Conquering Kilimanjaro: 'You felt like you wanted to die'

It was minus-30 degrees halfway between the final ridge of Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro and its 19,341-foot-tall peak and Max Crider was stuck.

The 17-year-old Palm Desert High School student and his dad, Jeff Crider, had been climbing the mountain for six days already, beginning that day's ascent at 12:30 a.m. and the combination of bone-chilling cold and high altitude had left both nauseous with throbbing headaches.

"Every step, you kinda felt like you could just pass out," Max said. "You feel like you want to throw up, and on top of that, you're freezing cold and tired from hiking all day. ... You felt like you wanted to die, like literally wanted to die."

He dropped down onto a rock by the side of the trail. His dad was still back a way, and he wasn't sure what his next move would be.

It was then that Raymond, the lead guide who had helped the group pass the days with upbeat Swahili songs, approached and handed Max a nondescript yellowish drink.

"Come on, brother, you're so close!" he said.

He helped Max up and together the two trudged their way up into the clouds to reach the peak.

A couple of switchbacks down the mountain, his father Jeff was having his own problems. The altitude was making it hard to breathe, and he was popping Tylenol every 30 minutes to stave off his migraine. He focused on his training, repeating to himself, "I'm on Mount Kilimanjaro! In Africa!" to keep going, continuing to zigzag his way further up the 45-degree angle trail.

"There were a couple hours there where I didn't think I was going to make it," he said.

When he did finally reach the peak, he saw Max and the two embraced. Jeff got choked up, telling his son, "I'm so proud of you."

Standing on top of Africa's highest mountain, the Criders thought back on their year of planning, spending their days after work and school climbing the Bump and Grind Trail clad in "suffocation masks" designed to simulate the feeling of breathing at 18,000 feet.

"I think (the hikes) not only helped prepare us physically, but mentally helped prepare us," Jeff said. "I think that if we had not done all of that we would have suffered a lot more on the hike."

It wasn't just that the two accomplished hikers wanted to check off the ultimate bucket list experience, they were looking to help people who walk 90 times the distance of their climb every year in search of clean water.

Prior to leaving for their trip on June 13, the two raised $6,420 for Lifewater International, a nonprofit which partners with underserved African communities to build safe water sources and latrines and provide hygiene education.

Together, the team of 16 people the Criders made the ascent with raised $103,000 — enough to serve 2,500 people with clean water wells that last for 20 years.

"I feel like everything we did was worthwhile," Jeff said. "Nothing was wasted."

After the Criders made their descent from Mount Kilimanjaro, they were able to see the work Lifewater does firsthand, spending the last five days of their 19-day trip in the West Arsi province of Ethiopia.

While Max and Jeff had previously volunteered in impoverished areas of El Salvador and Nicaragua before, they were shocked at the level of poverty they saw during their visit. The World Bank estimates the average Ethiopian's income at $550. They were, however, encouraged by the warmth of the people who hosted them in addition to the wells, latrines and hygiene stations Lifewater had helped to build.

"For me, it was very satisfying to see that (Lifewater) is doing what they say they're doing," Jeff Crider said.

Reflecting on the experience now that the Criders are back in the desert and recovered from their jet lag, Jeff said he was struck with how resilient and tough Max truly is — a realization that's helpful with college on the horizon.

"You have more self-confidence now because you encounter something that was really tough and dealt with self-doubt and pushed through it," he said. "We delivered. We did what we said we were gonna do."

For more of Jeff Crider's pictures from the Lifewater International trip, visit jeffcriderphotography.smugmug.com.

For more information on making the Kilimanjaro climb with Lifewater next year, visitlifewater.org/event/kilimanjaro-2017.

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