Climbing Kilimanjaro…With a Wheelchair (Training Recap)

I’ve mentioned on the blog how Justin will be climbing 19,341-foot Mount Kilimanjaro—the tallest mountain in Africa—in early September. 

But you might remember, he’s not just climbing the mountain, he’s helping to carry someone in a wheelchair to the top with a team of 25+ others. 

Now 23 days away, let me back it up to fill in the holes as to how this came about, what the climb entails and how the team of 25+ are training for it. 

First of all—and I probably don’t need to remind any of you about this—Justin always wants to climb any oxygen-thinning mountains. Doesn’t matter where, what or who—it’s his happy place. 

Anyway, rewind about 8 years ago, he & one of his Prep high school buddies (Luke) were batting around the idea of climbing Kili, hoping to coax a few other friends to follow. Medical issues had to table the idea. But 2 years ago, Luke called Justin and said, “still wanna climb Kili? Cause I have a new plan. But there’s a catch.” Justin said yes even before Luke could finish his sentence.

Enter Jeff Harmon. In 2006, Jeff was diagnosed with degenerative disease (AMN). Degenerative is the operative word because he is now in a wheelchair. However, he does not want the wheelchair to determine his limits. When Jeff & Luke met a few years ago, the inspiration and idea evolved, and now there’s a team of 25-30 people ready for the climb in Sept., as well as a nonprofit (My Impossible) set up to inspire others. 

You might ask why such a full roster of people on the team? It’s because there will be 4-6 people on the chair rotating roles like pushing, pulling and lifting the wheelchair with Jeff in it. More specifically, the positions include a brake (person in back), a horse (person in front) and ponies, which strap into front harness or brake to help control the chair. 

This was done once before with Erika, a woman who weighed less than 100 lbs (Jeff weighs like 200 lbs). After Erika’s climb, she started Winrica Adventures, a trekking company with her husband to champion adventures for all abilities. Hence, that is the company of porters that will lead Justin & his team on the mountain. 

I’ve never seen a team like this one—it’s like they had an instant spark of trust and teamwork. They’ve trained together in multiple ways on smaller mountains and mud-soaked Spartan obstacle courses, learning how to haul a wheelchair over boulders and trails barely wide enough for a squirrel. They’ve had monthly Zoom meetings to not only get to know each other better, but to talk through details like gear and travel logistics. When I spent some time with the team in North Carolina a few months back, what I witnessed is that there is 0% ego and 100% dedication. 

The plan is for the climb to take 5 days on the Marangu route starting at 6,000 feet on Monday Sept. 8 at Marangu Gate, and hiking 5 miles to Mandara Camp 8,900 feet. The first 2 days goes through the rainforest, but once they get above 10,000 feet, they will contend with oxygen-thinning altitude and be exposed to weather climbing on scree (loose volcanic dirt and rock). The phrase “Pole Pole” in Swahili means “slowly slowly,” and that they will be. They hope to summit on Thursday, Sept. 11. Stay tuned for the climb, where one man’s impossible will hopefully become the team’s possible. Also thank you again to those who have donated money toward offsetting the cost of the climb! If you live in NJ where Luke, Jeff and a lot of the team are based, there’s even a fundraising send-off party on Aug. 23.