It was 12 degrees below zero with bone-chilling January winds the night before Missy Rodey, 73, summited 19,341-foot Mount Kilimanjaro.
It was the hardest thing she has ever done.
“The combined physical, mental and emotional aspects of the climb made it incredibly difficult,” she said. “It was my dream.”
The trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro was decades in the making for Rodey, who first discussed it with her competitive running group about 30 years ago.
“When you train with a group of people, you are always looking for the next big thing,” Rodey said. “You come up with all these wild ideas. No one in the group had ever done it, but we knew it would be fun and challenging.”
Rodey is used to pushing her body to its limit. As a masters athlete – typically defined as someone older than 35 – she has competed in 20 marathons and three 50k races.
“I ran competitively for probably 15 to 17 years,” she said. “I work out every day, and I hike all of the time.”
Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania, is the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world.
Rodey never gave Mount Kilimanjaro a second thought until this year when her eldest son asked if she still wanted to conquer the mountain.
Together, Rodey and her sons, Kevin and Derek Kahn, planned the trip of a lifetime.
“It was the boys’ gift for me, really,” she said. “They took time from their careers and families to do this. That’s what made it incredibly special for me.”
With help from the tour group Kiliwarrior Expeditions, Rodey and her sons started their nine-day ascent to the summit along the Lemosho-Western Breach route, a less-traveled and more physically demanding path.
“My sons selected the most difficult approach to the summit,” Rodey said. “One morning, there had been snowfall and our guides couldn’t find the trail, so they used pickaxes to create one.”
The journey involved five climbers – Rodey, her sons and two men from New York who documented the trip for YouTube – and 35 men from Kiliwarrior Expeditions.
The all-inclusive package included trained guides, porters and meals to provide each climber with the necessary energy and nutrients to reach the peak.
“At first it seemed like overkill,” Rodey said. “But they cook, set up the toilets and filter water. ... You are giving them good jobs that are highly sought after.”
There was a new challenge every day, Rodey said, particularly because of rapidly changing weather. Each day involved two to eight hours of climbing, starting as early as 5:30 a.m.
“One day, you have to be on the trail very early in the morning and wear head gear because of falling rocks,” she said. “With the heat of the day, the rocks might loosen.”
The terrain on Mount Kilimanjaro changes dramatically with elevation and temperatures often range from 80 degrees to 20 degrees below zero depending on altitude.
“I brought the heaviest gloves I could get and wonderfully insulated boots, but sleeping, it was quite cold,” Rodey said. “I had five layers of clothing at the summit, but it’s warm at the start of the climb, and we were wearing T-shirts and shorts.”
Derek Kahn, 44, described the trek as a “mental grind” because of the temperature change and altitude sickness.
“The lack of oxygen starts hitting once you get above 13,000 feet,” he said. “It depresses your appetite and you struggle to get enough calories and stay warm. You never get enough sleep.”
Rodey said a good night’s sleep was about four hours. Her age was both an advantage and disadvantage, she said.
“I was considerably older than everyone and I didn’t want to hold anybody back,” Rodey said. “But I had the advantage of time to prepare. Everyone else has a very busy career.”
Her workouts included climbing the SkySteps to Fort Lewis College five times a day, multiple times a week. The stairway extends more than 500 steps and gains more than 250 feet in elevation.
The fear of not summiting weighed heavily on Rodey’s mind.
Oxygen deprivation is a major challenge for high-altitude climbers. At the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the amount of oxygen available is less than half of that at sea level.
Rodey said the guides closely monitor each person’s oxygen saturation levels. A normal reading is typically between 95 and 100 percent.
“If your oxygen saturation level falls into the low 70s, they make you turn around,” she said.
Despite her fears, Kahn said his mother outperformed the other hikers and was a celebrity by the end of the climb.
“All the Tanzanian guides were cheering for her,” he said. “She is amazing, and an inspiration to so many.”
The ever-adventurous Rodey has also hiked mountains in Patagonia, but Africa has special appeal.
“I’ve always loved Africa,” she said. “I think it’s magical and a beautiful place. The people are so joyful despite what we would consider to be a Third World environment.”
So what’s next for the go-getter? Rodey said she hasn’t decided, but it’s unlikely to involve another mountain.
“I would be up for almost anything,” she said. “I’ve had my fill of climbing mountains, though. I think I’ve gotten that out of my system.”
mrupani@durangoherald.com
