‘Like the worst nightclub you’ve ever been to’ – Hardest Geezer on conquering Kilimanjaro

The man who overcame an armed robbery, visa issues and health scares as he rewrote the record books by running the entire length of Africa has admitted that climbing Mount Kilimanjaro proved a far greater challenge than he’d imagined.

Russ Cook, aka the ‘Hardest Geezer’, covered more than 16,000 kilometres over 352 days through 16 different countries on his epic African adventure during 2023 and 2024.

And on the back of that he launched a new project to allow others to undertake some epic adventures, starting with a return to Africa to climb the continent’s highest mountain.

Getting the party started

He explained the rationale as follows: “Overcoming challenging adventures has massively changed my life. They’ve allowed me to connect with amazing people, see the immense beauty in this world, and figure out a few things about myself too. I want to try and support that adventure in as many of you lot as possible.

“I’m absolutely buzzing that we’ll be taking a group of you up Mount Kilimanjaro to get the party started. There will be plenty more to come after this as well.”

And that first group have just made it to the top – at 5,895 metres – but writing on his social channels, Cook admitted it was way harder than he expected.

‘My head was spun’

He said: “Kilimanjaro baby. What a cracker. To be honest with you, I was expecting a light one before I came out here. A gentle tickle up a big hill.

“Thought I was coming for a tikka masala, ended up getting served a vindaloo!

“Turns out a lack of oxygen in the air will make everything wonky. My head was spun from 5000m up.

“Kind of like the worst nightclub you’ve ever been to, but less drum and bass, more getting a screwdriver wedged in between your eyes.

“Jokes aside, I am so massively proud of the team. Between us we shared heavy moments of doubt, tears and major fatigue, but all of you had your own stories and reasons for being here and when it came to really dig in and find something, you found it.

“You did yourselves and your families proud. A special mention to our incredible team of guides and porters as well. The wisdom, strength and care they showed for us was incredible. They are the real heroes of this mountain.”

He rounded it off by adding: “Where should we take people on the next hardest adventure?” Watch this space…