Garrett,
14, was to have made the 19,340-foot ascent with Steve Pickett, who
completed the climb in August 2004. But Pickett, a Lakeland resident, died
in an April 2005 automobile accident.He said it wasn't as cold as he expected it to be when he reached the top, according to a release sent on behalf of Garrett and his mother, Cathy Robinson Pickett, one of several people with him in Tanzania.
Three -- Julie Sprague of Naples, Aki Komulainen of Stuart and Mark Tatro of Atlanta -climbed with him, but he was the only one who made it to the top, the report said.
Garrett's climb had two purposes:
• Scatter his stepfather's ashes;
• Raise money for Friends-Together, the non-profit HIV/AIDS organization the Picketts created.
Pictures and journals
from the climb are on the Friends-Together Web site,
www.friendstogether.org.
Raising money for FriendsTogether is the reason Steve Pickett had made the
earlier journey.
Pictures and journals from the climb are on the
Friends-Together Web site,
www.friendstogether.org.
Raising money for FriendsTogether is the reason Steve Pickett had made the earlier journey.
Volunteers pay their own travel and climb expenses, along with securing pledges for donations to Friends-Together. They distributed school and medical supplies to HIV/AIDS charities and clinics in Tanzania, Robinson Pickett said.
Raising money for FriendsTogether is the reason Steve Pickett had made the earlier journey.
Volunteers pay their own travel and climb expenses, along with securing pledges for donations to Friends-Together. They distributed school and medical supplies to HIV/AIDS charities and clinics in Tanzania, Robinson Pickett said.