‘I went through four pairs of gloves’: Spencer West at his home in Toronto, Canada. Photograph: Tory Ho/The Guardian Experience Life and style I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro on my hands I have no legs, so the thought of tackling the nearly 6,000-metre peak seemed crazy. But after reflection, and hard physical training, I decided to give it a go
Prefer the Guardian on Google I was born with a rare genetic disease called sacral agenesis, which meant that my legs didn’t work. When I was five, I had surgery to amputate them. Doctors told my parents that I might never sit up, let alone be a functioning member of society – but as a child I wanted to try everything, and my mum and dad were great at encouraging me.
I learned to navigate the world by walking on my hands. I also had a wheelchair, or I’d get around our neighbourhood in Wyoming by skateboard, just like other kids.
Read more I went to university in Utah, graduating with a communication degree into a terrible job market in 2003. I worked in client operations but craved a deeper sense of purpose.
Then in 2008 a friend invited me to join a volunteer trip to Kenya with a nonprofit organisation.
Seeing international development work in a different part of the world, and meeting schoolkids who were interested in my story, helped me find my passion. I started working for the organisation as a motivational speaker. I moved to Toronto, then travelled the world, telling my story to encourage young people to make a difference. But I kept thinking, “I haven’t done that myself.”
In 2011, the organisation’s founder told me he had climbed Kilimanjaro and asked if I would consider it. I thought he was out of his mind, but within days I started wondering if I could.
I asked my buddies Alex and David to join me, and got support from doctors, a local climbing expert, a personal trainer and my employer. I suggested using the climb to generate $500,000 for clean water in east Africa .
We all found it harder than expected. I planned to do half of it in a wheelchair but it was impossible to use on the terrain View image in fullscreen West and his friends on their journey up the mountain. Photograph: courtesy of Spencer West I spent a year fundraising and working with a personal trainer. In June 2012, we boarded a plane to Tanzania .
On day one, the weather was good; we were excited. I wore padded rowing gloves and planned to climb half of the journey on my hands, half in a wheelchair – but the chair was impossible to use on the terrain. Over seven hours, I did 80% of the climb on my hands as dust sprayed in my face. We all found it harder than expected and were nervous about day two.
We tried out a contraption that two of the porters could hook my wheelchair to, so that they could carry me overhead. It was fun at first but they walked fast and I wound up ahead of my buddies, which sucked.
Thankfully, we soon found a rhythm. Over the next few days, we started at 6am with me carried in the chair. Then, when possible, I walked using my hands, through the alpine desert, then the lunar desert above the cloud-line. By day six, heading towards the 5,895m (19,341ft) summit, there was snow and ice, and high winds. It felt like one step forward and two steps back. I swapped to thicker gloves. The terrain was tough, the incline was steep and the altitude made you feel…