Where the Idea Began
Five years ago, Lori and I challenged ourselves to complete a marathon.
At the time, crossing that finish line felt like a major accomplishment—the result of months of training, preparation, early mornings, tired legs, and plenty of moments when continuing would have been easier to postpone until another day.
Once it was over, however, an idea stayed with us.
What could we challenge ourselves to do next?
We weren’t looking to simply repeat the same experience. We wanted something different—something that would take us outside our comfort zone and require us to prepare physically and mentally in an entirely new way.
Eventually, the conversation turned to mountains.
And one mountain kept coming up: Mount Kilimanjaro.
On September 24, 2026, that conversation becomes reality when we begin a seven-day journey toward the summit of Africa’s highest mountain at 5,895 meters above sea level.
But what started as a personal challenge for the two of us has grown into something much bigger.
It became Climbing Higher Together, a fundraising and community initiative supporting mental health through CAMH, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Why Kilimanjaro?
There are certainly easier ways to take a vacation.
Mount Kilimanjaro appealed to us precisely because it would require something different from the challenges we had already experienced.
At 5,895 meters, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and one of the world’s great trekking destinations. Unlike technical mountaineering expeditions that require advanced climbing skills, reaching Kilimanjaro’s summit is primarily about endurance, preparation, determination and, perhaps most importantly, adapting to altitude.
That made it both achievable and intimidating.
We knew we could train to walk longer distances. We could strengthen our legs, test our equipment and prepare for climbing day after day.
What we couldn’t completely prepare for was how our bodies would respond as we moved higher into thinner air.
That uncertainty became part of the challenge.
We chose the seven-day Machame Route, which gives us additional time to gradually gain altitude and acclimatize as we make our way toward Uhuru Peak.
Over seven days, we’ll travel through dramatically different environments—from rainforest and moorland to alpine desert and, finally, the exposed high-altitude terrain surrounding the summit.
It will be very different from hiking at home in Ontario.
Turning a Personal Challenge Into Something More
For quite some time, Kilimanjaro was simply something Lori and I wanted to accomplish together.
But as the planning became more serious, we started asking ourselves another question:
Could this journey have a purpose beyond reaching the summit?
Through Pillars of Wellness, we’re surrounded every day by people working toward goals that often require tremendous persistence.
Sometimes progress is physical. Sometimes it’s neurological. Sometimes it’s emotional or psychological. And sometimes simply getting through a difficult period of life requires more strength than anyone else realizes.
That connection between perseverance, progress and mental health ultimately led to Climbing Higher Together.
Our fundraising goal is $5,895—one dollar for every meter of Mount Kilimanjaro’s elevation—with funds supporting CAMH.
The mountain gave us the number.
Our community gave that number meaning.
Rather than making the campaign only about Lori and me climbing Kilimanjaro, we wanted people to be able to participate in their own way through donating, sponsoring a meter, taking part in our 5,895 Challenge, sharing the campaign or simply following the journey.
Because you shouldn’t have to climb a mountain in Tanzania for your personal challenge to matter.
What It Actually Takes to Plan a Kilimanjaro Climb
When people see photographs of Kilimanjaro, they usually see the mountain.
What they don’t see are the spreadsheets, packing lists, flight schedules, medical appointments, insurance policies, equipment decisions and countless logistical questions behind getting there.
Planning this expedition has become a project of its own.
We first had to determine when to climb, which route to take, how many days to spend on the mountain and which trekking company would organize the expedition.
Then came the travel logistics.
We’re scheduled to leave Toronto on September 22, flying through Addis Ababa before continuing to Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania. Our climb begins September 24.
Because an expedition like this depends on several moving pieces working together, we’ve spent a surprising amount of time thinking about things most travelers rarely consider.
What happens if a connecting flight is delayed?
What happens if checked luggage doesn’t arrive with us?
Which essential equipment should always stay in our carry-on bags?
What travel insurance properly covers trekking at almost 6,000 meters?
What vaccinations or medications should we discuss before travelling?
And how do you fit everything needed for a mountain expedition into airline baggage restrictions?
Each answer seems to create another question.
Building the Gear System
Preparing for Kilimanjaro also means preparing for several climates during the same week.
At the base of the mountain, conditions can be warm and humid.
Higher up, temperatures drop significantly. Summit night can bring freezing temperatures, wind and hours of walking in darkness before sunrise.
That means our clothing has to work as a system rather than as individual pieces.
We’ve spent months researching and testing everything from hiking boots and merino base layers to fleece, insulated jackets, waterproof shells, gloves, trekking poles, backpacks and hydration systems.
Even relatively small decisions matter.
Which gloves keep your hands warm without making trekking poles difficult to use?
How do your boots feel after five or six consecutive hours of hiking?
Can you easily reach your water while wearing your backpack?
What happens when you’re wearing several layers at the same time?
The goal isn’t simply to own good equipment.
It’s to know how that equipment works before we’re standing at 4,500 meters trying to figure it out.
