Firefighter Nic completes double mountain challenge and raises more than £7,000 for two city charities

Toxteth firefighter Nic Bernstein has completed his epic challenge and raised more than £7,000 for two Liverpool charities.

The 35-year-old, from Allerton, achieved his goal of conquering two African peaks in 10 days, climbing almost 15,000ft up Mount Meru, before reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro which stands at more than 19,000 ft.

Tired and aching, he said there were times when it had been tough: “It was hard. Meru warmed me up a bit, although my legs were a bit stiff after that.

“But I’m just made up that I did it.”

The £7,200 already in the pot will be split between Claire House Children’s Hospice and Zoe’s Place, and Nic adds: “The support I have had has been amazing and people really appreciate the work the two charities do.

“I’m sure they will put it to good use.”

Nic completed Mount Meru in Tanzania – Africa’s fifth highest peak – in three days, admiring ‘amazing views’ of Kilimanjaro as he did it.

He rested a day before tackling the greater challenge of Kilimanjaro which, although he is a keen walker and hiker, was his biggest challenge to date.

That took six days and Nic says: “The days were really long, sometimes we were walking for 10-15km, and the terrain was mixed – but we had a good mix of people in the group and I really enjoyed it, making two good friends, one from the UK and one from America.

“The weather was ridiculous; the clouds came up in the afternoon which made it made it really cold, and then you’d have really clear skies at night-time.”

He says: “On summit night we started off at about midnight, with around 200 people all from different places going up.

“We were walking really slowly so me and another guy split up from the main group and went up a bit quicker. The altitude was really hard. I didn’t get altitude sickness, but it made breathing pretty difficult – like breathing with a mask on.

“Two people didn’t make it up, and a lot of people were brought down on stretchers because it was hard work – but 10 of us made it to the top for sunrise, and that’s something I’ll never forget.” 

After delighting in completing his challenge, Nic treated himself to a trip to the Serengeti National Park, a World Heritage Site in Tanzania known for its huge herds of plains animals.

Then he headed to Zanzibar before coming home: “Time to chill.”

You can still support Nic, by going to  www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kilamanjaronb