Climbing Kilimanjaro is ‘out of this world’ – Two Fourways teenagers conquer Africa’s highest mountain

Climbing Africa’s highest mountain is quite a feat, but doing it while you are still a teenager is even more impressive.

Fourways High School can boast the achievements of Grade 11s Chloe Greig and Joshua Flanagan, who conquered Mount Kilimanjaro recently.

‘Beyond beautiful’, ‘out of this world’ and ‘priceless’ are some of the terms they used to describe their experience.

The youngsters, along with a group of close friends, trained hard physically for the climb before they arrived in Moshi, Tanzania.

“Our climb started immediately with a steady but significant ascent into the rainforest,” said Joshua.

“It rained hard and took five hours to get to our first camp. [Then] as if entering another world, we stepped out of the rainforest into the Alpine dessert with vast expanses of mountain with sparse vegetation.”

He said the scenery was amazing and as they reached 3km elevation, it started getting cold.

Chloe said, “There were some extremely tough times in the wind, rain, snow and hail where the cold and fatigue hit you, but you had to keep going.”

And so they did.

“From the long, beautiful hikes to the drastic weather conditions and everything in-between, it was definitely worth it, because, in the end, the experiences of personal growth and the memories you take back are priceless,” she added.

Joshua said the fourth and fifth days were difficult as they reached the summit.

“It was one of the hardest things I’d ever done to keep moving forward, barely moving a metre for every four steps.”

He said as he reached Stellar Point he knew he had to hike the last 1,5km to the summit quickly if he wanted to reach it before sunrise. Joshua left the group behind and jogged up the last stretch with a guide.

“Upon reaching the highest point in Africa, I felt a rather unusual feeling of accomplishment that left me speechless. This feeling mixed with the view of the sun just now rising above the clouds made for an experience shown in the movies.”

Chloe said the bonds she made with the group, guides and porters on the journey would last forever.

“In just one week, we felt like family,” she said.

“On the mountain, you reconnect with yourself without technology and civilisation. Everyone is there for one another, but you are the only one who can place one foot in front of the other.

“Nobody can do it for you. I can try to explain the experience in a million words but the soul-searching and self-realisation you gain on the mountain are surreal.”

What do you think about this amazing achievement? Have you climbed Mount Kilimanjaro? Share your thoughts and stories with us by emailing our news editor on sarahk@caxton.co.za