Training for the Mountain
Of course, equipment only gets us so far.
The biggest part of our preparation has been training.
Kilimanjaro isn’t necessarily about moving quickly. It’s about being able to keep moving—sometimes for many hours, on consecutive days, while gaining altitude.
Our training has therefore focused heavily on endurance.
We’ve been progressively increasing the length of our hikes, adding elevation wherever possible and spending more time walking with the backpacks we’ll use on the mountain.
Ontario doesn’t give us many opportunities to train at altitude, but it does give us plenty of places to train our legs.
Long hikes through areas such as the Dundas Valley and the Niagara Escarpment allow us to work on distance, hills, pacing and spending several hours continuously on our feet.
We’re also learning something that experienced Kilimanjaro trekkers repeat constantly:
Slow is not a weakness on the mountain. Slow is a strategy.
The goal isn’t to race to the next camp.
It’s to conserve energy, allow our bodies time to adjust and arrive at summit night with enough strength left for the hardest part of the climb.
[Read more about how we’re preparing and training for Mount Kilimanjaro →]
Preparing for the Part We Can’t Train For
There is one major Kilimanjaro variable we simply can’t reproduce in Burlington: altitude.
Uhuru Peak sits nearly six kilometers above sea level.
As elevation increases, the amount of oxygen available to the body decreases. Even very fit people can experience headaches, fatigue, nausea, poor sleep and other symptoms as they ascend.
Fitness helps us handle the physical workload, but it doesn’t guarantee that someone will acclimatize well.
That’s one reason we selected a seven-day itinerary rather than trying to reach the summit as quickly as possible.
The extra time allows for a more gradual ascent.
We’ve also spent time learning about altitude illness, hydration, pacing and the importance of communicating symptoms rather than trying to push through them.
Reaching the summit would obviously be an incredible moment.
But getting there safely—and coming back down safely—matters more.
hiking in newfoundland, canada
Organizing the Fundraiser Alongside the Expedition
At some point, our Kilimanjaro planning became two projects running simultaneously.
There was the expedition itself.
And then there was Climbing Higher Together.
Creating the fundraiser meant developing the campaign, working with CAMH, building the website, creating the Sponsor a Meter concept, developing the 5,895 Challenge, producing stories and videos, reaching out to community organizations and finding ways to make the campaign something people could participate in rather than simply watch.
It has taken a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes.
But it has also reminded us why we wanted to do this.
The closer we get to September, the less this feels like two people going on an adventure and the more it feels like we’re carrying a little piece of our community up the mountain with us.
If you are interested in donating, you can visit our page to support Mental Health through CAMH.
A Community Helping Us Tell the Story
One of the most encouraging parts of this journey has been seeing local organizations and media help bring attention to the campaign and, most importantly, to the conversation around mental health.
We would like to sincerely acknowledge CTV News, Burlington Today, Inside Halton, the Burlington Chamber of Commerce and the Aldershot BIA for helping share our story with the community.
Every article, interview, newsletter, social media post and conversation helps the campaign reach someone who may otherwise never have heard about it.
We’re incredibly grateful for that support.
You can also watch our CTV News interview about Climbing Higher Together.
The Countdown Is Getting Real
For months, September 24 existed somewhere on a calendar in the future.
Now it’s getting close.
The flights are booked.
The equipment is being tested.
The training hikes are getting longer.
Packing lists are becoming more detailed.
And the mountain that once existed mostly in conversations, photographs and planning documents is about to become very real.
We know there will be difficult days.
There will probably be moments when we’re tired, cold, uncomfortable or questioning why climbing a 5,895-meter mountain ever sounded like a good idea.
But that’s also why we chose it.
Five years after challenging ourselves to finish a marathon, we’re ready to find out what the next challenge teaches us.
Lori and Laurent Pinci
From Burlington to the Roof of Africa
On September 24, we’ll take the first steps of the Machame Route.
Several days later, if everything goes according to plan, we’ll leave camp during the night and begin the long climb toward Uhuru Peak.
Reaching the summit would be extraordinary.
But Climbing Higher Together has already taught us that the summit isn’t the only measure of the journey.
It’s the preparation.
It’s the people who encourage you.
It’s the willingness to keep moving when something is difficult.
And it’s what you choose to do with the experience afterward.
What began as Lori and me wondering what challenge could possibly follow a marathon has become an expedition, a fundraiser and a community project we never could have imagined when we first started talking about climbing Kilimanjaro.
And we haven’t even reached the mountain yet.
Follow Our Kilimanjaro Journey
We’ll be sharing updates as we prepare, travel to Tanzania and make our way up Mount Kilimanjaro.
You can learn more about the campaign, participate in the 5,895 Challenge, Sponsor a Meter, support CAMH or follow our expedition through the Climbing Higher Together page.
Explore Climbing Higher Together →
Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared our story, supported the campaign or simply encouraged us along the way.
The climb begins in Burlington.
The destination is 5,895 meters above sea level.
Laurent & Lori
