When US President Barack Obama was in Kenya at the end of July, he mentioned in an interview with Capital FM that climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the 5895 meter (19,341 foot) peak, Africa’s highest mountain, just over the border in Tanzania, was on his bucket list for after his presidency. He said:
“I know that there are places in this beautiful nation that I haven’t discovered, so I am gonna make sure I get back, and it is not just Kenya, it is an ecosystem connected from Uganda to Tanzania. Climbing Kilimanjaro seems like something that should be on my list of things to do once I get out of here. The Secret Service generally doesn’t like me climbing mountains, but as a private citizen hopefully I can get away with something like that.”
So Jae, Oscar and I can consider that we are pretty lucky to be getting the chance to do something that the American President can’t at present. When I think about it, it must be quite scary doing something you might fail at in the public eye, when you are a famous person. At least if the 3G climbers don’t quite make it, the whole world won’t know – just our few hundred loyal supporters, who, I am sure, will all comfort us with kind words.
There have been some very famous people on Kilimanjaro. Radio One DJ Chris Moyles famously made it to Uhuru Peak in 2009 along with a team of celebrities including Gary Barlow and Cheryl Cole, to raise money for Comic Relief. Weighing 20-stone, Chris was certainly not in top-condition for the climb, but he made it all the same! That makes me wonder why we have bothered about keeping fit and getting our BMI’s into the lower part of the healthy scale.
Just going to prove that money cannot buy everything, Billionaire and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, did not make it all the way to the Roof of Africa, and had to abandon his attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro after suffering breathing problems…
As did tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who set out to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro in 2010. Hoping the climb would help her overcome a tough year, the nine-time Wimbledon winner was overcome by a combination of altitude sickness and a stomach infection, which led to her being carried down the mountain on a makeshift stretcher and hospitalised.
Money, fame, and physical fitness may not help you get to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Let’s hope that willpower, determination and the knowledge that all of our family and friends back home are supporting us, may just do the trick!