Archive for the ‘charity trek’ Category
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It’s been about one month since our previous blog and, despite being away working on various cycling events overseas, training has been going well! We have completed training runs locally in the Chiltern hills and slightly further afield, enjoying the UK’s many varied mountain areas e.g Brecon Beacons training run (see image). I thought I would take the opportunity to tell you a little more about the Jiri to Namche Bazaar trek and the Everest Marathon route itself.
In early Nov Patrick and I will set off ahead of the main Everest Marathon pack (possibly the only time that we will be ahead of them!) and get a rickety bus from Kathmandu to Changma and trek from Jiri to Namche Bazaar. In Namche we will meet the rest of the gang who will have flown Kathmandu to Lukla. The Jiri to Namche trek will take 8 days and should be excellent training as it traverses the valley systems of the lower Khumbu and therefore provides lots of ups and downs! View the route.
By the time we reach Namche we will be at 3440m and will have an acclimatisation day before setting off on the trek to Everest Base Camp via Gokyo Lakes. View the route.
Finally, on 2nd Dec 2011 we will attempt the 26 mile run from Gorak Shep back to Namche Bazaar and hopefully the Everest Marathon shall be complete! View the route .
From there it is a flight from Lukla back to Kathmandu for fine dining and a knees up before flying home, well…..that’s the plan anyway.
August 22nd, 2011 | adventure race, Adventure Racing, Adventure Travel, cancer run, Challenge, Charity Challenge, Charity Challenges, charity run, charity trek, Corporate, Corporate Event Solutions, Corporate Experience, corporate experiences, Corporate in the community, CSR, Endurance, Everest Base Camp, fund raising ideas, fundraising, fundraising marathon, Himalayas, Just Events, Just for Fun, Marathon, Nepal, open event, Raise funds for the charity of your choice, Runner, Running, Social Enterprise, Team, Team Building, teambuilding, Trek, trek for charity, wilderness running | No Comments | 
We know that price is almost everything in this day and age and we understand that, but we are not budging on our values. We have very high safety standards which means that we are not always the cheapest option, but we are one of the safest. We endeavour to have a UK medic on every trip, and provide up to date medical equipment and the latest in technologies out in the field. We never compromise on our safety standards and we hope you’ll take this into account when choosing your overseas or UK challenge operator.
We recently asked a few key clients why they booked with us and these were some of their responses…..
- You are very trustworthy
- We know how much you value safety on the treks and appreciate the importance you place on this (i.e. a doctor on all treks, taking an extra day to ensure everyone gets to the Kili summit etc)
- You help us to create the itineraries that we want and that sell so well to our corporate supporters.
- Your in-country partners are usually fantastic
- You send great teams of Expedition Leaders, Guides and Doctors on our Challenges – who pretty much always get excellent feedback from participants.
- Your office staff are very responsive – I feel we have an excellent relationship and that you always get back to us promptly and add value wherever you can.
- All of you are very friendly, approachable and experienced.
- You really look after our participants well
- You are a small but committed team and we really appreciate that and the fact that we know you all – we know who to speak to about which element of the trek and appreciate getting the same familiar (expert!) voice
- The knowledge that we have a fully qualified doctor who is trained to deal with emergencies in extreme environments is a huge comfort when taking 40 supporters of the charity abroad.
- The ATD trip leaders really take all the stress and pressure off the charity staff members. They run the projects extremely efficiently and are excellent at dealing with all situations whether it is an emergency or dealing with difficult participants. The support provided at the information evening is also hugely appreciated and really helps to reassure any nervous or high maintenance participants.
So if you are speaking to your current overseas challenge supplier make sure you check about UK staffing ratios, if they supply a medical kit and what’s in it, and if a UK Doctor is on the trip. These are key values which we know our clients appreciate over cost.
August 16th, 2011 | Adventure Travel, cancer run, Challenge, Charity Challenge, Charity Challenges, Charity Events, charity run, charity trek, Comic Relief, Comic relief desert trek, Comic relief Kilimanjaro trek, Corporate, Corporate Event Solutions, Corporate Experience, corporate experiences, Corporate in the community, Corporate Social Responsibilty, CSR, CSR Projects, Endurance, fund raising ideas, fundraising, fundraising marathon, Just Events, Just for Fun, open event, Raise funds for the charity of your choice, Social Enterprise, Team, Team Building, teambuilding, Trek, trek for charity | No Comments |
Those of you who have taken part in any of our high altitude treks will know the feeling: you’re short of breath, legs feel like lead, and you’ve slowed to a mere shuffle. Then a group of porters pass you, carrying at least four times the load that you are, yet moving at four times the speed!
