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29 June - 4 July 2007
By South Head Congregant, Michael Leibowitz
About a year ago, my nephew Matt Leibowitz, at the Shabbat table, spoke of a plan he was hatching with some of his mates: to put together a group that would climb Kilmanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Matt has ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis which he manages very successfully with exercise and medication. He wanted to raise money for a research grant for Arthritis Australia, and also to get the message across that arthritis is not just a natural consequence of getting old! The stated goal of the climb was “to illustrate how many of life’s obstacles, including arthritis, can be overcome with planning, determination and team work”.
I think that I surprised even myself when I committed to join Matt, and his parents Tony (my brother) and Louise, on the Ascent for Arthritis. My idea of a climb is Heartbreak Hill, and here I was, overweight and untrained, preparing to climb!
I started training for the climb, with the capable, and at times punishing, advice of my trainer Jason Shulman. We all knew that the biggest challenge we would have to face would be the altitude, and when the Ascent for Arthritis Team was briefed in Marangu the night before we started the Ascent, we were reminded of the dangers: altitude sickness, cerebral oedema, pulmonary oedema, not to mention pure exhaustion - Mt Kilimanjaro is 5895 metres above sea level....a bit higher than Dover Heights!
It was indeed gruelling: twenty of us set off, accompanied by our porters and guides. The climb took six days (sleeping in tiny tents with not a chance of washing) and our very first night fell on Shabbat. One of Matt’s friends came prepared, with two rolls, candles, wine and a siddur! We sang Shalom Aleichem in our mess tent, to the bemusement of our Tanzanian guides. It was a great start to what was to be an amazing experience.
In the first few days, we hiked through forests, scrub, and pretty soon all we could see was clouds and above us what looked like insurmountable snow-capped peaks. At this stage, two of our team started to suffer the effects of altitude sickness. They were forced to turn back. I think that was the hardest challenge any of our team had to face being told, after all the planning and training that it was not safe to persevere. It was really sad for all of us to see the incredible disappointment of our team members, and it just increased our own fears and determination.
Those who were still standing endured and even enjoyed, varying landscapes of scrub, scree, and snow. Summit day began at 11pm at night. We walked in pairs, each with a guide. The peak was lit by moonlight, and it seemed that we were walking on the moon, no sounds, no greenery and NO AIR! I walked with my sister-in-law, Louise, and there was not much by way of conversation, but we really needed each other to help us through what was for me the toughest physical challenge I have ever endured.
Of the twenty climbers, 17 made it to the ‘first summit point’, Gilmans Point, at 5681 metres. 13 of us gasped our way on to Uhuru, the highest point in Africa, 214 metres higher.
All 4 Leibowitzs made it to Uhuru. While at the top, I think we hastened the Greenhouse effect by melting lots of snow with our copious tears!!! A young man from Perth managed to propose to his girlfriend whilst at the peak (she was so tired she couldn’t say no – so we all just cried). The whole experience of being at the top was, despite our exhaustion, quite exhilarating.
It was, all in all, an amazing experience: to be challenged, and to dig so deep. For me it was especially wonderful to have experienced this phenomenal time with my brother, his wife and their son Matt.
Pic: L-R Michael, Louise, Tony & Matt Leibowitz
You can also read a Jonathan Shapiro's full diary of the climb. |