If only Kilimanjaro’s summit at 5895m could talk then I wonder what tales it would tell for it has seen hundreds of thousands of determined trekkers

, delighted to be standing on top of the World’s tallest free standing mountain celebrating with that well-known summit picture – proof that they’ve been there and bagged it!

But never before has Kilimanjaro witnessed such a stylish approach as that taken by Ajay Sharma, from Surbiton, UK. To celebrate his success he quickly changed into one of his favourite suits, custom made by Kathryn Sargent of Gieves and Hawkes, Saville Row fame.

Ajay also turned 35 years old on the mountain explained his motivation to climb Kilimanjaro. “I wanted to climb the mountain in 2002, but my wife (of the time) veto-ed it! I then watched in near-despair as the years ticked by and every Tom, Dick and Harry appeared to climb it on TV. My ex-wife and I are now very good friends, and we joked about her veto one day. A day or so later, my personal trainer was telling me about his own climb to Everest Base Camp. That put the idea back in my mind, and I booked my trip with Private Kilimanjaro a week or so later!

“My ex-wife's delighted I climbed the mountain now, she hopes I'll stop the emotional guilt trip on her every time either of us hears a press story about Kilimanjaro! I felt it was an 'occasion' for me, to summit, and wanted to wear one of my nice suits at the top. I generally wear Saville row suits during the day, and the prospect of being photographed in hiking gear for my 'big day' was playing on my mind somewhat! The suit was made for me by Kathryn Sargent, a bespoke commission last year, from G&H. I did have a bow tie in my pocket but my brain had become completely scrambled from a few days of mountain sickness by the time I reached the top and after three attempts to tie it, I gave up!

“I also thought that Icelandic Ash Cloud was going to foil my attempt as all flights were canceled on my planned start date, but thankfully Private Kilimanjaro were really helpful and rearranged my climb to start immediately the flights were operational again.”