Not many people in Lake Orion can claim to have climbed the world’s highest free-standing mountain, but that’s exactly what Mary Chayka-Crawford and her husband Steward Crawford hope to do in February at Mount Kilimanjaro.
Located in Tanzania, Africa, the 19,340-foot mountain is known as the ‘Roof of Africa,? and is the largest of an east to west belt of about 20 volcanoes near the southern end of the East African Rift Valley.
Chayka-Crawford, who climbs regularly in the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York with the Adirondack Mountain Club, learned about the Kilimanjaro Climb trip through the club’s newsletter. The couple leaves on Feb. 6 and will be gone a month.
‘I hiked in college, and three years ago my cousin in New York, who climbs a lot, invited me to climb in the Adirondacks,? Chayka-Crawford said. ‘We did one peak and I was hooked again.?
Since then, she has completed the 46 high peaks, which are over 4,000 feet, of the Adirondacks.
‘Then you’re like a ‘peaker,?? Chayka-Crawford said. ‘They keep track and you have to log reports.?
Her highest elevation climbed so far is 13,300-feet. She hopes to change that in East Africa.
‘Africa is such a lure, just the idea of going there,? she said of what attracted her to the trip. ‘The Adirondack Mountain Club offers wilderness and hiking trips.?
Chayka-Crawford saw the advertisement for the trip in October and knew she wanted to go.
‘I just decided, I’m just gonna do it,? she said. ‘We’re taking the most scenic, least traveled and most difficult route up the mountain. We’re going to carry our own gear, minus food for the group and emergency oxygen.?
There will be eight hikers, two guides and two porters on the climb, which is Feb. 10-20.
‘I’ve never been afraid of physical challenges,? said Chayka-Crawford.
The couple will go on a two-day mountain bike tour of the area before the climb, and are going on a one-week Serengeti Wildlife Safari after.
‘Then we are doing another mountain bike tour through another part of Tanzania,? she said.
Climbs to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro through the route they will be taking have a 50 percent success rate, Chayka-Crawford said.
‘My husband has done some hiking…he was just going to meet me for the safari, but the more he read, the more he thought he’d really be missing something,? she said.
To train, Crawford has been walking with a 15-pound backpack, over six weeks. Chayka-Crawford has been doing regular workouts with her trainer, Chris Brocco, at Powerhouse Gym in Oxford. She said her workouts now are tailored for the kind of strenuous mountain climbing she will be doing in Africa.
‘As for the altitude, there’s really nothing to be done for that,? she said. ‘It’s just crossing your fingers…but we scuba dive and sail. I’ve never gotten motion sickness, and I’ve never had a problem with altitude.?
Chayka-Crawford and her husband have lived in Lake Orion for over 15 years, and she works in sales at Whim’s Insurance in Rochester.
‘I can’t say my friends and family are surprised (at climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro),? she said. ‘They know this is what I like to do. They all say ‘I know you’ll be at the top.??
Chayka-Crawford said mountain climbing is for her a spiritual thing, and that although she is confident about climbing Kilimanjaro, she is not trying to be overly so.
‘The best thing about this, is having the opportunity to be in that environment, with that scenery in that country,? she said. ‘And to climb the highest point in Africa.
‘I’m very, very positive, but I don’t ever want to think it’s a given. I have a healthy respect…but I see myself at the top, I see myself standing up there already.?
When the climb begins, they will be in the rainforest where it is about 80 degrees this time of year. When the climb ends at the top, the temperature could be anywhere from zero to 20 below.
‘We will go through that kind of climate change in eight short days,? she said. ‘That seems phenomenal.?