A father and son team are spending the next 14 days hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro in Arusha, Tanzania to raise money for juvenile diabetes.

Matthew R. Weir, director of the division of nephrology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and his son, M. Ryan Weir, a business banking officer for M&T Bank in Towson, began their journey Thursday and plan to finish on Sept. 16.

The pair became interested in diabetes research after a close family friend was diagnosed with Type 1 of the disease and almost went into a coma.

"It was an eye-opening experience," M. Ryan Weir said. The Weirs hope to raise a dollar for every foot of the 19,341-foot ascent they climb. The money will go towards research for the Maryland chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Kilimanjaro is the tallest peak in Africa and is challenging because of varying weather conditions.

Dad, 57, claims his son coerced him into taking on the adventure.

"Either it's a midlife crisis or stupidity, but I allowed him to convince me to do it," said Matthew Weir.

The Weirs are both athletic and used activities such as running and skiing to train for the climb.

"There is certainly some nervousness," said M. Ryan Weir, 25. "As much as you train and run it is as much about how your metabolism handles the altitude."

When asked if he thought this would be harder than a marathon, dad Matthew said, "If I'm alive when we get back, ask me the question."

The Weirs plan to give updates about their climb at http://twitter.com/cureatopkili. To donate visit http://jdrfevents.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.eventDetails&eventID=569