(Updated 3:30 a.m., Feb. 4)
Montfort group returns after conquering Kilimanjaro
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

André Brisebois stands on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The Orléans resident was among 23 people who scaled the mountain to raise money for the development of a cancer treatment program at the Montfort Hospital. Photo supplied

A group of climbers has returned to Ottawa after scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for the development of a cancer treatment program at the Montfort Hospital.

The group of 23 doctors, business people and community leaders began their ascent of the tallest mountain in Africa on Jan. 4. It took them eight days to reach the summit which they accomplished on Jan. 12 under a clear blue sky and virtually no wind.

“It was absolutely magical,” says André Brisebois, who at 27 was the youngest member of the group by several years. “It was such a great moment the whole parade made it to the top and then we took a bunch of pictures. We even had some hot tea. The guides with us said they couldn’t believe how nice it was.”

Now back in Orléans, Brisebois said that trek was both the greatest experience of his life and the most challenging.

“It was like a long walk that goes very high up,” says Brisebois, who caught a virus on the first day of the climb and then developed high altitude sickness on Day 6 at 4,000 metres. “I think the fact that I was in shape helped me a lot.”

One of the reasons why it takes so long to reach the 5,895 metre summit is to allow the climbers time to acclimatize themselves to the altitude. Even with rest stops at 3,500 metres and 4,400 metres, several members of the expedition were unable to continue to the summit due to their inability to deal with the lack of oxygen.

The group climbed in temperatures ranging from -7 degrees to just over the freezing mark. In the evening the temperature dropped to -10 to -15 degrees. Before making the final push to the summit, the group camped overnight at 4,800 metres. During the evening they were buffeted by a wind storm.

“I never seen winds like that before in my life. They were so strong they broke one of the porter’s tents and it blew away one of the outhouses,” says Brisebois.

After delaying their departure for about four hours, the group broke camp at
6 a.m. Six hours later they were standing on the summit with the entire continent of Africa at their feet.

“The view was perfect. You could see forever,” says Brisebois.

The beauty about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, is that you don’t need to be an expert mountain climber, you just need to be in relatively good shape. The oldest person in the Montfort group was 62.

“The main challenge is mental, having the right attitude and being disciplined” says Brisebois who is an avid hiker and an experienced winter camper.

After scaling the summit several members of the group took a side trip to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.

All in all it was a trip of a lifetime for Brisebois, who found out about the exhibition completely by accident.

“I was at a strategic planning meeting in November and one of the people at my table started talking about it. I said something about being extremely jealous of her and she told that they still had one or two more spots left on the team,” says Brisebois.

Besides having to pay their own way, every member of the group had to raise at least $5,000 for the “Montfort Challenge”. Despite being a relative Johnny-come-lately, Brisebois managed to raise $4,000 in less than a month. As for the cost of the trip itself, Brisebois had to borrow most of it.

“To be honest with you, I’ve never been so happy to be in debt. It was the opportunity of a lifetime,” says Brisebois. “It just motivates you to keep working hard. What’s the next mountain. What’s the next dream.”

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)

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