Speaker - Bruce Rollo 'From Kilimanjaro to Machu Picchu—the Hard Way'

The assembled company were moved to launch into a chorus of “Climb Every Mountain” when new member Bruce Rollo told of his many expeditions to mountain ranges all over the globe.

Bruce entitled his address as “Trekking Long Distance” and accompanied the talk with a slide show of truly magnificent views from Kilimanjaro in Africa to Machu Picchu in South America.

His first example was ascending Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, at 19,000 ft the highest mountain in Africa, and a rather scary photograph of the narrow snow-capped ridge which climbers must negotiate to the top.

All that after, on the lower slopes, evading leopards and the even more dangerous buffalo - plus the rats which infected the huts in which the party stayed during the trek and attacked their rucksacks!

Bruce followed that with a fascinating look at the trek he and his wife Lesley made to the Himalayas, having flown from Katmandu to the world’s most dangerous airport on the slopes.

They embarked on a 9-day trek to Mount Everest base camp in temperatures of -25c, passing stone cairns bedecked with flags and the names of some who had died on Everest.

A salutary warning to anyone who embarks on such a trip.

On another occasion they spent 19 days on a trek to Anapurna, with yaks as their beasts of burden.

Bruce reckons he may have incurred the wrath of his better half by telling the audience that Lesley rented a yak to ride on for much of the trek……

Given the enormity and vastness of the wilderness shown in Bruce’s slide show, it’s little wonder that a 19-day trek is regarded as normal in that part of the world.

On a trip much further west to Pakistan, Bruce headed for the world’ second-highest mountain K2, so named as it was the second mountain ever surveyed. At 28,000 ft the party did not attempt to reach the summit, but a lot of energy was expended getting close. Energy which was supplemented by the two goats and chickens which began the trip with them but, of course, did not return…

Amongst the climbing fraternity K2 is regarded as more dangerous to scale than Everest. Only 400 people are known to have reached the summit and the mortality rate on K2 is a worrying 27%.

Bruce completed his presentation with some incredible photographs of the Peruvian Andes and the lost city of Machu Picchu which were taken on one of the more rare Inca trails.