The work that porters do is often key to the success of a trek, and yet not all operators recognise this. On Kilimanjaro in particular, local crews carry loads of up to 25kg up the mountain, before pitching tents, setting up the dining tent and catering area, collecting and boiling water and preparing a hearty meal for the trekkers. They often still find the energy to sing and dance, to welcome the group into camp!
At Across the Divide we are committed to the fair treatment of porters on Kilimanjaro, and work closely with our local agent, Good Earth Tours, to improve the working conditions of porters on the mountain and ensure that they receive a fair wage for their work. We are therefore delighted to announce that we recently became a Partner for Responsible Travel with the International Mountain Explorer’s Connection (IMEC). IMEC created the Partnership for Responsible Travel Program to recognize those tour operators committed to fair treatment of porters on Kilimanjaro. In order to become a partner you must consistently meet IMEC’s guidelines for proper porter treatment on Kilimanjaro: this is monitored by IMEC’s local initiative, the Kilimanjaro Porters’ Assistance Project.
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August 10th, 2011 | Adventure Travel, Challenge, Charity Challenge, Charity Challenges, Charity Events, charity trek, Comic Relief, Comic relief Kilimanjaro trek, Corporate Event Solutions, corporate experiences, Corporate in the community, Corporate Social Responsibilty, CSR, CSR Projects, Endurance, fund raising ideas, fundraising, Just Events, Just for Fun, kilimanjaro, open event, Raise funds for the charity of your choice, Team, Team Building, teambuilding, Trek, trek for charity | No Comments |
Our trekker of the month is Katie Bizzey, who has now completed two treks with Across the Divide plus taken part in four Just Walks. We asked Katie some questions about her treks, motivation plus much more.
1. What made you want to do a charity challenge
My daughter Laura has Muscular Dystrophy. With no treatment or cure for the disease, as a parent I feel hugely helpless that there was nothing I could do to help my child. When I saw a charity trek challenge advertised by our disease-supporting charity, Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, I decided that this would be something positive for me to do in the face of this terrible disease Laura lives with. I have always enjoyed a ‘good walk’ and have tramped in NZ, gone ‘off road’ walking in India and so on, but never walked to any level of challenge in a group.
2. Why did you choose Morroco
Morrocco was a coincidence! I chose to trek in aid of Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and that was their trek location! Luckily for me, it is, in my opinion, a good ‘starter trek’.
3. Why did you choose ATD
ATD is Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s chosen adventure challenge company so they weren’t MY choice, but an excellent choice made by MDC and I would never even look at a competitors website: if ATD cant take me to a specific location, I will stay home!!
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July 26th, 2011 | Adventure Travel, Challenge, Charity Challenge, Charity Challenges, charity trek, Comic Relief, Comic relief desert trek, Corporate, Corporate Event Solutions, Corporate Experience, corporate experiences, Corporate in the community, Corporate Social Responsibilty, CSR, CSR Projects, desert trek, Endurance, Just Events, open event, Raise funds for the charity of your choice, Social Enterprise, Team, Team Building, teambuilding, Trek, trek for charity | No Comments |
Edinburgh to London | 470 Miles, 5 Days | Bike, hand-bike or tandem | 21-25 September 2011
Will you challenge yourself for SSAFA this summer and support the first Ride of Britain cycle?
The route covers 470 miles of countryside, through Cumbria, the Yorkshire Dales, the flat land of Lincolnshire and quaint villages of Cambridgeshire. On the final day, you’ll peddle through the buzzing atmosphere of London, finishing at the iconic Horseguards Parade
Leading the way completing the full distance by hand-bike and tandem will be Rifleman Michael Swain, who lost both his legs, and Rifleman Paul Jacobs who was blinded, in separate explosions in Afghanistan in 2009. Michael says “I hope we can inspire the public to sign up to support SSAFA, as well as servicemen and women who are receiving rehabilitation at Headley Court. SSAFA helps so many families and I’m proud to be able to give something back.”
