Red Deer grandfather and grandson hike to summit of Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro

A retired professor in the sciences at Red Deer College, now Polytechnic, Wales also took students on outdoor expeditions, exploring his passion for nature.

“I think that’s why he was able to do that at that age, just living that kind of lifestyle, and I think he’s really pushed me to do the same,” he said.

When Zimmerman was 12, his disinterest to reading was challenged when his mother handed him the novel Between Heaven and Earth by author Eric Walters, a story about a grandson who hikes Mount Kilimanjaro to scatter his grandfather’s ashes.

The story resonated with him, creating an inspiration to complete this journey with his own grandfather while he was still alive.

Following the pandemic, Zimmerman said it was now or never.

Eleven years after first reading that book, his summer break from his master’s degree in psychology in Lethbridge was approaching in just a few short months. In a “spur of the moment”, he proposed the goal to his grandfather who agreed without hesitation.

The duo trained by completing two hikes in the David Thompson area west of Red Deer. Admitting they should have prepared more, Zimmerman said they attempted to compensate for Canada’s lower altitudinal mountains through distance training of 20 km hikes.

Heading to Africa in June, the eight day hike began with a package ranging from $3,000 – 5,000 to include nine porters carrying equipment, tents and food, two guides and one chef cooking Western-like meals of pancakes, pizza and chicken.

Starting in 30°C temperatures, each day became colder as the group made their way higher. With less oxygen and a loss of appetite, he says they took the medication Dalmox to minimize the effects of altitude sickness and their feelings of nausea.

On the seventh day, June 18, Zimmerman says they woke up around midnight to make it to the summit, a glacier at roughly -18°C, before sunrise.

“Climbing up there was very difficult and exhausting. You’re hoping every day you go around the corner, you’re there and finally when you turn the corner and you can see the last signpost saying ‘you’re at the top of Africa’, it was surreal. It just didn’t feel real and you feel like you’re floating. All the pain is gone,” he said.

He watched his grandfather become emotional.

“It was something he’s always wanted to do and it was on his bucket list. I think recently he crossed it off and didn’t think he was going to do it so I think it was really special that he was able to physically be able to do it but that he could put it back on and say that he was able to do it,” said Zimmerman.

The way down took just over a day. Although harder on his grandfather’s knees due to the quick and steep descent, no feat was too great to surmount for the locals.

After spending another month and a half travelling across Europe, Zimmerman returned thinking about the next hike the duo, two generations apart, can complete together.

by Alessia Proietti

Red Deer grandfather and grandson hike to summit of Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro

What's Trending