Climbing with Cosimo Bruzzese, Freddy Muller, Olga Navarro, Miguel Assis, Teresa Assis & Stephanie Deaton

This group emerged from a shared connection through SITE. We are all SITE members and all grew up in the first wave of industry leaders that had the opportunity to go through the SITE Young Leaders program. This community helped us form a bond that has lasted over years of shared personal and professional experiences and changes.

We were sitting together during SITE’s 50th Anniversary conference in New York in February 2023 and Kilimanjaro, an adventure that had been floated between us over the months, solidified as a challenge we felt we were ready for.  We were in a place in our careers and with our families where the commitment seemed possible, and we knew if we chose a date further out it would allow us to block diaries before they filled, and get the right training in. 

We committed to a date a year out, January 2024, while we were together, and then left New York with a plan to look at options of how we could make this happen. We went our separate ways after the conference (quite literally, on planes back to our various parts of the world!) but the plan was set and the adventure felt like it had already begun! Even with that year of planning and preparation, we still don't think we were prepared for what was in store for us. 

While the mountain had its challenges, looking back, we genuinely wouldn’t change a thing. Every challenge made the experience that bit more impactful and thanks to our strong friendship, we managed to turn (almost) every tear into laughter. Here’s why & how;

What was our motivation to go?

Eda: I would date back our group’s original motivation to our dear friend Jon Bradshaw who tackled some crazy adventures and inspired us to push ourselves physically back in Iceland at the SITE Young Leaders Conference in 2009.

That conference was also where I met everybody — and never looked back. There have since been six marriages and 13 kids in our group so as soon as we had our heads above the water, we pushed ahead.

Aoife: For me, the attraction of something very different to what we normally get to experience together was a big draw. We connect at conferences and tradeshows throughout the year, but it’s often stolen moments for a very quick catch-up. The chance to spend a week together hiking in such a unique environment, with no meetings or events to be pulled into? That was hugely appealing.

What role did the group play in this experience?

Aoife: I honestly didn’t realise the importance of who you surround yourself with until I actually got there. I had a wobbly moment on the fourth morning, for instance, and had Miguel not come into my tent to chat with me, I think I could have called it a day and made a descent down the mountain.  

My ‘roomie’ mattered a huge amount to me, too. It’s close quarters in an environment that is unusual for anyone. I’m someone who likes to come back to my own room and decompress or go for a walk on my own during a busy conference or event.  Who you share a 10’ x 12’ tent with for seven nights is a big deal!  There were a lot of ‘what are we doing’ moments in that tent that ended in the most amount of laughs. Had I not had Eda to embrace the challenges with, it would have been a very different experience. 

Did being a mom impact this adventure? (Notes Aoife: Eda, I’m really interested in your answer, as it’s something that we have bonded over since both becoming parents)

Eda: For me absolutely: primarily because for the first three years of parenthood, I felt like I was either being a mom or being a company director — and in rare occasions, a wife.

I really yearned for opportunities to be “Eda” and so I strived to create an experience like this that I could enjoy and be proud, while also setting an example for my son. He saw me put in months of training for this goal I had set and achieve it. Hopefully, he’ll also think I’m cool when he’s older!

Our summit night experience

Eda: As with everything else in my life, I struggled more leading up to the actual event than the event itself. Once I get going, I don’t back out. I shed a lot of tears when I got exceptionally tired, got quite nervous about altitude sickness then shook it off, laughed a lot to Miguel’s silly jokes and Freddy’s burps — and listened to the guides who led us up there singing: one step at a time for 8.5 hours!

It was a true test of my patience (not a strong suit of mine, to say the least…) and I’m immensely proud to have worked through it.

Another fact: going back down was much harder, as we had 6.5 more hours of downhill walking that day! Gosh…

Aoife:  Summit night for me was definitely the hardest. Emotionally, at that point while I was nervous, I was amped to go for it! But physically, the altitude really kicked my butt!

Our guides warned us that we would feel like sleeping around the 3 AM point of the summit, which seemed bizarre to me at the time (who is going to feel like sleeping in minus temperatures up a steep mountain?!) But it was so true: I really felt my energy draining as we got higher. 

Our guides were incredible and watched us all individually — stepping in at the right moments to sing, take our backpacks, help us get access to our water. When you think about hospitality and how to individually look after clients’ needs, they embodied this in a way that I have never seen before.

The last hour, my focus was on Freddy’s ankles; if I could just move in step with them, I could do it. I’ll be forever indebted to those ankles!   

I got a burst of energy at Stella Point (5,756 meters) so the last 100 meters (which, for context, took another 45 minutes!) felt much more comfortable. 

The feeling at Uhuru Peak…it’s something else.

Final life lessons

Aoife: I think the lessons will continue to come as life goes on.  To be quite honest, the impact of the trip still hasn’t fully sunk in.

What stands out the most right now for me is mental health-related.  While I was physically ready for the climb, mentally I found it exceptionally hard. That was an important lesson for me to learn and I’m hoping acknowledging this will serve me moving forward.

Eda: I think the world makes us believe that as we age, life becomes more mundane; that after a certain age, one doesn’t take big risks or make changes to their lifestyle.

But thanks to this trip I started to run and exercise regularly, slept in a tent, and trekked for the first time in my life at age 38. It gives me huge confidence for the future, that I can keep pushing myself and keep evolving!

Both authors extend a big thank you to SITE for creating an environment and forging connections that have turned into the most important of friendships, and for the opportunity to share this experience with SITE members.