A doctor with a bag of steroids, Uncle Sam, a creationist, big bro and little sis, a young bucket lister, and a Michael Jackson impersonator set out to climb a mountain…

My brother and I, plus 5 other members of our new mountain family summited Kilimanjaro on January 21. Kili is the highest point in Africa at 5895m or ~19000ft.

I learned early on to not ask too many questions of how far and how much longer. With every day preplanned, I had the luxury to adopt a mindset of ‘we will get wherever we’re going when we get there,’ and all I needed to do was enjoy the journey and maintain mental strength.

There is constant beauty in environment and climate, trying mental/physical states, space for clear personal thought, conversations with others. The rocks and the trees and the insects and the glaciers are all incredible on macro and micro scale, every moment and detail ripe for exploration and appreciation.

For the most part, “climbing” Kilimanjaro is more of a long hike, though through varying altitude which commonly causes shortness of breath, nausea, and headaches. Statistics say that 1 in 4 puke at some point during the climb but we were called the ~Dream Team~ (one team, one dream!) so the 7 of us were obviously destined for greatness, and none of us encountering the elusive African Yak.

There were 3 guides and 25 porters for our group, and it is not uncommon that they have climbed Kili hundreds of times. Guides have extensive training in mountain specific first aid, and flora and fauna identification. Many are porters for years before and know every route by heart. To put it lightly, the porters have an especially difficult job. Each of them carries ~30kg of client baggage in addition to their own necessities for the week. They balance the loads on their heads or shoulders while walking in varied climate and terrain, while clients (like myself) carry only a daypack. They are paid somewhere around $6 a day, with ages ranging from late teens to mid 60s.

The experience through ClimbingKilimanjaro.com was fantastic and relatively luxurious. All meals were served hot and inside of a tent, wake up calls with ginger tea every morning, twice daily medical checks for oxygen levels and heart rate. We all felt very well taken care of, our group size was perfect, and staff before, during, and after the trip were accessible and helpful. Highly recommended.

Temperatures ranged from mid 70s with heavy humidity near the bottom of the mountain, to below freezing at night and during summit day. Climate varied throughout the day depending on our altitude, but (though abnormal for January) there was some rain and fog. Our trip began in humid jungle, went through alpine desert, lush moorland, volcanic extrusions, mud, and snow. I brought all clothing listed on the packing list and used everything.

The people that we met on the mountain were of all shapes and sizes — ages, nationalities, backgrounds, physical condition, etc. Our chief guide told us a story of three 130kg women that he took up the mountain (summit day took them 26 hours), and continually used the ‘fat ladies’ as inspiration whenever our spirits were low. The climb is accessible to everyone — you will push personal limits. but are in good hands to do so. I did no training before (because I got hit by a car and sprained my ankle) but would recommend doing local hikes and leg strengthening.

Just do it — there is a frozen leopard around the summit that you must see with your own eyes