A family adventure for a good cause

There were many of you that I know were thinking we were crazy trying to summit Kilimanjaro as a family and that we would therefore not succeed, perhaps maybe just one of us but not all, reaching the top. I can tell you that it was not easy, but when you are driven my a personal experience and connection to an associated good cause (Children’s cancer research), we were determined to prove everyone wrong. So let me tell you what climbing Mt Kilimanjaro was really like!

Preparation: There is tons to do: ensuring all your kit is ready, your visas applied for, approved and purchased (getting to Tanzania from Los Angeles is a challenge so expect >24 hours of travel just to get there) and of course training, training, training, so your legs are ready to carry you to the summit.

Fund Raising: This was actually way harder than we expected so don’t set your goals too high, regardless of your passion to help a good cause. 3 weeks before we flew to Africa, we had only raised ~$2500 towards a goal of $15,000, so we had to come up with a motivator to encourage our friends, families and colleagues to donate. We climbed in support of a very under funded area of research and support for kids cancer, but for most of us parents, we will have avoided this ever affecting our kids. Parting with hard earned cash is hard unless there is a good reason to do so. (This was my final attempt to further increase our donors, by showing everyone just how hard this whole process and venture was)

Day 1 on the mountain: There were plenty of steep ascents, that had Nyah questioning whether she could really do the whole climb, so plenty of support and encouragement needed. This was only further challenged by a sleepless night, as the monkeys spent the whole time chatting and chasing each other through the tree canopy above us. But how amazing is it to sleep below canvas and to hear monkey’s in their natural habitat, dropping sticks on your tent, just having fun?

Day 2: A relentlessly steep climb for over 5 hours, certainly reminded us that this was not going to be easy. The hail storm was a surprise as was the rain that we thought was never going to stop. Getting into camp 2 was a relief, but as temperatures rapidly dropped well below 0 deg C, we were equally reminded that at altitudes over 12,000ft, which we would be spending for the rest of our trek, it is very cold at night in a tent. Nyah was in especially good mood, having conquered the day and having put on a truly spirited walking pace for the final mile or so into camp.

Day 3: Keen to defrost we set off at a good pace but by the end of the day, Nyah was flagging hard. As parents, we had allowed her to only eat what she liked from everything the crew prepared for our meals, but this was not a recipe for success, and an empty fuel tank (stomach) was the real offender here. We confronted the reality of how this had affected her energy, in the most supportive way possible, but it was not the easiest of debates. Bottom line is that it made a difference for the rest of the trek, but in an environment like the mountain, generating confrontation is not easy to do when you just want to be supportive of each other.

Day 4: Acclimitization Day – this is a test to see if we are going to breath and manage well enough over 15,000ft. It involves a steep >2,000ft climb, followed by a steep descent of the same amount. A rocky and challenging descent in the rain, only added to the overall challenge and the impact to our knees and hips. I have to say though, getting served breaded chicken and chips at 15,000ft before descending back down, was a MASSIVE but truly unexpected motivator!

Day 5: Baranco Wall – a nearly 1,000ft shear cliff that has a narrow ledge of a path to climb. It includes the famous “kissing wall” which is the name that describes how you have to hug the rock and reach your foot around a large outcrop to bypass it, literally pushing your face against it too, to help stability. All this unroped! If that doesn’t sound challenging, then imagine you are climbing with or are one of two family members that have vertigo and an acute fear of heights and cliff faces, literally leading to panic attacks, hyper- ventilation and distress. I gave all the support I could, and put on a confident and encouraging act, but inside, I was in turmoil at what I witnessed for them both. Of course their anguish far exceeded mine though! We all made it but the emotions only add to exhaustion of another day on the mountain. A huge credit to our guides Augustine and Isaya. They Led Carrie and Nyah step by step, guiding every foot and hand hold for almost 2 hours. If there was one day that I thought might be the day we came back down unsuccessful, this was it! If you have done any technical climbing, you will find it easy. If you are afraid of heights, you won’t!

Day 6: After more sleep than usual, due to the events of the past day, we were all in a good mood and were soon at base camp. From here we could see the sheer challenge ahead for our summit attempt, which was now only ~ 10 hours away! Attempting to get any sleep ahead of our night’s challenge was relatively impossible, so we knew we would be starting from a tired state. We ate well though and were crazily excited to start the ascent.

Day 7: A 4,500ft steep ascent may not sound too bad but if you add the lack of sleep beforehand, the fact that you are starting at a height of over 15,000ft, which results in every intake of air, having less than 50% of the oxygen levels you normally have at sea-level, the fact that you are climbing in the dark with a head torch to guide you, and that it is hitting -10 Deg C or colder, the ascent is tough! The guides do an awesome job of keeping you on pace, safe and motivated. Nyah had been taking a cough syrup for our entire trek though, having some how developed a chesty cough before we left LA, so by Stella point, she was exhausted and did not feel she could continue. We ate, drank and chatted as a family, providing encouragement and making her aware that she was only ~1 Hr from the summit. I took her rucksack in addition to my own and she said she wanted to give it a try. At this point the sun burst on the horizon, making for the most memorable site you can imagine. It helped, because looking in the eyes of your daughter, in pain, with plenty of fear for her own state, and not taking the option to descend as fast as possible, was a tough thing to agree to, but Carrie and I ultimately did so, and it all worked out OK. Emotions during that 1 hour to the summit were high. At the summit the guide asked me to record a video clip for what all the names on our flag meant. (They were the names of everyone who donated over $100 to kids cancer research – an idea that we came up with, to help achieve our charitable donation goal after the super slow start with donations). I tried to explain but broke down with emotion, while attempting to record it. To summit as a family was our goal and we had done it, but it was overwhelming at the point in time. We descended the 4500ft to base camp as quickly as possible and took a 1 hour rest before descending a further 5,000 ft to our last camp. The rocky and bolder strewn path was brutal on tired legs, but we were at that camp by 4pm – a 16.5 hour Day!!

Day 7: with the elation of getting to the summit, and knowing we were all safe, we descended through the beautiful rain forest to the exit gate but this was a 10km and 6000ft descent, so on weary legs, I would not say we came down quickly.

As a family we are immensely proud of each other for what we achieved, both physically and financially in support of childhood cancer research. (We ended up raising over $20,000 for Childhood Cancer research) It was also a great time to bond as the poor phone reception on the mountain, kept us all off our phones for the majority of the trek.

Would I do it again? Probably not but that is only due to the fact that I would want to find a new mountain to concur!! (Watch this space Embark, I decide which one soon!) I would however go back to Moshi and Kilimanjaro in a heart beat to see the guides, porters and Embark crew, as we sure felt like we had an extended family by the sad day of our departure. (alright then I would have to climb it again, if and when we go back to see them all) I have purposely provided a biased view of the challenges but I could right a novel about the positives which far outweighed the challenges.

It truly was a once in a lifetime experience! NEVER under- estimate your children. Make time for them while they grow and spend money on experiences that they will never forget, rather than material items that are forgotten, within hours or days of them being received. The success on Kilimanjaro taught our daughter than she has an enormous inner strength and if you apply yourself and work hard, you can achieve whatever you set out to achieve

Aim high – 19341Ft High! Thanks for reading this. Carrie, Andy & Nyah

And p.s. If you ever choose to organize a families only Kilimanjaro Climb, please add us all to the briefing video conference, to answer questions and provide encouragement and support to any and everyone considering it.

p.p,.s – please do let us know when you post something on your YouTube channel

For more insight into trekking with kids, check out the Type2Fun Podcast series “Trekking With Kids” here: Part 1 | Part 2.