Never Give Up: Summiting Mount Kilimanjaro

By: Brian Hoeflinger, MD

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own. Not medical advice.

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My son Kevin and I recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. It was an 8 day journey along the Lemosho Route and it is easily one of the hardest things that I have ever done in my life.

After 6 days of climbing for several hours each day, we were sitting at base camp at just over 15,000 feet elevation. We were tired and worn out. But the final climb to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro was yet to come. We were facing an all night climb in the freezing cold up another 4,000 ft to the summit.

We had about 8 hours to rest until the final climb. However, I had no appetite, wasn’t drinking enough water, and had just had four hours of diarrhea. So there was no resting or sleeping for me. Then came 11 pm. It was time to start getting ready.

We needed to put all our gear on, including 4 to 5 layers of clothing, our boots, gloves, hat, and headlight. We filled our 3 liter water container and 1 liter water bottle. Then, we wrapped the water bottle in a sock and turned it upside down so it wouldn't freeze during the night. Soon came midnight and it was time to leave. I was definitely not feeling my best, but it was now or never. I needed to at least give it my best shot at this point.

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As we initially started our ascent through the cold, pitch black of night, I followed the lead guide Peter very closely over steep rough terrain. This included climbing up and over rocks and boulders. After about 30 minutes of climbing, I couldn’t breath or control my heart rate. I couldn’t breathe because my chest felt constricted. I was wearing too much clothing and the weight of my backpack was crushing me at this altitude. So I stopped and told Peter my guide what was happening.

After catching my breath and letting my heart rate slow down, I removed some layers of clothing from my upper body. The assistant lead guide Gerald also took my backpack from me and carried it. I already felt much better. We started back up and I could breathe again.

The narrow, dark trail switched back and forth as we steadily climbed up the mountain. The headlights we wore helped marginally to see in the darkness. It mainly helped me to see Peter in front of me and wear to place my immediate next step. Other than that, I couldn't see much. And the trail was steep. If you veered off the path to the side, you would fall a long way before you could stop yourself. I really did not want to fall. So I stayed right on Peter’s tail and focused on one step at a time.

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As we climbed higher, it again started to get harder and harder for me to breath. I had to stop frequently to rest before pushing onward. My body felt tired and sluggish. My heart was racing. I felt like I was nearly out of breath. Around 17,500 feet elevation and about 4.5 hours of climbing through the darkness, I turned to Peter and said that I needed to stop and turn back. At that exact moment, all I really wanted to do was lay down, curl up, close my eyes, and fall asleep. But that wasn’t even an option. I was feeling like I was trapped at 17,500 feet on this mountain. So what to do next?

Peter tried to encourage me. He said, “I’ve watched you climb all week and I know that you can make it to the top. But if you want to turn around, I will not stop you.” Kevin, my son, told me not to let my mind talk me out of reaching the summit. He said, “I know that you can do it. Just don’t let your mind or body talk yourself out of it before you have truly given it your all.”

Then I thought to myself, even if I don’t reach the summit, at least I tried my best and there would be nothing to be ashamed about. Better that than having a heart attack and dying. So I waited, rested a bit and thought things through the best that I could.

Now for the ultimate decision. Should I quit or keep going? I decided to keep going and not give up. I didn’t know if I could make it or even worse hurt myself. But I knew that I needed to give it my all. I think that Kevin was partially right. When I would look up and see the never-ending trail of lights moving upwards as far as the eye could see, it scared and intimidated me. It looked as though people were walking straight up into the sky with no end in sight. Looking from that perspective, I was overwhelmed and unsure of my ability to get way up to where those lights were going. Then, I changed my mindset. I thought if I followed Peter and just literally focused on one step at a time and thought of nothing else, then maybe I could make it. So that’s what I did.

We slowed our pace and I completely focused on just one step at a time. One foot in front of the other. I rarely looked up the rest of the night. You can’t see anything anyways other than the headlights above and below you. At first it was tough because the urge to stop kept creeping back into my mind. But as the night progressed and with the encouragement of my team, I moved onward and upward through the cold, dark nighttime hours.

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Eventually, I could see a warm glow off on the horizon to my right. It was the beginnings of sunrise and we made it through the night. After climbing for 6 hours, we were less than a 1,000 ft from the summit and for the first time since we started, I felt like I was going to make it to the top.

As the sunrise gave way to morning, I found my last bit of inner strength. Peter had us stop for a cup of warm tea and a short rest before the last push to Stella point (almost 18,900 feet elevation) and Uhuru Peak, the summit. We then resumed our ever exhausting slow march upward. After another hour or so of climbing up through the uneven, loose, volcanic stone and gravel, we had finally reached the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro!

I was so exhausted at the moment that I could hardly appreciate what we had just done. But as I rested and came more to my senses, I experienced an immediate overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. The world became very serene as I slowly took in the unimaginable views from the top of Africa. We were above the clouds looking down on an entire continent. I felt very small as I took in the world around me. The ice fields and glaciers were reflecting the morning sun, and the cold wind on my face reminded me of how alive I truly was. It was a culmination of 6 months of planning and hard work. We stayed on the summit for about 30 minutes taking it all in and getting lots of pictures and videos. Then, we turned around and started the long journey back down the mountain.

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I tell you of this experience because I think it gives a good perspective on the challenges we all face in life. We often get overwhelmed with thinking too far into the future as obstacles stack up in front of us. Our initial reaction is avoid the situation or turn back and retreat to a safer place as I wanted to do at 17,500 feet.

But by changing my perspective and adjusting my mindset to a new setting, I was able to face the challenge in front of me and complete the climb. Instead of looking ahead of me way up the mountain, I focused on my immediate surroundings, particularly my feet, and took one small step at a time. Each individual step took me one step closer to the top. And with time and my new mindset, I made it to the 19,341 foot summit of Mount Kilimanjaro even though I was ready to give up and turn around just a short time ago.

Life can become very overwhelming all at once. Whether you are climbing a mountain or moving through your daily routines, stay focused on where you are right now and then slowly complete your individual tasks one by one. Do not think about everything that you have ahead of you all at once. Take each task or chore one at a time. Complete one task and then move on to the next and so on. Before you know it, your tasks will be finished and your day will be done. Furthermore, you will be ready to start a fresh new climb tomorrow. If you can stack up enough days like this, then there is nothing in life that you cannot achieve!

Too often in life, we feel like giving up. It’s just easier. But unless we continually challenge ourselves and take a few chances out of our comfort zone, we can never grow to new and greater personal heights. Always keep moving forward. It’s definitely easier to turn around. But if we do so, we will never experience the beauty and perspective at the top of the mountain!

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Quick Note

One of our goals with climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was to raise awareness and money for two amazing charities: SameYou and Tanzania Health and Medical Education Foundation (TAHMEF).

As an incentive for donating, I would like to send you or a friend a personalized video message that you may create if you will help us reach $25,000 raised for charity! We are over $19,000 and closing in.

You can learn more about our fundraiser and donate at this link: https://gofund.me/e7f3e79e​
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Impactful Quote of the Week

"Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing."

- Barry Finlay

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All the best,

Brian Hoeflinger