Summiting Kilimanjaro, And It’s Only Friday Morning
Kilimanjaro may not be the challenge that is Everest or K2 (or reading Finnegan’s Wake), but I’ve read Into Thin Air, and I assure you, if I’m going to hike any continent’s highest mountain peak, I’m going to choose the one where I can wear shorts and a t-shirt throughout most of the trek.
But, as seen in this article (a perfect Friday read: long-form, escapist, has nothing to do with work) about one guy’s adventure up the mountain, Kilimanjaro is no walk in the park (it’s estimated that only 40% of the 22,000 climbers who attempt the climb yearly make it to the summit).
As the author recounts on the morning of the final ascent: “We progressed up the switchbacks for a good four hours, stopping only briefly because of the cold. No one took any photos. I felt my heart laboring, and tried to repress irrational fears of it exploding in my chest.” I can relate, I sometimes have the same feelings on the subway during my commute in the morning.