I, as I imagine most of your reading this, love nothing more than losing myself in the clouds and wilderness all culminating with standing on a summit surveying all below which you have conquered. None of this would be possible though without the commitment of the local community in each of these places.
Whilst the majority in any expedition all have high end/suitable equipment a lot of the guys who are just paid to carry loads and set up base camps/cook meals have to make do with whatever scraps of gear they can pull together. This hit home the most in Tanzania when in temperatures nearing freezing, there were some guys going up with mismatched boots and no socks, sleeping arrangements usually meant 8-10 porters huddled into a 6 man tent because they would only have around 2/3 sleeping bags among them.
It is customary at the end of an expedition for clients to dish out any gear they do not intend to take home with them along with tips for each person, and the joy this gear brings to the guys who could only ever dream of buying a £50 coat is heart-warming.
This gave me the idea of my project, a lot of walking gear is disposed of/sent to charity shops simply because people upgrade or replace gear that doesn’t necessarily have anything wrong with it. My aim is to give this gear a second chance at life by sending it to the people who can get the most use from it.
This project comes at a time when travel to these places is at an all time low, a lot of people in the local communities rely wholly on the tourism industry to provide for their families. With the end of Covid-19 hopefully in sight I would love to have a system in place that allows everyone who pours blood, sweat, and tears into ensuring these treks and expeditions run issue free to be able to do so using appropriate equipment that is fit for purpose.
Many things need to be organised such as:
- Donations
- Global shipping
- Distribution at destination
- Legality, Admin.
- Sponsorship
- Contacts
Hopefully through launching this website I can start the ball rolling… watch this space.
7 Summit Stories 