Vuvuzela hits its highest note yet

The first thing an Eastern Cape IT specialist did when he conquered the highest peak in Europe was blow his vuvuzela.

"For a brief moment, I was the highest person in Europe. I was also the first person to blow a vuvuzela at the top, despite fears that I might cause an avalanche," he said.

Dhaya, who has a pilot's licence and has a passion for adventure sports, said he tried to summit the mountain last year but stopped 200m from the top because of bad weather.

"This attempt was after two years of training. The climb was done over eight days.

"If I had to do this mountain again, it would probably be in about four years' time.

"When I turned 21, I planned to climb Kilimanjaro. After watching a documentary called An Inconvenient Truth, I decided I had to do it. After Kilimanjaro, I said never, ever again."

But a few years later, he was bitten by the climbing bug again.

"It has become a passion or unhealthy obsession."

He said Mount Elbrus was three times tougher than Kilimanjaro.

"Some of the difficulties were high-altitude sickness, cold and change of weather. It was minus-20 degrees at the top, better than last year when it was minus-40."

He said he now planned to drive across Africa to the UK, climb Mount Blanc in France next year and then tackle the 7000m Aconcagua in South America in 2013.

By TASCHICA PILLAY (The Times/Sunday Times)

BLOWING HIS TRUMPET: Dharmesh Dhaya on the summit of Mount Elbrus in Russia Picture: SUPPLIED

Dharmesh Dhaya, 32, of King William's Town, was one of eight South Africans who recently summited Mount Elbrus, an inactive volcano in the western Caucasus mountain range in Russia.