在60岁的时候. 米特 艾伦还在学习. 然而，他最近上的课却不太可能是乞力马扎罗山.
大华大学音乐系系主任开始了他的登山之旅, which is the highest single free-standing mountain in the world, 12月. 13 and reached the summit Dec. 18.
“I think you learn from anything,” Allen said. “没有问题, (the climb) put things in perspective, 尤其是当你有生命危险的经历，觉得自己可能不会从山上下来的时候.”
Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano located in Tanzania, Africa. 大约30,000 people attempt to summit the mountain annually, 大约60%的人完成了攀登(在非大流行年份).
A few days into the climb, Allen began to fight altitude sickness. 高原反应(AMS)引起的严重恶心使他无法进食, and he also experienced the beginnings of edema, the buildup of fluid in the brain, 肺和四肢. 爬山的实际情况使健康问题更加严重, including lower oxygen levels.
“攀登的第三天，高原反应让我们情绪低落，”他说. “What was compounding it was we were burning 4,000 to 5,每天1000卡路里, and I was ingesting nothing. 你在对自己说, “别想了, don’t focus on it’ because medical help isn’t there. 他们携带一个氧气罐, 但只有当你躺在担架上下山时，他们才会使用它.
“我一直告诉自己，‘每年有3万人攀登珠峰，只有30人死亡. 胜利并非不劳而获. 继续.’”
攀登乞力马扎罗山(又称“Kili”)的决定是在一场完美风暴中产生的.
“It’s been a very challenging 18 months,艾伦说. “今年秋天，我达到了60岁，我们正处于一场大流行之中. (Climbing Kilimanjaro) has been something to look forward to.
“我想，‘为什么不呢?’ I’m a runner, cyclist and former triathlete. 自从我去非洲，那座山就一直在对我吼叫. I had to see why it was calling.”
虽然他骑自行车和参加铁人三项已经快二十年了, Allen is not an experienced mountaineer.
“I haven’t climbed a mountain in my adult life,艾伦说, but felt his baseline of physical activity set him up for success.
In addition to his cycling and running, he added trekking to his normal routine, completing between 100 to 130 miles per week.
“With hiking I would go out to Horsethief Trail at Kanopolis Lake, 我在这附近能找到的最接近乞力马扎罗山的地方是哪里,他笑着说. “我会做几次向外循环，每天早上跑12到15英里.”
“奇力”的总距离是可以控制的——42英里——但艾伦说他知道他无法在堪萨斯州的平原上进行海拔高度的训练.
“It’s one thing to go to Kanopolis and knock out 12 miles. 在5英里的地方，有40%到45%的坡度和垂直落差是另一回事,他说.
从一开始, 攀登乞力马扎罗山与艾伦在YouTube上观看的视频教程不同.
“We were five minutes in, and the heavens opened up. 大雨倾盆，”他说. “里奇(另一位登山者)和我发现这和我们在YouTube上看到的视频完全不一样. 下了两个小时的倾盆大雨之后，我们还需要徒步一个小时才能到达第一个营地.”
所有攀登者都必须有一名向导和支援人员. While initially he planned to climb solo with the support crew, 艾伦一到非洲就被邀请加入另一位来自阿鲁巴的登山者的冒险之旅. His climbing partner Richie was an experienced trekker, 之前在秘鲁和智利登山时平均每天徒步20公里.
“在头两天之后，他说，‘这一点都不像(秘鲁或智利)，’”艾伦说. “He said it was way more intense. He did not expect it to be as intense. 我们都不知道.”
The grueling experience bonded the climbers and crew quickly. 他满头齐肩的白发，是这群人中年纪最大的, the crew began calling Allen “Papa,” an informal term for “father” in the region’s native language, 斯瓦希里语.
经过两天的稳步攀登，艾伦说他在第二天晚上“凌晨两点”醒来.m. and my heart was beating so fast I couldn’t sleep,他说. “I was trying to calm myself, but the air was getting thin. I thought, ‘This could be it. 旅行可能结束了. This is a really dangerous situation.’”
在经历了一个艰难的夜晚后，这群人面临着一段5英里的攀登，预计最多需要6个小时.
“We take off, and I’m in bad shape,艾伦说. “空气变得越来越稀薄，我没有吃早餐，也不能喝酒. 我们走得很慢. The guides were watching me and checking me, ‘Papa, you good? 爸爸，不要睡觉.’
