Roodepoort mountaineer summits Kilimanjaro for 10th time

Local mountaineer and businessman John Black recently completed his 10th summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. This comes after he was one of the first South Africans to climb and reach the K2 summit last year.

“My first trip to Kilimanjaro was in October 2000 as part of our expedition at the time to climb the three highest mountains in Africa namely, Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and the Ruwenzori in Uganda,” recalled John.

He commented that he had been very fortunate to share the mountain with his wife, father, and friends over the years.
“I have also been fortunate to make many new friends on the mountain,” he added.

He pointed out that although he had built up quite a lot of experience climbing Kilimanjaro, his 10 trips have all been very different.

“They varied in terms of weather, team members, our experiences on the mountain, and each trip had its own set of unique challenges,” John said.

Looking back at his time spent on the mountain, he noted that he thinks his first trip was the hardest.

“At the time Kili [Kilimanjaro] was the biggest mountain I had ever climbed, I was still relatively young at 20 years old and it was all unknown. Although it does not get physically any easier each time, I found that having done it before gives you some confidence and you know what to expect, so mentally it is easier,” he remarked, “but at the end of the day, it is still nearly 6 000m high and involves a lot of uphill hiking at altitude, in the cold. It is still a significant challenge and one that should not be underestimated.”

He exclaimed that it has been amazing to be able to stand on top of Kilimanjaro with so many people over the years.

“I have had the privilege of sharing the joy of seeing them [fellow mountaineers] achieve a dream or ambition that is special to them. Tanzania is a great place and its people really are very special.”

John encourages all Africans to take on the challenge of seeing the sun rise over Africa, from Uhuru, Kilimanjaro’s highest point.

“It truly is a magical experience,” he concluded.