Craig Kiser's Kilimanjaro ascent!

A word from Craig Kiser, CEO of the Blind Services Foundation of Florida

On August 22 my BrailleNote Apex and I will depart for Tanzania, Africa where I will climb to the summit of the tallest freestanding mountain in the World. I will have my Apex to record my thoughts and impressions and transmit them back to America and the Sendero GPS in my Apex will mark my route up the mountain.

Technology has become the single greatest boon to the blind in my lifetime. The advent of talking computers began a process that has opened more doors to the blind than any development since the creation of Braille.  And the invention of Braille / talking notetakers, such as the BrailleNote, has allowed us to carry this technology everywhere we go with ease and assurance.

Since receiving my first BrailleNote in 2001, which was followed by my BrailleNote PK, then my BrailleNote mPower, to my current BrailleNote Apex, I have relied on it to help me carry out whatever activity I'm doing.  I can't imagine being without it.

That benefit of technology is a large part of the reason I took the position of CEO of the Blind Services Foundation in 2008.  I know what devices like the BrailleNote have meant to me and I've seen the difference it can make in the life of a blind person.  I want to help other blind people obtain equipment that can change their lives.

I am routinely asked, "Why climb a mountain?"  I'm not a mountain climber.  Truth be known, I'm not that much of an athlete either.  That's part of the reason for the climb.  Most people who attempt climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro are not mountain climbers.  They are tourists and travelers who decide to do it on the spur of the moment because it seems like the thing to do when they view the grandeur of Kilimanjaro for the first time.  Why shouldn't the blind experience that same fascination?

There are 3 reasons for me to again challenge Kilimanjaro.  First, I want to raise as much money as possible for the Foundation, so it can help as many blind people as possible; second, I want to demonstrate to both the blind and sighted that we are normal, average human beings, subject to the same desires and whims that motivate sighted people and there's no reason why we shouldn't act on those desires and whims; and finally, I don't tolerate failure well and I'll be darned if that mountain is going to beat me.

Training for Kilimanjaro

August 23, 2010

Several people have asked me how I am training for my attempt to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro. There are probably as many training methods employed by people preparing to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro as there are people making the attempt. I don't claim my method is better or even as good as any other one, but here is how I trained. We'll find out how good it is after my climb.

I began in late October, 2009 by doing pushups, situps, stomach crunches and deep knee bends each morning and before bed. I did these 5 days a week and rested 2 days. I started walking 1 to 2 miles twice a day 5 days a week. Each week I increased the distance by a mile until I was hiking 6 to 8 miles at an outing.

Unfortunately, my routine was interrupted in January with gall stones. In February my gall bladder was removed and I wasn't able to resume training until March. At that time, I had to start over because much of the training was lost to inactivity for 2 month.

Throughout March, April and June I regained what I had lost in January and February. It was becoming difficult to train so hard in the Florida heat and humidity, but I was able to get back to being able to hike 6 to 8 miles per day.

In July we traveled to our home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the temperature was 10 to 15 degrees cooler and there was less humidity. Also, our home in Michigan is about 900 feet above sea level; not real high, but much higher than Venice, Florida, which is at sea level. This somewhat minor sounding difference may well make a big difference in becoming acclimated to high altitude on Kilimanjaro.

In Michigan, I resumed my hiking schedule with 2 changes. Our home is located on a bluff about 50 feet above a lake. We have a stairway down to the lake with 54 steps. Each day, I ran up and down the stairs several times. Also, I loaded my backpack with the gear I will be carrying on Kilimanjaro and wore it on my daily hikes. So far, all of this sounds like the way most people would prepare, but remember I'm blind.

You may wonder how a blind person could hike severl miles unassisted. Actually I was assisted. I used my BrailleNote Apex, a device similar to a laptop computer, but with a braille display and the ability to speak aloud whatever is being displayed. It has a talking GPS with maps of the entire United States, including millions of points of interest such as stores, restaurants, gas stations, banks, parks, etc. With my BrailleNote I was able to create walking routes of any distance I desired and then walk the route with the GPS pointing out each turn, intersection and point of interest along the way.

The training didn't always go smoothly. About 2 weeks ago, I switched hiking boots, forgetting that I had taken the intersole insert and used them in another pair of boots. That day I hiked 10 miles and got major blisters on both feet. That cost me 2 days of training, a trip to the doctor and a great deal of pain. Little things can mean a lot.

Beginning the first of August, I again changed my routine. Wearing my backpack, I traded my long white cane for a pair of trekking poles, which is what I will be using on the Kilimanjaro climb, and had my brother attach a small bell to our golf cart and had him lead me down the 4 wheeler trails around the area. I had him go as fast as I could fast walk over miles of sand, rock, tree roots and pot holes. This quite accurately mimicks the terrain at the beginning of the route up Mt. Kilimanjaro, even to the swarms of mosquitoes chasing us down the trails.

My intense training will conclude Sunday, August 15, a week before we leave for Africa. This will give me time to rest and restore myself before the climb. It will also avoid any risk of blisters or injuries such as twisted ankles which would be disastrous at this point. Well, we'll soon find out if this was a successful training program. My next report will be from Tanzania, Africa.