At first, the idea of climbing Africa’s highest mountain came from my mother.
She prepared all the equipment by herself, and planned everything together with a coach, Mr Li. For me, it was going to be a challenge, and for her, even more so. However, she still made the preparations, and she also had great trust that I could complete it.
With this knowledge and the fact that Mr. Li had been there previously, we travelled to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. This journey was an adventure for both me and my mum. At that time, I didn’t have much concept about it. After all, this was my first mountain, so I went without much pressure, but felt a lot of pressure once I started climbing.
The first day was probably the most difficult for me, and it was the day when I most wanted to give up. It rained heavily, and I really hated the mud. It was the first day of climbing, so I didn’t know my own physical strength and rhythm, or how to conserve energy. So, while others reached the base camp in 6 to 7 hours, we took almost 8.
After reaching base camp, my legs were extremely sore, and I lost my temper. The place was full of mud and my shoes were dirty. Although it seemed like a small thing, it made me very angry, and this small thing turned into a big deal. I said, “I want to go down the mountain.” But my mother just told me no.
Then I got even angrier and ignored her. I went to bed still angry. The next morning, our guide told us we only needed to walk for 2 hours that day, and my mood wasn’t so bad. Actually, I’d started to accept it a bit.
We got up at six the next morning, and the guide brought us sugar water to replenish our energy. We got dressed neatly, washed up, and it was already seven o’clock. We had some breakfast, and set off. The main task on the second day was to slowly ascend.
Throughout the whole journey, no one in the team talked. On the way, we came across two vultures. I was really brave and went up to take a look and even took some close-up photos. I found that they weren’t afraid of people at all and didn’t show any aggression.
On the third day, we walked on flat roads and climbed up little by little. It was a relatively easy day, but the journey was long. We didn’t reach the campsite until five o’clock.
On the fourth day, we set off early in the morning just like before. This part of the journey was more like rock climbing. I thought it was quite fun, but we had to be very careful because there were some dangerous places. My mother was quite tired when climbing this part, while I didn’t feel it as much. After reaching the top, we came across snow!
On the fifth day, we just kept climbing up and then going down slopes, one after another. Since we were still slowly rising in altitude, it was freezing cold and snowing all the way. Today we would reach a height of 4,900 meters, set up the tent, and go to bed early because we would attempt to reach the summit the next day, and we had to set off at midnight. I was both nervous and excited, and afraid that I might not make it to the top.
The sixth day was the day of the summit, and it was also the most nerve-wracking and terrifying day. I hadn’t been able to sleep the night before, only getting 4 hours of sleep. Worse, my mother didn’t sleep at all that night—she had altitude sickness.
Everyone was in a heavy mood. However, we all decided in our hearts that we must climb to the top. No matter what the result was, at least we could leave our footprints in the snow.
Reaching the summit was arduous. We took many breaks. Even when we reached 5,220 meters, I still wanted to give up. In the end, I realised I couldn’t quit at the last hurdle. So I perservered and finally reached the top—5,756 meters—and rested for a long time.
To successfully reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, I’m very grateful for the help from my mother and Coach Li. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have achieved this result. But you also have to be determined, and not falter.
I came to the conclusion that your progress can be due to the guidance of someone wise, or the instruction of a famous teacher, but it can also be a sudden realization of your inner desire, and strength of will.
I’m glad I climbed a mountain—and learned something new about myself.
