancer before its starts. Since 2010, the Irish Cancer Soiety have been able to invest over €20 million into over one hundred innovative research projects making the Irish Cancer Society the largest voluntary funder of cancer research in Ireland.

Thanks to the support of the private donations such as what you will be making if you support this trek,  investments in cancer research will mean more people surviving cancer than ever before. We ask that you try and dig deep to support this very worthy cause if you can!!!


Thanks in Advance,
Best Regards,
Andy Nolan/ Eoin Boyce