BEATING THE BLUES ON SEVEN SUMMITS
CAPE TOWN resident Remy Kloos is on track to become the youngest African to complete the Seven Summit Challenge – summiting the world’s seven highest mountains.
Kloos, 31, is also aiming for another first – to be the first African to complete a double summit – reaching the top of Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse within 24 hours, the world’s highest and fourth-highest mountains.
To date she has summited four of the seven mountains that make up the Seven Summits Challenge – Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Aconcagua in South America, Mount Elbrus in Europe and Mount Denali in North America.
This month, Kloos is climbing the highest peak in Oceania, Carstensz Pyramid. She aims to complete the challenge next year by climbing Everest in April and Vinson Massif in Antarctica in December. The EverestLhoste combo climb will also make her the first woman from Africa to summit the Lhotse peak.
Kloos has only been an avid high-altitude mountaineer for three years. Her passion was born out of a desperate need to gain some perspective in her life, as she had found herself at an all-time low. At 17, Kloos was diagnosed with depression and for years she struggled to overcome it.
“The turning point began towards the end of 2016, when I found myself struggling to cope. To gain some perspective, I made the decision to take myself to Tanzania and climb the highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro. On January 1, 2017, I stood on the Roof of Africa and felt an electric energy pulse through my entire body.
“I realised I’d found a deep and soulful connection to the mountains, and to something so much bigger than me. I returned home and 10 months later I found the courage to resign from my great corporate job in Joburg, and I took all my savings and decided to climb the highest mountains around the world and tackle my anxiety headon. I knew I needed a change so big and challenging that it’d push me to dig deep into my reserves and allow me to truly discover my inner strength, courage and bravery,” said Kloos.
Besides climbing the highest mountains, Kloos is also committed to giving back. She launched the #JustClimb initiative last year to raise funds for the Dlala Nje Foundation in Johannesburg. So far, she has raised close to R400000, which has gone towards the expansion and renovation of their children’s community centre. She also recently partnered with the Sunflower Fund for the remainder of her climbs. The Sunflower Fund is a donor recruitment centre and stem cell registry.
For more information, visit www. remykloos.com. You can also follow her journey on her Instagram and Facebook pages @remykloos. |