When her youngest child was about to go off to university, Wendy Ingrey worried about how she would cope with the emptiness at home.
She tackled that fear by setting about climbing the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
It was a terrifically difficult but rewarding achievement for Wendy (57), of Claudette Avenue, Spalding – but there was little time to savour the view and experience as she reached the summit of Kilimanjaro at 6.19am after a final six-hour climb.
“I got to the top and I wanted to get off as quickly as possible because I had a runny tummy!” Wendy said.
“Seeing civilisation from 20,000 feet up was special, and the silence was incredible – really good.”
The ascent had taken seven days. Wendy and friend Ruth Sangale had trained for 12 months, but the enormity of the challenge still took her by surprise.
She suffered mountain sickness on day one and Ruth, of Guildford, was forced to turn back on the fifth day.
Wendy said: “I completed it – God knows how! I underestimated how tough it was going to be. At times I thought ‘what the hell am I doing?’”
She added: “I liken it to childbirth – it can be brutal but you look back in absolute wonder.”
Wendy and Ruth were among a party of six led on last month’s climb. All suffered various difficulties but they became “comrades in pain”.
Wendy, a freelance ethical auditor, is thankful for the training she and Ruth undertook – several two-day camping treks in Derbyshire – ahead of the trip to Tanzania.
She said: “I wanted a challenge which would be a big distraction to Grace going to university – and I said it needed to be something life-threatening!”
She added: “I would recommend it to anyone with feelings of emptiness. If I can do it, anyone can!”
Fundraising was not the motivation for climbing Kilimanjaro but, through JustGiving, Wendy raised £550 for Spana, a charity for the working animals of the world. This was bolstered by £120 after a cake morning at The Fitness Company, where she is a member.
Wendy and Ruth admit to having been “bitten by the bug” now and are targeting the Isle of Man coastal walk.
