Scaling the heights: UW-River Falls student climbs Mount Kilimanjaro over winter break

February 7, 2022 - A University of Wisconsin-River Falls international student climbed to new heights over winter break.

Phanice “Nissy” Obasi, of Nakuru County, Kenya, a dual major in economics and computer science and information systems, spent seven days in December climbing and descending from Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, in northern Tanzania. The mountain is 19,431 feet high.

Obasi, a senior international student who graduates in May, took the trip in with her brother, Jay, sister, Ma, and two friends, Muthee and Ngure.

Obasi finished her final exams at UWRF early and headed home to Kenya in mid-December. On December 15, she and her siblings drove six hours from Nairobi, Kenya, to Tanzania and stayed in Arusha, the town closest to the Roof of Africa, a nickname for the mountain.

The group, joined by about 18 other people: climbers, guides and porters, who carry the tents, food and other gear, started the ascent on December 16.

Obasi prepared for the trip by having morning runs during the fall semester and occasionally working out at the campus gym.

“It was not that bad,” Obasi said, noting she started out wearing a light workout shirt and yoga pants. “It had a slight incline. It was beautiful. It was so green and so many trees. It was warm; kind of like June or July in River Falls.”

First-starting-out hikers are encouraged to walk slowly to help acclimate themselves as they climb.

“The guides encouraged us to take it all in and to enjoy the experience,” Obasi said.

The group stopped at Machame camp having walked about 10 kilometers the first day.

On the second day, they ascended to about 12,500 feet on the mountain, walking about eight hours, to Shira Camp. The walk was still easy and Obasi noticed the terrain was becoming drier with more open land.

The third day was difficult, Obasi said.

“It was more of a climb than a walk,” she noted. “You had to hold on to the rocks and climb up.”

The group climbed to about 15,200-feet above sea level, but they descended to about 13,000 feet to sleep, which is part of getting acclimated to the elevation.

On the fourth day, they left the Karanga Campsite and hiked about seven hours with ever steeper terrain.

“We could see the peak,” Obasi said. “I was very happy to view it and at the same moment I wished everyone could experience this.”

Reaching the peak
They went to bed early and awoke at 12:30 a.m. on day five to make the final near eight-hour summit to the Uhuru Peak.

“We were dressed like we were going to the top of Mount Everest,” Obasi said, noting she was wearing four layers of clothing to stay warm and had toe and hand warmers. “We filled our water packs with warm water. If we would have known better, we would have used hot water because it froze. It was so cold. It was snowing. There was the kind of wind that pushes you off balance.”

“I had to stop so many times,” Obasi said, noting she and her sister were not feeling well from eating food they were not used to. “I didn’t think I would make it. The last day really takes everything out of you. I actually cried because it was so hard, but hey, I still made it!”

“When I saw the Uhuru Peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro board at the top, it was like the light at the end of the tunnel,” Obasi added. “You just take it in, knowing you made it.”

The group then started their descent, sliding on rock and snow. They stayed over one more night on the mountain and completed the descent the next day, leaving Mt. Kilimanjaro through the Mweka gate.

“I would definitely do it again,” Obasi said. “At the moment it might seem painful, but it is worth the experience when you can wake up and see the highest peak of Africa.”

Obasi and her family started hiking mountains in the summer of 2019. They were looking for something to do and decided to hike Mount Longonot in Kenya, which is about 9.108 feet high.

“It was painful, but we have such good memories from that impromptu trip,” Obasi said.

The next mountain they tackled was Mount Kenya, the second-highest one in Africa, in December 2020.

Climbing builds emotional strength

Climbing mountains has given Obasi emotional strength and the fortitude to try new things.

“Take the plunge, you never know what you might find,” she noted. “You never have limits if you keep pushing them. You make yourself bigger. That is what life is, a very large adventure.”

Professor Tony Varghese, chair of the Computer, Information and Data Sciences Department, said Obasi asked to take an exam in a class early because she was going hiking with her family. Varghese was surprised to learn she was climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

“In 20 years, I have only seen a few students like her,” Varghese said. “She took one of the hardest classes on campus, Calculus II, and it did not phase her at all. She seems to find her classes easy and at the same time she is very personable. She is going places. Mount Kilimanjaro is just the start.”

Obasi chose to attend UWRF because she liked the campus and her sister, Lister, is an alum.

“I really do well in a tight-knit community,” she noted. “I like the smaller classes and the opportunity for more conversation with your adviser and professors.”

After she graduates, Obasi is moving to New York to work as an analyst in investment banking.

She and her siblings are planning their next mountain climbing adventure as well. In about a year they plan to scale the Rwenzori Mountains, a range of mountains in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mount Stanley, the highest peak, is 16,762 feet high. The Mountains of the Moon make up the source of the Nile River.

To learn more about international education at UWRF and the programs the university offers through Study Aboard, contact the Office of International Education at studyabroad@uwrf.edu or 715-425-4891.

UW-River Falls is No. 1 in the UW System for the percent of students who study abroad.