A Kilimanjaro expedition of guts and glory

August is National Women’s Month in South Africa where we celebrate South African women and their achievements. One recent achievement was Mrs South Africa Nicole Capper’s summit of Kilimanjaro on Women’s Day with the Trek4Mandela fundraising expedition.

The climb was no walk in the park and besides the physical challenges of ascending at altitude, Nicole Cappper had to face extreme weather conditions, such as 60km/hr winds that lifted her off her feet, a wind chill of -17°c and trudging through snow. Despite these challenges, Nicole was triumphant on reaching the summit of the highest peak in Africa.

The climb is in support of an organisation called Caring4Girls. This initiative empowers and focuses on young girls through school. A summit up Kilimanjaro can take up to 11, 5 hours from the base camp. People who boldly take on the challenge of making their way to the top of the highest peak in Africa are exposed to extreme weather conditions.

“Through our fundraising we hope to help young women get an education so they can work hard, follow their dreams and passions – whatever those may be – so they may go on to live full and happy lives. I also hope this expedition will set an example for young girls – demonstrating how you can do anything if you set your mind to it.” says Capper.