After eight gruelling days proud Perthshire politician Jim Fairlie reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in memory of his late brother Andrew.
The Perthshire South and Kinross-shire MSP posted a picture on social media on Tuesday emulating the image of his beloved sibling touching the same board at Uhuru Peak 11 years earlier.
Jim had vowed to conquer Africa’s highest point – at 5895 metres above sea level - on the day Andrew died and his remarkable achievement has raised over £90,000 for two causes close to his heart.
He posted on Twitter: “[I] touched the board. Thank you so much for the magnificent support messages and donations. We are now at over £90,000 for Cornhill Hospice and the Andrew Fairlie Scholarship.”
In a heartfelt video taken near the summit, Jim thanked all of those who have supported the fundraising cause.
He said: “It is 5.45am and we are on the top of Stella Point of Mount Kilimanjaro [altitude of 5756 meters and one of three official summit points]. Thank you so much for all your help and your support.”
The group arrived in Tanzania on October 7 and began the climb up the world’s tallest free-standing mountain on the morning of October 11.
After three days of altitude training in Tanzania, Jim and 21 others set off on their eight-day trek and overcame exhaustion, sleep deprivation and altitude sickness to complete their immense goal.
To put the climb into perspective, the last leg of the trek was the equivalent of hiking up Ben Nevis (1345m). Jim and the team left at midnight in order to make the summit for sunrise that morning.
So far Jim has raised £92,254 – closing in on a £100,000 target – for two causes dedicated to Perth-born two-Michelin star chef Andrew. Andrew opened Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles in 2001 and The Andrew Fairlie Scholarship was set up in his memory a month after he died, offering aspiring chefs a “career-changing” opportunity.
The £100,000 the team is aiming to raise will be split evenly between the Cornhill Macmillan Centre in Perth, where Andrew spent his final days, and the scholarship.
Andrew sadly died from a brain tumour in January 2019 at the age of just 55, and before he passed away the brothers reminisced about their lives together.
On the day Andrew died, Jim decided to conquer the climb in his memory.
Speaking just before he left for Tanzania, Jim said: “There is a picture of Andrew at the Kilimanjaro summit touching that board. That is a very poignant thing for me because it just hit the nail on the head as far as my motivation for doing it – to retrace that for him.
“The morning he died I decided: ‘I am going to do it and do it in his memory’.”
He added: “Andrew will live on in the restaurant and the scholarship.
“We can’t escape the fact he died far too young. But we can make sure his memory lives on and make sure what he achieved is never forgotten.”
To donate to the JustGiving page, see the website www.justgiving.com/campaign/kilimanjaro22
