Before taking off to Africa as part of the 2009 Ascent for Alzheimer’s climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro to benefit the Alzheimer Society of BC, trekker Rowena Anderson had a chance to speak with me about what was running through her head in the days leading up to her team’s departure date of September 8th. Speaking with someone about to leave for Africa on a mission that most people would either only dream of doing or never dream of doing, I was feeling a bit of the angst myself for such a climb. Rowena, although all laughs and full of good humor, immediately made it clear that, ready or not, she had a job to do that she believes in passionately.
Rowena is a unique climber amongst the troops, as she is not only a trekker, but has also been the leader of Fund Development for the Society for the past year and a half. This, actually, is how she found herself gearing up for the upcoming trek. Upon attending a meeting of her now trek-mates in order to support them, “I heard their stories, this group’s incredible stories, and decided to join them. Also, in terms of my work, I thought it would be fun to rally behind them and have someone internally do the climb with them.”
One of the first questions I had for Rowena, is whether or not she felt ready. “No! It’s an unknown, scary feeling, not knowing how the body will react to it—the unknown of altitude threshold—you really know nothing about it. But I’m in good shape and feel good about it, it’s just a lot of unknowns.”
The two teams are led by guides, with each team member carrying the day’s needs on their backs while porters carry tents, food, and the array of equipment needed for the ascent up the mountain on their heads. At some point, the rise in altitude causes a complete 
loss of appetite, so each trekker must bring from home his or her favorite snack, whatever it is, in order to eat something, anything, to keep going. Trekkers must have sleeping gear prepared for –10 to –20 degrees C, yet temperatures are difficult to prepare for in this remote area, as the climate is rapidly changing. It is speculated that within 10 years there will no longer be snow at the Mountain.
Rowena says her teammates help keep her going, that they have all become fast friends. They train together for a year, share very personal stories, and hold one another up. She herself has raised over $15,000 for Alzheimer’s research and education on this trek, paying the $7K-$8K of travel expenses out of her own pocket, as each of her teammates must. A main goal of her trek, other than to raise such funds, is to raise awareness about the disease and help to erase the stigma that can often surround it. “Often people are embarrassed, don’t know when to differentiate between ‘old age’ and ‘dementia’ and don’t want to address the problem.”
I then ask her what advice she might offer to the 2010 team or to anyone else out there who may consider this climb. “If you’re worried about raising funds, it’s amazing how generous people are and how they rally behind this cause. I think they see that it’s rare that people put their own money into a cause, and climb a mountain for it! Also, talk to previous climbers. They will tell you that it changed their lives forever. Do it. Don’t be scared of it.”
I asked Rowena what she fears most about the trip, expecting to hear about big spiders or disease, some African mountain animal I was not familiar with. Instead, Rowena pauses and says “I worry that I won’t reach the summit—that people are counting on me and I’ll let them down.” We have a good laugh about this, trying to make light of it in various ways, but it is clear to me that she is being wholeheartedly honest in stating this, and I realize how much pressure each of the trekkers is under, taking on something so outside the realm of their daily lives and doing so in both a public manner as well as in many personal ways—dedicating a year of their lives to training, dedicating the trek to a loved one who has suffered with the disease, dedicating so much to help eradicate this painful disease.
Finally, I asked Rowena if she could summarize her experience thus far, the fundraising, the grueling training, the physical pains resulting from that training, the time put in to all of this and the anticipation of what is so close, in just a few words. She did so perfectly. Rowena calls this her “Journey to Remember”, as it is a ‘once in a lifetime experience’ that could very well change her life forever, but also in honor of all of those who have slowly forgotten their own journeys due to the disease that these teams are climbing to defeat. We wish Rowena the best on her trek and, whether she reaches the summit or not, she is far past ‘talking the talk’ and is definitely ‘walking the walk’ of a lifetime!
biOasis is a proud sponsor of Alzheimer Society of BC’s Ascent for Alzheimer’s. Please visit the Alzheimer Society of BC’s site to learn more about the Society and how it contributes to the community and the 2009 team’s site to learn more about the trekkers and to help them reach their goals.
