Kilimanjaro Kid

Helen, were you ever worried about disappointing your mom if you didn’t make it to the summit?
A little. But she kept telling me all the way that if I didn’t want to summit it was okay. Everyone around me was so nice and so supportive. I made friends with our guide and he just kept saying, “You can do it!”

Did you see growth in her as the climb progressed, Cokie?
Yes! Every night in our tent I’d look at my daughter and see changes in her. Part of the trip is to take a safari the first day after we arrive so we can get used to the new country, the new culture. I wasn’t sure how she’d handle being there or how she might handle the new experiences or new food. But she was a trooper. She wanted to try everything. I started seeing this as a rite of passage.

How was it for you to try those new things H.S.?
Well, it’s like people say, don’t judge a book by its cover. If you’ve never tried something, you won’t know. But I loved it. I loved meeting new people and making new friends. I loved the nature and birds and wildlife.

Was there anything about the trip that surprised you?
Yes. When we were flying in it was cloudy, and we couldn’t really see anything. The next morning the sky was clear and I went to the window of our hotel. It was the first time I saw the mountain! It was so beautiful, so amazing, more than I ever thought it would be.

So Cokie, what do you see as the future of She CLIMBS?
The vision is always changing. I constantly meet women who find out that I climb, and they beg me to take them with me. So the vision changed from She CLIMBS being for girls to being for women of all ages. We are also scouting a domestic climb to add to the schedule to keep costs down. We’ll be climbing some this summer to that end. We’re also looking to raise funds for scholarships. We believe strongly in the mission of Leave No Trace, so we will continue to strengthen those principles as well.

More information about She CLIMBS can be found at www.she-climbs.org