Retirees succeed in mission to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro

POWELL - Step after step while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, the endeavor by area residents Deb White and Cathy Blanchard was as much mental as it was physical.

For nine days the retirees pushed toward the summit on the mountain with the world's fourth highest vertical climb, cementing a lifelong bond through their adventure on the 19,340-foot behemoth.

"I had never been tested to the full extent of my physical and mental capabilities," said Blanchard, a 70-year-old making her home in the shadow of Heart Mountain.

It helped she knew her partner White, a former Cody High School science teacher, was an experienced climber and adventurer in Africa. They spent more than a year preparing themselves physically through workouts with Powell High School graduate and former Olympian Jesseca Cross, who is now a physical trainer in Cody, and long days hiking on Heart Mountain.

Some thought their preparations were "insane."

Yet, Blanchard and White never let criticism stop them from pushing their way to the top.

Through long, cold nights and the struggles of even longer days wending their way through the jungle, past the tree line and toward the snow-covered peak, the duo inspired each other on the epic journey.

During the first couple days, the group of strangers being guided to the top blissfully chatted.

But as the trip began to grind on their bodies it became a mind game and they continued for days in silence.

"We've had a lot of time alone in our heads," White said. "No news or politics; we were just in survival mode."

Blanchard made her way up the mountain on those days of silence by meditating and chanting. Both counted their steps to get into a rhythm of the seemingly never-ending ups and downs. There were days where they worked hard from sun up to sun down, yet the summit seemed just as far away as when they started.

While in her head, Blanchard had a vision of her mother Millie Peterson Richmond holding her as an infant.

Visions from the cradle

"It's funny what goes through your head," Blanchard said.

It took her a minute to compose herself as she recounted the emotional experience.

"I had a vision of [my mother] holding me as a baby, and her looking down and saying or thinking to herself, this little girl is going to grow up to be a woman who is going to climb a big mountain in Africa," she said, while wiping tears from her eyes.

It was not lost on her that she had a vision of her mother, who died on Christmas Day in 2023, while hiking through the "Cradle of Humankind," as the continent is called due to evidence that human life originated in Africa.

The climbing partners never had an argument during the entire trip, they swore, as they endured the heat of the jungle to freezing weather on the mountain.

There was some ribbing by Blanchard about the cold to her new friend who suggested the adventure.

"I would often poke her at night in the tent and I'd say, do you remember me telling you I hate to be cold?" Blanchard said. "We'd sleep with like, two coats on."

Their porters would bring them hot water bottles after dinner, but it wasn't enough to warm the pair during the uncomfortably cold nights in the mountains. But sleep was important in preparing for the next day and they had to force themselves to close their eyes.

"We slept really well the whole trip," White said. "We were exercising so much that all we did was eat and sleep and walk."

The summit

On the final days of the trip, the climbers only had time for a "nap" as they had to begin the final ascent to the summit at 10 p.m. to be able to get to the top of the peak before quickly descending the mountain before night set in.

It was an emotional moment at the top as the two unfurled a Wyoming state flag at the summit to honor their home while at the top of "the roof of Africa," as the mountain is called by locals.

Yet they didn't shed tears during the short celebration at the summit.

"I didn't cry because it was too cold," Blanchard said, remembering at the time that the two friends were a team, and "it took a whole team to do it," she said.

White said that once they were at the end of their trip, when their porters sang a song to them to say goodbye, the tears began to flow.

After the ceremony, each climber offered tips to the employees (about $300 in tips per climber) and gave them their coats and boots to help support them in a career that is extremely tough on garments and footwear.

The outfitters

Both Park County adventurers praised their support staff. Their personal porter, who did everything from setting up their tent to discreetly attending to their bathroom needs in camp, looks strikingly like musician John Legend.

The 12 climbers would move to the margins of the passageway while porters quickly raced by, loaded down with the camp and provisions to be ready to receive the group when they stopped for lunch and arrived at camp for the night.

Traversing a historic passage in elevations between 7,000 feet in the jungle and reaching 15,000 feet by day, they traveled in a group of 12 climbers, six guides and 40 trail-hardened porters employed by outfitter Ultimate Kilimanjaro.

The company was started by former Chicago financial markets professional Kevin Hwang, who was inspired by his experience climbing the giant in 2006 and his love for Tanzania. Hwang quit his corporate job to build the outfitting company on the mountain, aiming to provide a safe, affordable journey that is fair to both adventurers and employees.

"I wanted to present the most complete, honest and accurate information on climbing Kilimanjaro (which was severely lacking at the time). I wanted to provide the best service, on and off the mountain," Hwang wrote in his essay on starting the company.

The company is among 10% of outfitting companies on the mountain that have signed a pledge to pay their guides and porters a fair wage and supporting the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project.

"Climbing Kilimanjaro is a team effort," said Adam Collins, expedition coordinator for Ultimate Kilimanjaro. "Without guides and porters, there are no clients, there are no operators. It's in our best interest to see that everyone is treated fairly."

Blanchard and White said it's important to seek out environmentally and financially ethical outfitters.

"I can't say enough good things about the company, because it seems like there are some companies that are definitely less ethical," she said.

Tourist climbers and the jobs created by visitors are extremely important to Kilimanjaro's gateway communities, she said.

The number of climbers has been increasing in the past two decades. Around 30,000 to 50,000 people climb Mount Kilimanjaro each year. Some have said tourism is loving the mountain to death.

However, the porters employed by Ultimate Kilimanjaro carry garbage bags to collect litter from those traveling with other less environmentally friendly guide services.

Next steps

While the adventure was inspiring, neither White nor Blanchard want to go again. They have their sights on new adventures - maybe in New Zealand - or a place they have yet to find on the map.

No matter where they travel, they will go as best friends and guided in spirit by the words of former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt: "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

White and Blanchard survived the exotic adventure, finally celebrating with a glass of wine on a layover in London, and it has brought them closer.

"We will be friends and she will be in my life until the end," Blanchard said.