Paul who will be guided on a tandem bike by his brother is appealing to more of his fellow servicemen and women to take part. “We need members of the Army, Navy and Airforce to sign up to represent their service and support this amazing charity”.
Register online here.
July 5th, 2011 | Adventure Travel, Challenge, Charity Challenge, Charity Challenges, Charity Events, charity trek, Corporate, Corporate Event Solutions, Corporate Experience, corporate experiences, Corporate in the community, Corporate Social Responsibilty, CSR, CSR Projects, Endurance, fund raising ideas, fundraising, Just Events, Just for Fun, open event, Raise funds for the charity of your choice, Social Enterprise, Team, Team Building, teambuilding, Trek, trek for charity | No Comments |
Our emphasis on safety means we are not the cheapest but we think we are one of the safest out there. The benefits of going with ATD are:
- 7 days to summit (+1 more than our competitors) meaning better acclimatisation. Benefit – participants will feel better with our ascent profile and have a much better chance of summiting.
- We are open and transparent. Benefit – no hidden costs and you know exactly what you get for your money ££££
- A leader experienced at managing groups at altitude, and managing risk in wilderness environments. Benefit – brings UK safety standards to the event, gives a higher chance of summiting and reduces the health risks of climbing Kilimanjaro
- An UK trained doctor with experience of working at altitude. Benefit – dramatically reduces the risk of serious injury or death due to altitude related illnesses
- Gammo bag and O2. Benefit – immediate treatment for life threatening Cerebral and Pulmonary Oedema, reducing the risk of death.
- Route is chosen for rapid decent. Benefit – means better casevac options and reduced risk of serious complications resulting from altitude related medical conditions
- Fully inclusive – need to list all of the inclusions and tally them up to give the potential hidden costs of other suppliers. Benefit - no hidden costs ££££.
- Flights into Kilimanjaro airport saving 7 hours of transfers. Benefit – Chance to recover from the long haul flight leading to a better chance of summiting.
- Porter protection. We ensure that local staff are paid a fair wage. Benefit – peace of mind, and ethical
- Local agent with 30 years experience – benefit – Peace of mind, slick and well run event.
- 100% safety record on the mountain, even with some incidences of serious illness. Saved lives of other groups that did not have the same high level of support. Benefit – the highest medical support offered should you fall ill.
- High levels of support, advice and knowledge given to participants. High focus on getting you prepared fully for your challenge. Benefit – better chance of summiting.
Book now!
June 27th, 2011 | Adventure Travel, Challenge, Charity Challenge, Charity Challenges, Charity Events, charity trek, Comic Relief, Comic relief Kilimanjaro trek, Corporate, Corporate Event Solutions, Corporate Experience, corporate experiences, Corporate in the community, Corporate Social Responsibilty, CSR, CSR Projects, Endurance, fund raising ideas, fundraising, Just Events, Just for Fun, kilimanjaro, open event, Raise funds for the charity of your choice, Social Enterprise, Team, Team Building, teambuilding, Trek, trek for charity | No Comments |
Our trekker of the month is Tricia McGrath, who has now completed two treks with Across the Divide. We asked Tricia some questions about her treks, motivation plus much more.
1. What made you want to do a charity challenge?
I’d done one before to Patagonia for Dublin Simon but this time I wanted to do it for another charity, Barretstown
2. Why did you choose Peru?
Peru has been on the wish list for some time, mainly because of Machu Picchu and the history of the Inca people. Also of the choice of open charity hikes Peru was top of the list. Some of the people on the Patagonia hike had glowing reports of the Peru trip so that also made the decision easy.
3. Why did you choose ATD?
I’d been on a previous hike with ATD in Patagonia and really loved the way they plan and deliver the hike. It’s first class all the way, camping, food, knowledge, local guides etc etc. In addition I’ve always felt safe and looked after on their hikes.
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June 21st, 2011 | Adventure Travel, Challenge, Charity Challenge, Charity Challenges, Charity Events, charity trek, Comic Relief, Corporate, Corporate Event Solutions, Corporate Experience, corporate experiences, Corporate in the community, Corporate Social Responsibilty, CSR, CSR Projects, Endurance, fund raising ideas, fundraising, Just Events, Just for Fun, open event, Raise funds for the charity of your choice, Social Enterprise, Team, Team Building, teambuilding, Trek, trek for charity | No Comments |
We have just received some great feedback from our recent trip to Kilimanjaro with Oxfam Ireland, it was a fantastic trip with a great group and with 100% success rate. Whoo Hoo!