“By the time we get to Lava Tower, both of us were pretty rough. 我不能说话. 我吃不下.”
因为他在与高原反应作斗争，那天的攀登花了9个小时. 在接下来的攀登过程中，每天都要长时间地攀登.
Increased altitude was not the only obstacle. The journey involved hiking through five climate zones: rainforest, 希瑟, 高沼地, alpine desert and arctic zones.
“The ascents and descents were getting tougher — much tougher. The air was thinner,艾伦说. “We were getting anxious because we were getting close. We’re at altitudes higher than Pike’s Peak.
As the days passed and the climbing intensified, 团队从随意的“爸爸”变成了斯瓦希里语中亲切的“父亲”, “爸爸,指的是艾伦. 这种感情是相互的. 艾伦说，向导和搬运工的专业技能对这次攀登至关重要. A special bond was forged with one of the porters, Hussein.
“在登顶之夜，我会走三到五分钟，然后就会倒在一块岩石上，”他说. “侯赛因会过来给我唱歌，说，‘爸爸不要睡觉.’ He and another porter, Saleem, tried to keep me warm. I couldn’t get up to move without their help. 他们会把我举起来. At one point, I just couldn’t move. Those guys, twice, put my arms around them and drug me for 20 yards. Then I found a bit more strength.”
The climb to the summit began on day six of the journey. 为了在日出时到达19341英尺高的乌呼鲁峰，这群人在午夜之前出发了. 艾伦说，他知道爬完最后3英里将是一场体力和精神上的折磨.
“我生病了三四天，他们可以看出我很挣扎，”他说. “I had already gone deeper than I’ve ever had (to go before). I’ve never gone below the well that far or that much.”
Allen continued his slow climb. 在黎明前攀登了大约三个小时后，他的同伴表达了担忧.
“里奇把头领拉过来，说，‘他快死了，你得把他放下来，’”艾伦说. “There was a lot of discussion. 领队阿莫斯走过来问我要不要下去. 我说，‘不.’
“I was second guessing everything. I told myself, ‘All this time and you’re not going to make it. You’ve come so far and not finished.我的想法是, “如果我现在离开, it will be a crushing defeat, but I just can’t do the descent 在黑暗中.’”
The climbers were in an arctic zone, 在黑暗中, 气温和风寒结合在一起，零下10到20度.
“我想，‘我要继续前进，直到昏倒或天亮. If it’s daylight, I can descend safely,’艾伦说.
他没有昏倒，但有一次，艾伦说他开始侧身滑出小路.
“I felt Hussein and Saleem reach out and grab me. 他们只是把我拉起来，让我坐在一块岩石上，呼吸困难，一句话也没说。. “It was pretty clear what almost happened. 最后, 过了一会儿, 侯赛因伸出手, 他搂着我，紧紧地抱着我，亲了亲我的头，说, “爸爸, 请多保重.’”
The tumultuous climb continued.
“在太阳升起之前，我觉得自己撑不下去了，”艾伦说. “我不仅不会成功，我还以为我会死在山上. Mentally, I was 说ing my goodbyes.”
As the climb approached the six-hour mark, the sun began to rise.
“For me, daylight, seeing it the peak, I was redeemed,艾伦说. “I thought, ‘Maybe I have a shot.’”
他一直在向前推进, 一分钟一分钟地, 直到他听到了其他完成登顶的登山队成员熟悉的声音.
The victory of reaching the summit was, indeed, worth the toil.
“当我到达山顶时，有那么一瞬间，一切都消失了，”他说. “The pain, the tired, the pressure, the fear: I had made it. I had summitted Mount Kilimanjaro. I was literally floating above the clouds.”
艾伦说登顶不仅仅是身体上的攀登.
“它让你在个人生活和职业生涯中攀登的山峰有了一点不同的视角,他说.
It also taught lessons about leaning into adversity.
“I wanted to make a statement about fear and challenge, 耐心和毅力, 爱与信仰,艾伦说. “I am thinking of students and faculty. 我想至少试着爬上这座山，克服那个障碍, if it even helps one student, 说, ‘I can do this (whatever it may be),’那就值得了.
“这就是我们教书的原因. 这就是我们在这里的原因.”
Karen Bonar的故事
