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It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves
"Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts", such a profound statement and such a proud moment for Excellencia Infinitum to carve its name in history with Hasvi Muriki aged 13, successfully summitting Kilimanjaro on 3rd Oct 2021. Kilimanjaro is the highest single free-standing mountain in South Africa. It's a dormant volcano, with an elevation of 5895 m above sea level. It is ranked 4th on the list of most topographically prominent peaks on Earth. It is one of the seven summits of the world and quite a challenge in itself.
The Seed
Movies have a unique way to communicate concepts, ideas, and stories with such an impact that they can set the foundation of an idea, desire, or dream. At the young age of 12, Hasvi got inspired by such a film and found her calling. She probed further onto this professionally with her dad's support, meeting the right people and getting the right training. With a lot of doubts and disbelief, she went on her very first trek to Everest Base Camp. This roller coaster trek not only changed her life but also gave her the confidence to dream big.
The How
It all starts with preparation, practice, and hard work put in every day to learn how to walk and increase stamina and endurance. But the real challenge is faced when the body needs to acclimatize with an increase in altitude and at the same time, walking duration in a day increases too. Hasvi went on the expedition with a professional and trusted organizing group. The accent was spread over a period of 5 days with every day the temperature becoming colder and the trek becoming more difficult. On the 5th day, the trek is the longest. The weather was the worst and so was the health of the trekkers. The trek started as early as 1:30 am with a full day ahead. Despite having a bad stomach, no sleep, and other fellow trekkers backing off due to deteriorating weather, nothing could stop Hasvi from reaching her ultimate goal.
As you know going up is only half of the challenge, but the feeling of victory does make your spirit high and the hurdles on the way back hurt just a little less. As you go down, the decrease of altitude and increase of oxygen pumps back life.
The Learning
Many times we are so focused on our goal that we forget to cherish and enjoy the journey. Hasvi on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed this journey and cherished these moments with nature. Once you discipline yourself, no matter how much you want to give up at certain point, you end up giving your 100% and conquer your fears and that is when you achieve inner peace. The experiences that you gain, the decisions that you take, the life that you see and value, makes you a changed person. You become an inspiration for others.
What's next?
At such a young age, Hasvi has understood the importance of practice, fitness, setting goals in life, and experienced what it is to never give up. Her upcoming missions will be Mt. Elbrus followed by Mt. K2 and finally the mightiest of all, Mt. Everest! All we can say to the dream and determination of this 13-year-old girl is, "Go for it girl!!! Make us all proud! Our best wishes are with you!"