The two Torontonians were on a mission – to raise funds for a charity near and dear to the two of them:The Ottawa Sun Headline NewsEmail AddressBy clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300A welcome email is on its way.
Training for Mount Kilimanjaro consisted of “walking a lot,” said Betty, while Dennis says he clocked in at “almost 1,900 kilometres in 18 months.”Article content The operative phrase was take it slow and steady: “The porters would constantly tell us to go ‘pole, pole’ meaning ‘slowly, slowly.’” It took the couple six days to get to base camp – but altitude sickness hit Dennis just as they were about to leave the base camp for the last leg of their journey.Article content
Armed with photos of her grandchildren – and the ashes of a 17-year-old young man who had died of cancer – Betty and her guides started to ascend the side of the mountain, a terrifying nine-hour trek through some of the roughest terrain imaginable. “You’re trekking through volcanic ash – think of it as going uphill through sand. I felt numb. I just kept thinking of children’s cancer research.