Grace O’Neill from Oxfam Ireland who was on the Kilimanjaro Trek, 26th-9 March 2011 – “ALL SUMMITED”. Re Paul Collins the Expedition Leader – “motivational, inspiring and commanded confidence”. “Paul was great – took the time to know everyone in the group and was excellent at encouraging us to work together as a team. The group all acknowledged post-summit, that is was great they all made it up together, which is something very different to other groups experiences we had heard of. He inspired confidence in the team’s ability. He also was good fun in the evenings and kept people’s spirits up when they were tired.
I think he genuinely bonded with quite of few of the pax – it didn’t seem to be just another trek to him, he took time chatting to individuals.”
Tim Farrelly - “Summiting Kilimanjaro was a lifetime achievement which was only made possibly by ATD’s excellent itinerary and expert leadership.”
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June 14th, 2011 | Adventure Travel, Challenge, Charity Challenge, Charity Challenges, Charity Events, charity trek, Comic Relief, Comic relief Kilimanjaro trek, Corporate, Corporate Event Solutions, Corporate Experience, corporate experiences, Corporate in the community, Corporate Social Responsibilty, CSR, CSR Projects, fund raising ideas, fundraising, Just Events, Just for Fun, kilimanjaro, open event, Raise funds for the charity of your choice, Social Enterprise, Team, Team Building, teambuilding, Trek, trek for charity | No Comments |
Our Operations Manager recently headed up to Kilimanjaro and has written up a fantastic account of the trek.
One of the expedition leaders has been ripping the innards from the leader files, and we suspect it may be a certain Ceri Williams. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to accompany Mr Williams to Tanzania and to find out whether he is indeed the Leader-file-Ripper. And so it was that I found myself on the Cancer Research UK Kilimanjaro trek with Ceri, Sonya and Julia: my first overseas trip with Across the Divide.
The 7-hour bus journey from Nairobi to Moshi gave us a sense of the scale of the East African plains, and several opportunities to buy some small carved wooden animals. I had imagined that we would see Kilimanjaro looming on the horizon as we crossed the border into Tanzania, but it was not until the following day when we stopped at Mshuwa shop for Coca Cola that I got my first glimpse of Kilimanjaro poking its head out of the clouds.
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June 13th, 2011 | Adventure Travel, Challenge, Charity Challenge, Charity Challenges, Charity Events, charity trek, Comic Relief, Comic relief Kilimanjaro trek, Corporate, Corporate Event Solutions, Corporate Experience, corporate experiences, Corporate in the community, Corporate Social Responsibilty, CSR, CSR Projects, fund raising ideas, fundraising, Just Events, Just for Fun, kilimanjaro, open event, Raise funds for the charity of your choice, Social Enterprise, Team, Team Building, Trek | No Comments |
Fancy setting yourself a challenge this year? Take part in UNICEF’s trek for the Children of Namibia, which takes place in the stunning landscape of the Namib Desert, the oldest desert in the world; in southern Africa.
What is more, taking part in this trek is a unique opportunity for you to get to know more about UNICEF first hand. The visit to one of the UNICEF projects is a chance to see how much difference your support makes to the children of Namibia and just one of the many highlights of the trip.
For more information, please visit their website: http://www.unicef.org.uk/Fundraise/Get-active/Trekking/Namibia-trek/
Alternatively, contact them on 0844 801 2414 or email challenge@unicef.org.uk
Date – 30 August – 9 September 2011
June 6th, 2011 | Adventure Travel, Challenge, Charity Challenge, Charity Challenges, Charity Events, charity trek, Comic Relief, Comic relief desert trek, Comic relief Kilimanjaro trek, Corporate, Corporate Event Solutions, Corporate Experience, corporate experiences, Corporate in the community, Corporate Social Responsibilty, CSR, CSR Projects, desert trek, Endurance, fund raising ideas, fundraising, Just Events, Just for Fun, open event, Raise funds for the charity of your choice, Social Enterprise, Team, Team Building, teambuilding, Trek, trek for charity | No Comments |
