To scale Mount Kilimanjaro is a feat for any climber.
But for Chris Plane, the sense of achievement he felt at the top of Africa’s highest mountain was even more rewarding.
For the 63-year-old from Aberdeen made it to the summit despite having Parkinson’s disease.
And along the way he managed to raise hundreds of pounds for a charity which combats disease in the poorest parts of the world.
Now back home in the north-east, Mr Plane revealed he had an unusual motivation for the challenge – a television programme he watched four decades ago which inspired him to help others who are less fortunate than himself.
He said: “A long time ago I watched a TV show, when I was about 20, about schistosomiasis – a parasite carried by river snails.
“The parasites mean you carry the effects for life and it can be very debilitating.
“I saw someone going down a river looking for the snails and it seemed a thankless task, but the story stayed with me.”
He was sponsored on his epic climb to raise money for the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI).
Based at Imperial College London, the group works in partnership with school and community health workers to provide treatment for the disease in sub Saharan Africa and Yemen.
Help is available in the form of a single drug, pranziquantel, which is administered to children and protects them from the long-term effects of the disease, which kills 200,000 people every year.
Mr Plane raised a total of £755, exceeding his initial target of £500.
The money will go a long way, he explained.
“One of these drugs costs around 60 pence so it has definitely been worth it,” he said.
“I am very pleased to be able to help people to keep treating the disease.”
Mr Plane trained hard for the expedition to ensure he did not fall short, completing many 12-mile hikes from Bridge of Don to Pittmedden, as well as scaling Bennachie as often as possible.
He conquered Kilimanjaro in seven days – but the challenge was not without difficulties.
He said: “On the sixth day I got to the second highest peak and then a fellow climber got a pulmonary edema (fluid on the lungs) as a result of high altitude sickness and he had to be stretchered down.
“When I got to the top I felt pretty elated, I was very tearful.”
And far from hampering him, his own health problems motivated him to complete the task.
Mr Plane said: “I thought to myself if I don’t do it now the Parkinson’s will take over and I won’t get another chance.”
To support his fundraising go to
https://www.justgiving.com/Chris-Plane2/
.