Two weeks ago I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (5895 m) with a group of 10 women of age 50 to 71 from the Kilimanjaro Association, Poland. The oldest climber was 71 yrs. old Teresa. It has been one of the most powerful experiences in my life and I want to share with you few lessons I learnt
1) I made a decision to climb the Roof of Africa 12 months ago and the first question I had was WHY? Why do I want it so much? Well, I love hiking mountains. But, my deeper motivation was to discover myself better in difficult situations, to learn about team building, trust-building and decision making processes in critical circumstances. I wanted to be away from the noise of social media, technology and everyday life. To do sthg meaningful. And I did learn a lot about relationships, trust and leadership. I learnt a lot about local people, customs and Tanzania. Understanding my dream better, helped me to be more focused, determined and deliberate.
2) Once you set your goal be positive about it, create positive scenarios and a good preparation plan. Many people asked us questions like: aren’t you too old? You are not professional climbers how will you do it? do you have enough experience, equipment, etc.? Don’t let negative thoughts and criticism stop you and drag you down. Your age, position, status should never be a barrier to realize your dreams.
3) While climbing to the summit, focus on the next base camp. The summit (your goal) might be huge, dangerous, terrifying and very far away. So don’t get obsessed nor distracted by all the threads you might encounter on the way. Instead of that, concentrate on every single stage of your trip, every base camp, every day. Be in the moment. Celebrate small victories and feast with your people/team. This is what I learnt from our guides and porters (local Tanzanian people) who accompanied us an a 8-day trek up and down the mountain. The Kilimanjaro song we sang together built unity and excitement in our team.
4) Be with the right people. They will empower you to reach the top.
Kilimanjaro expedition is a big project, groups of climbers are led by guides and supported by porters. It requires a great leadership and cooperation among the team. I met super dedicated, professional and caring people on the way. Our chief guide: Kelvin Donald and his team: Geofry, Gerald, Judica, Patric and Rajpa created a circle of safety for us. They were positive and engaged every day, calm and supportive in difficult situations and had a strong belief in us. But most of all they were great humans who shared their stories, passions and fears with us. They were real and authentic. It is a great example of leadership behavior for us.
our guides from left to right: Rajpa, Patric, Geofry, Judica and Kelvin (chief guide)
5) Never give up, you can do more than you can imagine. There will be moments of crisis, doubt, frustration, loneliness. I had such moments during the summit night, the last night when we attacked the summit. Bad weather conditions (freezing cold, wind and snow), darkness and high elevation (above 5000 m) all together deteriorated my strength. But the real battle was happening in my head. “I can hardly breath, I have no energy to climb, I wanna stop” – these thoughts bombarded my mind. The only thing I could concentrate on was one step forward. One step – inhale, next step – exhale, one step – inhale, next step – exhale. Nothing more. Just one step. And it helped. It really helped. I made it to the top. So when it is so hard you wanna give up, make just one step, next step.
We reached Mt Kilimanjaro at 6:30 am on 23rd October 2017. 11 women from the Kilimanjaro Association and our guides. I am so proud to be a part of this team of women who follow their dreams and support each other. I wish you find your tribe and follow your dreams!