Air traffic controller Hannah Forrester has climbed Kilimanjaro – and took the Alderney Journal with her. (0726346)

EXPLORER Hannah Forrester conquered Mount Kilimanjaro earlier this month. Air traffic controller Hannah, 26, of Brickfields, reached the Tanzanian mountain’s 19,330ft peak following a three-day expedition.

And despite being exhausted and suffering from mild altitude sickness, she remembered to have her picture taken with a copy of the Alderney Journal while looking down from Africa’s highest peak.

Hannah said: ‘Getting to the top of the mountain was absolutely amazing.

There were some steep gradients to make and a bit of scrambling but it was all worth it in the end.

‘We had a clear moment at the summit so we saw the glaciers at the top and clouds below us.’

Making the top was a sweet moment for Hannah, who had to postpone a trip to climb the mountain with her father last year.

‘My dad and I always planned to climb Kilimanjaro together and we were going to go last year. However, I had to pull out of the trip at the last minute due to unforeseen work commitments.

As my dad is 59, he felt it was now or never, so he decided to go for it.

In the end, his advice and experience helped me prepare for the trip.’

Hannah kept her fitness levels high before the expedition and coped well with the altitude.

‘Everyone suffered from varying levels of altitude sickness but I wasn’t half as bad as other people.

‘My face went a little puffy at one stage and I had a little headache and dizziness but apart from that I was fine,’ she said.

One of her reasons for scaling Kilimanjaro is her fascination with Africa.

‘I love it and have spent a lot of time there over the years.

‘I worked for an Aids charity in Ghana after university and travelled across the Sahara for 10 months.

‘I’ve also been hiking in Mali and taken part in a conservation expedition in Belize.’

In total it took Hannah seven days to ascend and descend Kilimanjaro.

She reached the top on her partner Chris Falloof’s birthday and the pair met up in Zanzibar following the climb.