West Devon adventurer Lee Spencer and his daughter Harriet have conquered the highest peak in Africa for charity in dramatic fashion.

Former Royal Marine Lee, a one-legged amputee, and Harriet fulfilled a joint dream by reaching the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro yesterday, Monday, November 3, after a extreme physical and mental challenge that ended in hospital.

On top of the difficulty of only having one leg and severe pain from his leg stump rubbing, both Lee and Harriet suffered severe breathing problems that got worse with descent from the summit – ending in an helicopter emergency evacuation.

After scaling Kilimanjaro and then having to be flown off the mountain, Lee was discovered to have a lung infection, while Harriet had pneumonia, which makes their triumph at climbing 6,000m even more amazing.

Lee’s breathing was so shallow he had to be helped down the highest part of the mountain by guides. Then then were both flown off the mountain for emergency hospital treatment.

They are raising funds for mental health charity Rock2Recovery, supporting military veterans and uniformed emergency service personnel.

Lee said: “After a steady climb, at about 5,200m, well above the snow line, my breathing suddenly became weak and very shallow, my lung capacity was really bad, I assumed it was the altitude.

“Harriet and the rest of the @Rock2Recovery team passed me and from then on, I was hanging on to the thought of summiting with my fingernails. Just taking tiny steps was an herculean effort beyond anything I have ever done. I can’t express how hard it was.

“But I eventually came over the lip at Stella Point just in time to watch the sun rise above the clouds below us with Harriet and the rest of the Rock2Recovery Team.

“It was sensational and the relief after the effort getting there, climbing the last 600m elevation with no lung capacity, was overwhelming.”

Lee, a record-breaking transatlantic rower added: “It wasn’t just a mountain, it was the completion of a long-time ambition for both Harriet and me. To climb Kilimanjaro together.”

Once they had summited, the guides were keen to get him down as quickly as possible as they were concerned about his breathing.

They manhandled him down, but he couldn’t go down further than 20m without stopping and had to be piggy-backed the remaining distance.

Harriet, a mental health nurse, was also struggling to breath and coughing really badly. She had been climbing with no energy and also assumed that it was down to the altitude but it also got worse on the descent.

The only option was for both to be flown by helicopter off the mountain to hospital.

Medics then diagnosed Lee with an underlying bacterial lung infection that inflamed at altitude and swelled, reducing his lung capacity.

Meanwhile, Harriet was diagnosed with pneumonia, yet also, somehow climbed to the roof of Africa.

Lee, who inspires many young people with his motivational speeches, said: “Thank you to Rock 2 Recovery UK for giving us the chance to do something we had always dreamed of doing.

“And a massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to donate to @Rock2Recovery.

“If you have followed me leading up to this, you would’ve been aware of the difficulties I’ve had with my prosthetic.

“My plan has been just get to the start line and see what happens. I honestly didn’t think that summiting was feasible. But I did, and so did Harriet with pneumonia.”

Founded by former Royal Marines, Rock2Recovery offers one-to-one coaching to help individuals recover from stress and trauma.

It also saves the lives of those that are facing unbearable levels of stress and trauma.

Any donations can be made at this link: https://sportsgiving.co.uk/sponsor/activity/r2r-goes-to-kili-october-2025/lee-harriet