The Fine Gael leader Mr Enda Kenny embarks today on a trek to bring him to new heights. Along with eight other Co Mayo men, they plan to scale the 19,335 ft Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
The group set out yesterday for the mountain to join the Rongai Trail, which is one of the more difficult and less travelled routes to the summit. Mr Kenny had been expected to leave on Friday but delayed his departure to appear on the Dunphy Show.
By Friday evening, they will have reached the Kibo base camp where they will tackle the main peak, Uruhu.
Apart from the problems of altitude sickness, this will be the most difficult phase of the climb, complicated by the bitter cold and high wind chill factor with temperatures down as low as minus 20 degrees.
The climb to the peak will take eight hours, after which the team will beat a hasty retreat in order to get off the peak before sundown. It is being embarked upon to raise funds for three Mayo charities, while all members of the team have paid their own expenses.