Sophomore international affairs major Jessica Post knows the meaning of the phrase “falling off the horse, but getting back on.” Only in this case that “horse” is the biggest free-standing mountain in the world.
In January 2006, Post and her parents joined a group of 16 other Coloradans on a climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro, located in Tanzania, Africa. What was supposed to be an exciting family vacation up the Marangu route took a tragic turn.
“My dad had always been into climbing and got me interested in it too,” Post said. “We decided that we wanted to do a climb that would be easy for the whole family.”
This decision brought them to Tanzania, where Jessica was excited to experience not only the climb, but also the society.
“I love the outdoors and camping with my dad. I was so excited for the trip and the experience of a new culture,” Post said.
During the sixth day of the trip up the mountain, the group of climbers heard a rumble and then rocks began falling everywhere.
“There was one rock bouncing down the mountain side that was the size of a car or truck but the majority of the rocks ranged in sizes from pebbles to boulders,” Post said. “From that point on I do not remember anything except thinking I was going to die on the mountain.”
Post suffered a broken leg, while one member of the group lost his life.
“Although he wasn’t a close friend, I had trained with the guy. We had just spent five days together camping on a mountain. He was a wonderful and fun-loving man,” Post said.
Post had a fracture in her leg, and it took eight hours for the rest of the team members to carry her down the mountain on a makeshift stretcher. After that, it was a long drive to a local African hospital and a 20 hour trip back to Boulder. At Boulder Community Hospital, Post had surgery to get a metal plate and screws into her leg. The doctors also discovered that her open wound was much worse than expected, and she was put on antibiotics for several weeks.
Post describes her recovery as “pretty quick for such a serious injury.” After eight months starting with rest and progressing to physical therapy, Post was back on her feet and eager to begin climbing again.
“As we were heading down the mountain, right after the accident, I told my dad that he still owed me a safari,” Post said.
Almost exactly a year from their first trip, Post’s dad followed through on his promise. In January 2007 he took Post back to Africa for a safari.
“I also wanted to go back and thank everyone for their help and support. I didn’t get a chance to do that before we left the first time,” Post said.
She debated climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro again, but her dad and a friend wanted to. They headed back up the mountain and finally reached the top the same day they were supposed to the year before. They even had the same guide who took them on their prior trip.
“I spent a lot of time talking to our guide as we went up the mountain,” Post said. “It was very theraputic for me to talk to someone who wasn’t my parents or friends about the accident.”
Post said she plans to keep climbing and hopes to go back to Africa someday.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Julia Yugel at julia.yugel@thecampuspress.com.
