Final Camp

Ever since we were little kids, we were told to dream big. No challenge is too great to accomplish. This is exactly what Mr. Geoff Revard, Upper School Latin teacher and Language Department Chair, followed through with this summer. For a total of nine days, Revard climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. Admittedly, the climb was a challenging one, but it was all worth it.

Revard said that he has always enjoyed climbing mountains. “When I taught school in England I trained as a mountain guide to take my students on hikes in Wales and elsewhere in the U. K. and I became very interested in more and more challenging peaks. When I came back to the United States I set my sights upon climbing a ‘Fourteener,’ one of the 14,000 foot peaks in the Lower 48 states, and in 2009 I climbed up White Mountain Peak in California [over 14,000 feet],” Revard said. “After that there was only about 200 to 300 feet higher that I could climb in the U.S. So I decided to try something more.”

Revard climbed the mountain along with his brother Stephen who both motivated each other and didn’t let each other fall behind. That meant waiting for each other and keeping each other going, even when one was having a hard day.   

Revard explained that to climb the mountain, there is nothing more required than just hiking. “I could climb up to 19,341 without having to learn to use ice axes and ropes and such.  And I could see Africa.  It seemed like it might be fun. There was also a promise I made to climb Kilimanjaro, but that is another story,” Revard said.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro took seven days up and two days down. “The most challenging part of the climb was the last day up.  It was over 4,200 feet up from 15,000 feet up to the top at 19,341 from a pre-dawn start and then descending back to the 15,000 foot camp,” Revard said. “It was beautiful to see the setting moon and the rising sun over one of the lower peaks of the mountain, but it was a long 11-hour day.”

When asked what advice he could offer to those who want to climb it, he simply stated: “Train ahead of time.” This advice may seem simple, but when you actually start preparing for a climb as vigorous as that for Mount Kilimanjaro, the prior hikes will be worth it.

Lava tower.

“[We] covered 50 miles [throughout the entire climb]. We started in the rain forest and gradually reached a high alpine desert. The air was clear and very dry and though there were some clouds, they were almost always below us once we were above 10,000 feet. The day-to-day walk was very quiet mostly, though our guides were very friendly and interesting to talk to,” Revard explained. “One man was a Maasai and he was rather intense – he loved it when our party arrived first. We would start early (6 am breakfast) and end early (by 4 or 5am mostly) and sleep early (by 8pm) because we were just south of the equator. That meant it became dark by 7 pm any given day.”

Revard cleverly used the things he brought with himself on the climb, most particularly his flashlight, which may seem like an ordinary and easily replaceable object, but it is not the way during the hike. “I particularly wanted to preserve my flashlight batteries and so we did not use them much except for when it was necessary. The last morning’s ascent was by flashlight and because we knew this we were pretty conservative with the flashlights,” he said.   

The drop from Shira Cathedral.Prior to some sort of exciting event, one always feels jittery, but ready for any obstacles that may be thrown in their way. When actually seeing what you are partaking when the time arrives, your expectations may not be met. However, Revard did not experience any sense of regret. “I wish I had known that the Barranco Wall had five inch ledges and hand-over-hand climbing without ropes.”

Looking back, Revard said that the trip was completely worth it. “If I could, I might do it again on a different route.”

With already having hiked several big mountains, he is still not sure where his hiking adventures might take him. “Perhaps someplace in Asia or South America  My brother has talked about doing Mt. Fuji. I think I will try another Fourteener in Colorado next.”

Revard said that from the climb, he found out he could make it to 19,000 feet, although he is still not sure whether he could camp at that altitude. But just as importantly he said: “I got a glimpse of the Tanzanian people whose hearts are so very large and whose material wealth is so very small. I fulfilled my promise,” Revard said.