Summit of Mount Kilimanjaro

Today we started our journey to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. First stop is in the Maasai plains, at the foot of the mountain, for our week-long training camp! The drive was much quicker than I thought, although we did break down on the way. Once we arrived at the hotel, we met with the other youth from Tanzania who will be taking part too.

So far I loved our intro session. We did to get to know everyone and also some of the ice breakers in the evening were great. I think we have a great group and it will be interesting to see how we all gel as the camp goes on. I am feeling nervous and excited for what to expect from the camp although I know that I will learn a lot from the experience! I think that once we are trekking and camping in the plains, that is when I will really have to challenge myself mentally and physically. So far I don’t really know what to expect and even though I have spoken to people about the camp and climbing, of course it will be different for everyone. My highlight of the day was definitely seeing Mawe again. He is our instructor, and he has been to our home village to provide youth training a number of times. I’m so excited to be climbing with him as he is so positive so it will definitely push me to continue even when I feel like I want to quit. As I haven’t really done a physical prep for the climb I did look into the Wim Hof Method. Due to the high altitudes, once we get to the mountain, I have been practicing his breathing method so I hope that will help me as I go on.

– Akinyi Obama-Manners, 8/10 – 2021