So apparently I'm climbing Mount Toubkal in September.

And an application form which took about 60 minutes to complete has changed the shape of my entire year!

I've looked at the Lloyds Banking Group signature charity challenge every year for the past few years - I like a good physical challenge and they always look pretty fun - but there's always been something else going on in my life which has put me off committing.

This year I didn't have a good excuse to not apply though - so in went an application and a week later I have a £4k fundraising target to reach for Crisis, an extensive kit-list to purchase and, more generally, a lot of research to perform on how to get to the top of a 4,167m mountain in one piece. For reference, Ben Nevis is 1,345m and the highest mountain which I've ever tackled is Skiddaw in the Lake district at 931m 😅

So on 20th September I'll be travelling to Morocco to climb Mount Toubkal over a 3 day trek. And having known now for a little over a week, I thought I'd share some of the highlights of what I've read so far.

The best one...

• "Towards the top of the mountain you will be trekking above the clouds"

😁

And the slightly less good ones...

• "This trip goes to a high altitude where there is a risk of being affected by Acute Mountain Sickness"
• "Early mornings will immediately be warm as soon as the sun rises, and the days will be hot and bright. As soon as the sun sets, the temperature drops rapidly and is often well below 0 degrees"
• "You will navigate your way, climbing and scrambling over the huge obstructive boulders and loose rock"
• "As no formal clothes are needed whilst trekking, luggage should be kept to an absolute minimum"
• "During the challenge you will be staying in a mountain refuge where the facilities are very basic. Is is advisable to bring your own toilet tissue"
• "Take out an appropriate travel health insurance which includes cover for repatriation by helicopter"

So a lot of things to think about, research and figure out!

I was thinking I'll update this blog regularly until then with preparations. But in the meantime, please sponsor me here and I'll leave you with a few pictures of what's to come.

Thank you for reading!

The peak...

The mountain...

The mountain refuge...