Trekkers’ delight at conquering African peak

The group went from Mexborough to Tanzania to climb the challenging peak in memory of 18-year-old football fan Curtis Allen who died last year following a spleen injury after battling leukaemia.

The team have raised an estimated £2,000 for Doncaster cancer charity The Eve Merton Dreams Trust.

John McCormack (52), of Ferndale Road in Conisbrough, led the group, whose other members were Mick Shaw, John Rotherham, John Bramley, Shaun Davies, Colin Smith and Kev Roberts.

He said that all of them had made it to the top of the 5,895-metre peak — but it was a gruelling experience with some team members suffering badly.

Temperatures were around 30 deg C at the base of the mountain and nearer to -15 deg C at the peak.

John said: “They say you cross four different temperature zones on the way up.

“Everybody suffered with the altitude.

“It was proper hard. There were people at base camp saying it was hell on earth and we just laughed at them, but there were a lot of people collapsing.

Team member Colin Smith had problems on the trek and got to the top 20 minutes after the rest, while Shaun Davies had difficulty eating, said John.

But he added: “I would do it again. It’s very addictive when you have done it. 

“Most of us broke down in tears when we had done it.”

The money raised is still being counted but John said he expected the final total to be around £2,000.

Wath teenager Curtis was a Liverpool FC superfan and the Premier League team and crowd paid tribute to him at a match last November.

John was part of a three man expedition to the Stok Kangri peak in the Himalayas in 2016.

Visit the team's appeal page to make a donation.