Richard Branson climbed Mount Kenya’s highest peak in his quest to raise funds for Big Change, the charity they set up to reimagine and transform education.
The UK billionaire climbed Africa's tallest peak at the height of 16,355, having climbed Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, Mt Etna and Mt Toubkal on previous Strive Challenges.
Branson noted that before climbing the peak, he had an impression it would be easy.
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"Prior to setting off, the impression I got was there wasn’t going to be so much technical climbing, and my training would set me in good stead. But, as it turned out, it was pretty brutal,” Branson noted.
The 72 years old business mogul witnessed less snow than excepted which he attributed to climate change.
He noted that some of his team members could not reach the summit due to altitude sickness and exhaustion.
Those that were unable to reach the peak walked more than 12 hours down the mountain through the night.
Through his blog Branson noted there were a couple of moments where he questioned himself on why he was climbing the mountain as his legs were hurting and the cold was unbearable;
His son, Sam, led yoga sessions during breaks and sang in the evenings to keep spirits up.
The UK businessman also highlighted the story of one lady known as Aliyah Irabor York, whom he had spoken to earlier before on the climb.
He noted that Aliya was nervous initially, but she conquered her fears and reached the summit.
Branson also gave the amount of money they raised in their previous Strive event in 2019 that accumulated to raise Ksh196.9 million (£1.46 million).
Branson also appreciated the efforts of the Kenyan team, who supported them in going up and down the mountain and carrying equipment.
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