AN INTREPID funeral director is celebrating reaching his 50th birthday by scaling Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the Primrose Hospice and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Ben Thomas from Thomas Brothers Funeral Directors is joined by Jonathon Griffiths, Darren Gwillym and John Linton who all took on Kilimanjaro in 2016.
Ben, a former Royal Marine, is due to start his climb today and is hoping to reach Basecamp next Saturday, April 20.
He said: “We’re all really looking forward to getting up into the mountains again.
“Great memories were made on our last climb and we’re hoping to make more on this trek.
“The most daunting part, I think for all of us, will be the flight into what’s said to be the World’s most dangerous airport at Lukla – situated deep in the mountains of Nepal.”
Ben said he had been limiting his celebrations before the challenge but would be taking a bottle of champagne to pop on their Basecamp arrival.
“We’ve all been training hard and have done loads of walking and running with weights.”
Ben also headed to the Alps to acclimatising to the altitude – often one of the greatest tests.
Anyone wanting to donate can do so at Thomas Brothers’ offices, Birchfield House, Evesham Road, Redditch, or via the JustGiving page on Thomas Brothers Facebook page.