Man Dies After Texting Wife From The Top Of Mount Kilimanjaro
Posted on Sep 30, 2011 @ 11:00AM
A 69-year-old British man collapsed and died just moments after fulfilling his lifelong dream of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Alistair Cook texted his wife to tell her he was “exhausted but so happy” that he'd made it to the top of the 19,341-foot peak, then dropped dead of a fatal heart attack while making his descent, reported the Express.co.uk.
The trip to the rooftop of Africa had been planned as an early birthday celebration for Cook, from Leicestershire, England, who would have turned 70 on Monday.
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The experienced hiker reached the summit of Kilimanjaro, which is located in Tanzania and is Africa's highest mountain, at 9.50 a.m. on September 11 with four other members of his group after a grueling trek that takes most climbers six days.
Cook's wife, Vicky, paid tribute to the father-of-two on Thursday, who had trained for 18 months for the challenge. "He had lots of energy and enthusiasm – a passion for life," she said.
Every year approximately 22,000 climbers attempt to reach the snow-covered summit, and while many suffer from altitude sickness causing around 1,000 evacuations, on average only 10 people die a year on the mountain.
Last year, tennis star Martina Navratilova was famously defeated by Kilimanjaro and ultimately hospitalized in Kenya with an accumulation of fluid in her lungs after suffering from high-altitude pulmonary edema.
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The Daily Juice
The lengths a bloke will go to in order to get away from a nagging wife!
Posted Sat, 10/01/2011 - 1:14pm
In REAL life not one person cares if you climbed any damn mountain! The end of your life should be with your loved ones. He cheated his family of a few more years with him..sad.
Posted Fri, 09/30/2011 - 6:58pm
Hahahahaha natural selection takes another one!
Posted Fri, 09/30/2011 - 6:26pm
He probably died from not getting enough oxygen up there. So his heart was starved. Older people maybe should stick to a little less strenuous activities.
Posted Fri, 09/30/2011 - 3:33pm
as my dad would say, he died with his boots on. bless his soul and his family!!
Posted Fri, 09/30/2011 - 2:59pm