Climb Kilimanjaro – For Real or Metaphorically

Last summer I lived about four miles from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), in Princeton, NJ. It’s a pleasant walk along quiet streets, wooded foot paths, and an old canal. Our local elevation is barely 160 feet above sea level, so the going literally is a walk in the park. Until summer 2011, that is, when I lugged 40 pounds in a backpack, both ways, most days, for several weeks. I was getting in shape for what turned out to be a walk of a very different kind — straight up Mount Kilimanjaro, the legendary “Roof of Africa.”

In recent years, my love of hiking has led me up higher and higher slopes — the Green Mountains of Vermont, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Mount Rainier of my Seattle childhood. Now I felt a compulsion for something more — a milestone experience to mark the convergence of my own life’s major paths. I was 30 years out of medical school and coming up on my 10th anniversary at RWJF. I was blessed with a terrific family. The Foundation, where I have the best job in the world, was turning 40. I wanted to celebrate, to soar, to honor life itself. The climb-of-a-lifetime had great appeal.
So last August, my 30-something daughter, Rel, and I set out for the snows of Kilimanjaro. From the western approach, it was a trek of 42 miles, spread over eight days, that dished out the toughest challenges I’ve ever faced. With the looming mountain breaking the horizon’s edge, we set off across a low, flat plain, rising gradually through sopping rain forests and grassy savannahs to an other-worldly alpine desert leading to a four-mile-high arctic habitat.
Each day, the air was thinner, the grade sharper, the camps rougher, the fatigue more severe. Finally, in parkas, gaiters, and high-tech hand gear, out-climbing clouds and glaciers and even some of our fellow trekkers, we crested the rocky summit. More moonscape than landscape, it was lonely, beautiful, terrifying, and spectacular. Someone said it was like “wing-walking on a 747.”
Exhausted, gasping for breath, disoriented by lack of oxygen, we were allotted only 15 minutes to glory in the summit before survival demanded we begin the descent. What they say is really true — going down is harder than going up.
I’m not saying that everyone should climb a mountain this summer – although, as president of the largest U.S. foundation dedicated to improving health, I do believe we should engage in some sort of activity where improved well-being is one of the goals. But we should all take on a challenge once in a while, especially when life seems all that it can be. That’s as good a time as any to get out of your comfort zone, look at the world from a different perspective, re-examine your goals, and your path. Such a challenge can be done in many ways and places, not just at the top of a mountain.
Back home from this trip of a lifetime, I kept replaying the trek in my mind. I thought of Samia, our amazing guide, and the checklist which he hounded us to follow:

Measure each pace — Step. Pause. Step. Pause.
Keep progress slow, but steady.
Always onward. Always upward.
Maximize progress. Minimize risk.
Know your limits.
Know when to stop/rest so you don’t have to stop/halt.

Wise words for most endeavors! So my tip when casting about for a summer activity: Go somewhere new, try something you’ve never done before, challenge yourself! Climb that metaphorical mountain. And of course, make wellness – physical, emotional, and mental – a part of every activity.
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, is president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest health and healthcare philanthropy.
For 50+ more summer favorites from Influencers, check out the full Influencer Summer Guide here. Photo: iStockphoto

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