Category: Mountaineering

Kilimanjaro: Lessons Not Learned

Kilimanjaro: Lessons Not Learned

Mark "Deano" Dean

You’d have thought I’d have learned by now. “What the fuck were you thinking?” I ask myself as the reality of what I’ve agreed to sets in. Not only have I agreed to climb a stupidly big hill again, all in the name of a good cause naturally, but because the original group leader has had to step away I’ve ended up agreeing to pull the trip together as well. At least I’m not playing rugby up there this time.

Since Everest in 2019 I’ve done the square root of fuck all to keep myself in shape. The pressures of Covid, work, Samurai, Wooden Spoon and my complete lack of ability to say no to anyone has meant that, without, exception I am in the worst physical shape of my life. The only thing worse than my physical health is my mental health, and, like all mal-adjusted men I have “solved” that problem by drinking my ever increasing body weight in exceptional red wine, crisp gin and cheap rum.

“Why can’t I just, for once, attempt one of these challenges from a solid level of fitness?” I ask, “Why can’t I just, for once, make this shit easy for myself?”. Nick Wakley, a good friend of mine, once told me that I had the mind set and resilience of an International rugby sevens player and the body mass of two of them. I’m not sure about the first bit but the second bit is currently spot on.

“Deano you’ve got the mind set and resilience of an International rugby sevens player and the body mass of two of them.”

Nick Wakley

I’m 45, 4 years older than when I last went to any real altitude. I’ve had Covid at least twice and one of those times was pretty nasty on lungs. Mentally and physically I’m exhausted and quite frankly you could flip a coin on whether my mind or body fails first. To be able to summit I’ll need to be fitter than I was in 2019 not least because of the increased distance but also because any semblance of youth has since deserted me. I’m firmly middle aged and where stubbornness used to get me out of trouble its not going to be enough this time.

So enough of the hand wringing and whining: time to sort my shit out and embrace the challenge and the huge positives of undertaking it.

So why am I going to climb Kilimanjaro? Top of the list is the fact I am, finally, getting to go on an expedition with my wife. Previously all the challenges I’ve undertaken have been during term time and as my wife is a teacher that prevents her from joining in. This time however the climb is during the school summer break which means she can join me in Tanzania.

Then you’ve got the obvious stuff: the incredible view, the fact it is in East Africa which is one of my favourite places, it’s one of the seven summits, the dramatic change of scenery from savannah to rainforest to tundra, its almost legendary status in global culture and then the fact that I’ve wanted to climb there since I was about ten.

Lastly its all going to be to raise money for a good cause. As Kili’ sits on the border between Tanzania and Kenya and towers over the national park of Amboselli it makes sense for me to raise money for the incredible Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT).

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust operates several wildlife conservation projects, with a primary emphasis on elephant conservation. They have established the world’s most successful elephant orphanage, based in Nairobi, Kenya. The orphanage rescues and cares for orphaned baby elephants, often victims of poaching, human-wildlife conflict, or natural disasters. The elephants are raised with specialized care, including round-the-clock attention, nourishment, and veterinary support until they can be re-integrated into wild elephant populations.

Orphan elephants at the Nairobi orphanage

In addition to their elephant-focused efforts, SWT also works to conserve other endangered species, such as rhinos and giraffes, and runs various community outreach and anti-poaching initiatives. Their work not only aids the individual animals in their care but also contributes to broader conservation and ecological efforts in Kenya and beyond.

If you’ve enjoyed my ramblings and if you are in a position to do so please consider donating to the SWT by clicking here

Due South: The Drawing Board

Due South: The Drawing Board

Mark "Deano" Dean

When you go back to the drawing board and start exploring the Southern Hemisphere, outside of Antarctica, it turns out you are spoilt for choice for potential challenges in some incredibly remote and breathtakingly beautiful places. Personally I’d love to attempt the Sydney-Hobart race, but only on the condition it was with my Kiwi brother Eric Haagh at the helm, so I’ll keep that idea for another day. The other challenges that immediately spring to mind are climbing Aconcagua, or travelling Ruta 40 that runs from the Bolivian border with Argentina, parallel to the Andes Mountains, down to the southernmost tip of South America. As Paul Jordan was also quick to point out, in one of our “sanity check” catch ups, these challenges have the added benefit of being in close proximity to several exceptional wine regions.

Climbing Aconcagua is extremely appealing for many reasons. It is the highest peak in the Southern Hemisphere and Americas with a summit height of 6961m. It is also the highest peak on any continent outside the Himalaya in Asia and, perhaps most importantly, the normal route up is not hugely technical. It is also one of the seven summits and, as genuine isolated peaks go, there aren’t many better.

The downside to climbing Aconcagua is that it effectively mirrors the ascent to Advanced Base Camp on Everest (6500m) but without playing a game of rugby up there. Weighing it all up, Aconcagua feels more like a personal challenge than a team challenge and doesn’t seem to have the immediately obvious and engaging story needed to get buy-in from challengers and sponsors. Still, definitely one for the bucket list!

I have always wanted to travel through Patagonia down at the southern most tip of South America and, given the remoteness and terrain, it certainly makes for an incredible adventure. Obviously, simply driving or catching the Patagonian Express is not an option if the journey was to be undertaken as a challenge, but cycling Ruta 40 would certainly push most people, and definitely me, both mentally and physically.

To get a better understanding of what would be involved I chatted with the insanely fit duo, Shane Williams and Ollie Phillips, who have undertaken cycling challenges previously, to get an idea of what was possible from a time/distance perspective. The biggest obstacle seemed to be the time it would take to cycle the whole way from the Bolivian border down to the tip of South America. Even with a team of incredibly capable challengers, the time required would seriously limit the number of people who could afford to take up the challenge. We would need to start the trek near the city of Mendoza in order to make it work logistically. I could already imagine Paul Jordan planning his vineyard visits, and consuming high quality Malbec, with reckless abandon.

Photo by Francisco Buduba on Pexels.com

Despite these two ideas for challenges being mouth wateringly alluring the simple matter is I don’t believe they quite tell the right story or set the right challenge to follow playing rugby on Everest. Time spent “at the drawing board” is never wasted however and what I have come to realise is that not all the challenges I undertake have to continue the same narrative or journey. Although my next Everest remains elusive it is always a welcome reminder that there are, as Robert Frost would say, other paths to follow through the yellow wood.

Anyway, Aconcagua and Ruta 40 can always go on the old “bucket list”, I guess I should start putting one together.