Ever since I was a young boy I've imagined trekking through the jungle and then on up to the snow-covered peak of Kilimanjaro. When my friend Donna rang me and told me of an upcoming talk by John Manley of his 2007 ascent of the mountain, of course I had to attend.
I remembered hearing Mr. Manley speak of his upcoming climb on a CBC Radio interview and it piqued my interest even then. However, timing is everything and my job was certainly in the way in those days. To the point where I couldn't find the time to even follow his blog (in the Globe & Mail).
As I walked to the Lord Elgin Hotel in Ottawa that crisp autumn evening I was already tingling with anticipation of the possibility of finally making that long dreamed of climb of Kilimanjaro. Is it really possible? The presentation was opened by Rosemary Tassie, of Care Canada, who spoke of her 2005 ascent and then she introduced Eddie Frank, of Tusker Trail - the top guide group on the mountain. Eddie, dressed as you would expect an African guide to be dressed, talked of Africa, Tanzania and Kili with a visible passion for the region and what he does for a living. (Maybe I could really do this!) Eddie introduced John Manley, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, who spoke of his 2007 climb. Mr. Manley spoke of his preparation (45-minutes on the 'stairway-to-hell' at the gym! Yikes!), the cause (Care's project to reduce the socio-economic impact of HIV & AIDS among women and young people in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.) and the feeling of accomplishment the completion of the climb provided to him. I asked questions of both Messrs. Frank and Manley during the talk regarding what could prevent someone from summiting and later spoke privately with Mr. Manley. My walk back to the car had me convinced even more: I've got to try and do this.
