Climbing to feed the hungry

“I wanted to get my pilot’s licence,” he says. “Even though I’m terrified of heights, I’m now a recreational pilot. I won’t go near the roof of my house, but I’ll sit comfortably in the cockpit.”

Coming from what he calls a family that wasn’t highly educated, Darrell wanted a good education.

“I got a B.Sc. in psychology at Acadia University (1975) and an MBA from Memorial University of Newfoundland (1980) and now work in the aquaculture management office at Bedford Institute of Technology,” he says with pride.

Now he’s checking off two more goals — to climb mountains and give back to his community.

Darrell, 55, has been giving back for almost 20 years. He took several church missionary trips to Mexico to help with village construction. When he moved to Halifax a few years ago, he joined an international Christian organization to help building projects in Mexico, Trinidad and Barbados.

On his list of goals was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. As part of a fundraiser for Feed Nova Scotia, Darrell reached the summit on March 3, 2006, the first of six climbers from Halifax — and two Nepalese leaders — to get to the top. He paid $10,000 to complete the 5,894-metre climb and raised more than $13,700 for Feed Nova Scotia.

Yet he had even more motivation than helping the hungry. “I had lost a younger brother, Ron, to a brain tumour in 2003 and another brother, Don, who died of a heart attack at age 37.”

Darrell travelled back and forth between Halifax and Ron’s home in Moncton as often as work would allow. He took him to appointments and offered care and support, and became executor of Ron’s estate.

When the Kilimanjaro opportunity emerged, Darrell says, “I needed something positive after Ron’s death. With a good attitude to charity, it fell into place.

“I was obsessed getting to the top in memory of my brothers,” he says, wincing as he describes the serious pain he experienced from low oxygen that caused major headaches. “From 13,500 feet, (4,100 metres) it was cold and windy at night, not so bad in daytime. I really felt my fear of heights, particularly on tiny ledges where a slip could be treacherous.”

He admits to saying to himself, “Don’t think about it. Just do it,” as he made each step on icy terrain. “When I got to the top, it was satisfying, yes, but with a feeling of relief.”

He laughs recalling one of the other hazards. “Nine days with no shower. We were sweating a lot and piling on the deodorant to mask the odour.”

Now, Darrell is ready to attack Mount Everest. “It wasn’t on my formal list of to-dos but certainly on a mental list,” he smiles, “particularly after Kilimanjaro. That was certainly outside the box for me and I know this will be just as rewarding.”

He committed last December for the March 3 departure when he signed on with a Toronto expedition company and paid the $4,000 fee. Feed Nova Scotia will again benefit from a personal fundraising campaign that Darrell hopes will generate up to $4,000.

“This should be less of a selling job because people I’ll approach know who I am and know I’ve already done one climb,” he acknowledges.

Darrell confesses he won’t reach the top of Everest. He’ll start at 2,800 metres and go to just over 5,500 metres. (It’s 8,800 metres to the top.)

“I only have 11 days of vacation and it would take six weeks and $80,000 to go all the way to the top,” he says. “I looked at the holiday time and asked myself, ‘What’ll I do? Go south? I’ve done that.’ ”

He recognizes that 25,000 people climb Kilimanjaro each year and 25 die in the attempt, a one in 1,000 ratio.

“On Everest,” he says, “the odds are less in your favour, one in 20. I’m really looking forward to it, though — the climb, not the danger. I’m doing it for the satisfaction and also for the clients of Feed Nova Scotia. I’d call it more of a pleasure trip than the mission (for my brothers) that Kilimanjaro was.”

Next on his agenda? Maybe the other five mountains that are on the Seven Summit list — the highest peaks in Antarctica, Alaska, South America near the Argentinian-Chilean border, Indonesia and eastern Europe. Someday maybe, but not right now.

“I have other things to do,” he says. “I’ve been to each continent but Australia. I hear there’s good trout fishing (another of Darrell’s passions) in New Zealand and you can’t go to Australia without going there,” he smiles.