Margo Grant and Suzette Willcox were looking for a challenge, and it seems they have found it.
The Halfmoon Bay friends are getting set to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro, a more than 19,000 foot high peak in Tanzania, in eastern Africa.
The duo will fly to Tanzania on June 2 and begin the trek of a lifetime.
Prior to the trek, the pair has a four-day safari planned, then have set an eight-day window for the adventure. They hope to climb anywhere from four to eight hours a day and will be joined by an expert guide and four porters.
They plan to take a route commonly known at the Western Breach with a goal of reaching the summit.
So why would the 58-year-old Grant and 61-year-old Willcox try something like this? For the adventure and challenge, of course.
"About two years ago we had just finished the Vancouver Sun Run. I asked Suzette what was next and suggested Kilimanjaro," Grant recalls. "It sounded like a crazy idea at first, but the more we thought about it, we decided this was something we could do."
The pair started doing research into the climb, studying the area and talking with several people who had done the climb."Last year I was all set and thought about doing it on my own," Willcox said. "But Margo said it was an opportunity she didn't want to miss. So we decided we would start to train and do the climb this year."
As added incentive, the pair are doing the climb as part of a cancer fund-raiser. Willcox is a lymphoma cancer survivor and will be doing the climb in part to raise funds for cancer research. So far they have raised $2,000.
"It's a lot of money and effort to do this, but we felt we needed to have a fund-raising component as well," Grant said, adding they will pay all costs associated with the trip, with any money raised going to the Cancer Society. "All the training and planning is well underway, and now I think we're both getting excited about the trip."
In preparation, the women have been hitting the gym, doing yoga, swimming, mountain biking and hiking.
"We've tried to incorporate lots of variety in the training," Willcox said. "The only thing you can't train for is the altitude changes we'll be experiencing. That is really our only concern. How will our bodies react and will we be able to reach the summit?"
Grant said family and friends have been a big support, with many of them wanting to make the trip with them.
"At first I think most of my family thought we were nuts, but now my kids want to go with us," Grant said. "We're rookies at this, but it's something we want to do. We want to challenge ourselves. It's going to be quite the adventure."
