No Limits — First Quadriplegic Woman Summits Kilimanjaro

Chaeli Mycroft completed a history-making climb of Kilimanjaro. (Chaeli Campaign)

The morning air was bitter cold, the kind of chill that bites into your bones, and Chaeli Mycroft hadn’t slept a bit. She was exhausted. Her mind was spinning and she was nearly ready to give up on this challenge. It was a battle to convince herself to move forward.

People tell you that summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania will be one of the hardest days of your life. For Mycroft, it was even trickier than for the average person. Last week, the 21-year-old became the world’s first female quadriplegic to summit Mount Kilimanjaro — the highest freestanding mountain in the world.

“Emotionally it is really tiring to find the strength to keep going towards the summit. There are many dark moments on the mountain,” Mycroft, who has cerebral palsy, recalled. “But when we reached Uhuru Peak there was such euphoria mixed with other emotions.”

A training climb. (Chaeli Campaign)

This trip was nearly three years in the making and followed an intense training and preparation regimen.

Alongside a team of seven committed climbers from South Africa, Mycroft began climbing on Aug. 29.

The route to the summit. (Chaeli Campaign)

At the 3,700- and 4,750-metre marks, two climbers had to be sent back down the mountain due to altitude sickness. The rest of the team plowed on.

The summit took six days to complete. Her goal was to raise funds for her two nonprofit organizations, the Chaeli Campaign’s Inclusive Education Programme and the Chaeli Cottage Inclusive Preschool.

Along with her wheelchair, Mycroft did all of the hikes any climber would do to prepare to summit. She just did them with her team.

“The main thing for us was figuring out how to work as a team and the team dynamic,” she explained. “That way we were more sure of getting to the top together as a team.”

The whole team together at the peak. (Chaeli Campaign)

Climbing Kilimanjaro is a challenge for anyone of any age in any physical condition. Mycroft may have had more to overcome than the average climber, but she had heart and determination enough for her entire team.

“I had thought of every plan,” she said about completing her climb. “But once we got going, you just have to let everything go and focus on one day at a time.”