No mountain too high for Murray
After eight days of strenuous and hard climbing, Northvilla’s Heugene Murray reached Africa’s highest point, Uhuru Peak, at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, as part of the recent Live Free – Freedom Tour.
What makes his achievement so incredible is the fact that Murray is an above-knee amputee.
Together with a team of 10 individuals, including American triple amputee Rajesh Durbal, para cyclist Dylan da Silva and para swimmer Kevin Waller, Murray, managed to reach the roof of Africa despite his disability.
They were also accompanied by famous neurosurgeon Joe Maroon, who leads the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) medical team and is the Pittsburgh Steelers American Football team’s neurosurgeon.
The Live Free Foundation tries to help as many people as possible, who are lost and have no hope.
They aim to encourage people to live the best life they can.
The climb was also an initiative of Guts2Glory, a non-profit organisation that supports disabled athletes.
Speaking of this tiresome trek, the para athlete said that his preparations for the big climb included intense gym work, endurance and stamina training, as well as a lot of crucial walking.
“In the last two weeks before the climb I focused a lot on mental preparation,” he said.
“It was nice to take on something I’ve never done before,but I must be honest, I don’t want to see another mountain again – not even a mine dump in Benoni or Brakpan,” he joked.
Murray and the team took eight days to complete their journey — (five days up Kilimanjaro and three days down).
“On the first day we walked through the rainforest, which was very nice,” he said.
“There was lots of singing, having fun and everyone was a happy chappy, but on the second day the singing got less and less as the climb became steeper.
“The most difficult part for me was the very rocky parts of the climb.
“I don’t have a left knee, so I had to use my leg to push myself up almost like a squat, and my right leg worked overtime.”
Murray said that everything you do on the climb is at an angle, and that it gets colder and colder every day, as the altitude increases.
“Whoever says that climbing the mountain is a walk in the park speaks nonsense,” he added.
The father of three added that the team arrived at base camp on the fourth day, and that it was quite tricky to reach.
“By the fourth day we got to base camp, which was quite tricky, as it was steep,” he said.
“Normally people leave at 11am to reach the first summit, but we moved at a much slower pace and left the camp at 3am.
“It would usually take an able-bodied person about six hours to reach the first summit, but it took us 11 and a half hours.”
Murray admits that he had great difficulties climbing up and over the rocks.
“I would fall a lot and have to pick myself up, which takes a lot energy – I had to use my hands to climb over the rocks at one stage,” he said.
“By the summit day I would have to plan each metre I walked.”
Following the success of reaching the first summit, the team made their way to the highest summit, Uhuru Peak, which was difficult to reach, because of the deep snow, but once they reached the pinnacle there were scenes of pure emotion.
“There we were at the highest point in Africa, which is the most beautiful thing you can see,” said Murray.
“When you are there you believe that you can touch the stars.”
He is now looking forward to new challenges, including preparing for the athletics nationals in April, in pentathlon, as well as preparing for qualifying for the 2016 Paralympic Games.
