As a child of the Alps, I have always had a strong connection to mountains. However, after fracturing my heel bone during a climb a few years prior, I can no longer climb well, due to the resulting deformation.

Nevertheless, one of my lifelong goals has been to climb some of the “Seven Summits” (the highest peaks of each of the seven continents). In Europe the highest peak is Elbrus (5,642 meters elevation); Africa’s highest peak is Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters elevation) in Tanzania and South America’s highest peak is Aconcagua (6,962 meters elevation) in Argentina. I selected these as my targets since I believed that I could summit them with my ability and training.

Due to the coronavirus, I had plenty of time at home to spend making plans. It was then, by chance, that I saw an ad from Aktivferien AG. They were holding an informational evening close by, centered around climbing Kilimanjaro.