A few members of my team and I recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and I agree with William Blake that “Great things are done when men and mountains meet “.
Kilimanjaro is not only Africa's tallest peak, but also the world's tallest free-standing mountain. Therefore, it was a humbling experience to summit Uhuru Point @ 5,895 meters and an incredible and amazing adventure.
I really enjoyed the journey, and the tour guide G2G Adventures, led by Albert Goodluck and his team that supported us, were exceptional. They kept on reminding us to take it easy. “Pole, Pole”, as they say in Swahili, and that was the most important lesson.
They went out of their way to make us feel comfortable, and I highly recommend that you book with them if this is something that is on your bucket list.
This concept of taking it easy… one step at a time and enjoying the journey rather than being obsessed with the destination or goal taught me patience and set the pace for the climb. It was great to be present and enjoy the forest, clean air and the scenery. Although the climb was very demanding physically due to the constant change in altitude and changing weather conditions, it was easier when focusing on the task at hand.
As we were getting closer to the mountain, getting to the top seemed like quite a distance, but when you focus on your objective for the day, which is to get to the next base camp, it becomes more manageable.
In his best-selling book, Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change, Harvard-trained researcher, Shawn Anchor defines happiness as “the joy one feels striving for one’s potential.” He argues that small mental victories lead to an outpouring of success based on positive changes.
Every day on the climb was different; the vegetation changed, and the weather changed constantly as we moved along the mountain from being hot to cold, so a wardrobe change was required frequently, but the spirit of the team was incredible, and I was inspired by the beautiful people around me and the beauty of nature. ‘Pole, Pole’ - We focused on small victories every day.
The porters carrying our bags and equipment were the biggest inspiration as they would walk past you carrying a much heavier load, and you feel humbled by their strength and commitment and highly motivated to get to the destination.
Everyone climbing the mountain motivates each other and has a great sense of community. Most importantly, you hear “Hakuna Ma Tata” (“no worries” or there are no “troubles”) all the time as a term of encouragement when you feel exhausted, which inevitably puts a smile on your face and gives you the motivation to continue.
On the 6th night at 11 PM, we made our way from Barafu Camp towards the summit and it was magic to climb at night and reach the summit at Sunrise.
When I asked why we are doing the climb at night and not early in the morning I was told that most people find it quite daunting to climb the last 5 KM and ascent of around 1500 m from 4,400 to 5,895 during the day, so at night it is easier even though it was really freezing at below “0 “degrees and when we reached the summit -10 C.
I was sharing a room with an amazing guy, Pravin, who joined his partner, Arina, for the journey. He told me he was planning to propose to her at the summit on the first night before we started the journey, but we kept it a secret. As they are both from Durban, the altitude got to Arina, and she almost did not make the summit, but she pushed through as we were all encouraging her to do it, and we were so glad she did.
The sense of achievement when you reach the summit is incredible and the beauty around you is breathtaking. The glacier at the top was magnificent and sadly we heard that it may disappear due to global warming in the next few years, so we were lucky to experience it.
One of the guides we travelled with was wearing an interesting T -Shirt that said “Donate @Life “and when I asked him about it , he mentioned that it was a special climb he does for people who donated their kidney or have one kidney. When I mentioned to him that I lost my right kidney to cancer two years ago and that the motivation for my climb was to celebrate being cancer-free and regaining my health, it took him by surprise, and we formed a special bond at the summit.
When we got back, we celebrated 25 years of Digital innovation for DSG on the 1st of September and I cannot say that I have been patient over the years but I certainly learnt to be more Chilled over the last few , and learnt to enjoy the journey rather than the destination, and most importantly learnt the best views come after the hardest climb.
My biggest lesson from this journey is that #DoingSomethingGreat is learning to be patient like mother nature and that your attitude can be adapted when experiencing a higher altitude.
10/25/2023 12:00:00 AM
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