Woodside Septuagenarian Climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro
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& ■ A monthly section on physical and mental well-being. September 13, 2006 SECTION 2 A LSO INSIDE C ALENDAR 34 |R EAL ESTATE 36 |C LASSIFIEDS 48 Alma Fletcher, center, at the crater rim of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, considered to be the summit of the mountain, on July 25. At right: head guide Charles Lyimo; at left: Eric, an assistant guide. Courtesy of Reaching herher peak Alma Fletcher Woodside septuagenarian climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro lma and Austri Fletcher of Wood- mountain, but several were descending, her mother might have to turn around if Shortly after sunrise, the women reached side watched solitary headlamps Alma recalls. Alma couldn’t get her energy up. But as a Stella Point at the crater rim, at 18,800 feet snake up the mountain ahead of They passed at least four hikers who last resort, she forced down some energy considered to be the summit of Kiliman- them as they hiked toward the weren’t able to brave either the steep incline gel, a nutritional supplement used mainly jaro, a volcano. summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in or the altitude, and Alma knew that she by endurance runners and other athletes; Alma then began the descent from the the early morning was slowing down, too. she had been reluctant to take the gel mountain, while Austri continued hiking hours of July 25. Story by Sean Howell “I didn’t expect the last because of her failing appetite, and because to the true peak at 19,340 feet. The mother and daugh- (portion of the) climb to she hated the taste. But once she did, her Reaching the crater rim would be an A Special to the Almanac ter had started the climb be so difficult. I didn’t pace picked up almost immediately. impressive feat for anyone, especially some- at midnight, donning have enough energy.” one who’s 72 years old, but Alma smiles and headlamps and extra clothing. But in the end, she proved that she had shakes her head when she thinks about it. “It was like a torchlight parade,” said just enough — with a little help from a “I wish we had started (eating the gel) Alma, who was taking on the mighty nutritional supplement taken on the trail ‘I didn’t at midnight,” she says, sitting in the liv- challenge of climbing the highest and, no doubt, from having kept up over think I’d ing room of her home off Skyline Boule- mountain in Africa at the age of 72. The the years a daily physical regimen that has vard, near King’s Mountain Road. If she scene reminded Austri, 41, of the Seven kept her remarkably fit into her eighth make it. The had, she says, she might have joined her Dwarfs from Snow White, marching off decade of life. hotel staff daughter for the last 500 feet. to work. When Alma and Austri Fletcher descend- Ahead of them, the women could see REACHING THE SUMMIT didn’t think ed 6,000 feet to an emergency base camp, only the feet of the guides whom Alma ut in the wee hours of that bracingly I’d make it.’ they wrapped up what both women call and Austri had hired at the hotel at the cold day in July, she didn’t feel all the most strenuous day of exercise in their bottom of the mountain. too fit. ALMA FLETCHER, B ON HER CLIMB TO Most of the lights were going up the At around 3 a.m., Austri thought she and KILIMANJARO’S SUMMIT See FLETCHER, page 31 September 13, 2006 ■ The Almanac ■ 29 Private & Secluded Setting! Large, level building site with treed West Atherton Cul De Sac! Artfully built with dramatic vaulted perimeter. 26,000+/- sf. total lot size. 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Spanning apprx 1.22 acres, the lovely lot offers pool & spa, patios and sea of lawn. www.19863DouglassLane.com Offered at $4,950,000 30 ■ The Almanac ■ September 13, 2006 HEALTH & FITNESS Low Cost Divorce/Living Trust Peak DOCUMENT PREPARATION SERVICE INCLUDES: FLETCHER • Divorce $399 continued from page 29 • Living Trusts $399/$499 lives. By the time they came to a rest that afternoon, they had been • Incorporations/LLC $399 hiking for nearly 15 hours. • Probate (FREE Quote) • QDRO, Buy/Sell UNCERTAINTY Agreements lma’s disappointment at miss- ing her chance to reach the Kyle & Koko • And much more! Ahighest peak typifies her eager, can-do attitude, especially when it ® comes to feats of physical endur- We The People 800-579-0009 ance. She had agreed to undertake Form and Service Center since 1985. We are not attorneys. We provide only self-help services the five-and-a-half-day trek up the at your specifi c discretion. LDA#72 Santa Clara County mountain only after Austri found The Almanac/Marjan Sadoughi no takers during two years of Austri Fletcher, left, with her mother Alma Fletcher, outside Alma’s appealing to friends and co-work- home off Skyline Boulevard in Woodside. The women climbed Mt. Deck Restoration and ers to make the trek with her. Kilimanjaro together in July. Preserving Specialists Even then, Alma was skepti- cal of her chances, especially because they had decided to take July. Alma says that she wore tain range with the Sierra Club. Deck Cleaning the Machame trail, perhaps the two fleece jackets some nights She met her husband on a back- hardest route. and slept in a bag that was made packing trip in the Sierra. Sanding & Sealing “I didn’t think I’d make it,” for temperatures as low as 20 She has climbed Mount Whit- she says. “The hotel staff didn’t degrees below zero. ney in California — the tall- think I’d make it.” The climate continued to est mountain in the lower 48 ★ ★ Alma had doubts about wheth- change the higher they climbed, states — and trekked in Nepal Free Estimates er she would even be able to start from rainforest to high desert to with Austri and her son Mark Pressure Washing the climb, much less reach the lava rock. in 2000, where she reached the summit. Only two weeks before, Alma and Austri say that the peak of Muktinath, a Buddhist All Surfaces she and Austri had walked 200 famed glaciers at the top of the pilgrimage site, at 12,475 feet. Patios • Driveways • Walkways miles along the path from Le peak were breathtaking as they She walks for about an hour Puy in France to the Spanish walked beside them, though every morning with a group Tony Addy’s Pressure Washing border, completing a five-sum- they have receded dramatically of friends, and also does yoga, 800-546-WASH mer-long trek across Spain and in recent years as the climate has aerobics and swimming. ( 9 2 7 4 ) part of France that began in warmed. Austri says she trained for Santiago de Compostella in the One of the most difficult about two and a half hours per northwest corner of Spain. sections for the women came day in preparation for the trip, American Society of Interior Designers Around mile 170, Alma devel- on the fourth day, when they mixing aerobics with weight oped edema in her ankle, caus- had to scramble up the steep, lifting. Announces ing it to swell. She spent the next 1,000-foot-high Barranco Wall, Alma says that she feels strong- two weeks resting at the base of made up entirely of lava rocks. ly about exercising, and wishes HOUSE TOUR 2006 Mont Blanc in France with her If Alma was going to turn back, that other Americans would do foot elevated, while Austri hiked that was the likeliest place. But more of it. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 up the mountain to acclimate her head guide, Charles Lyimo, “It’s cheap to walk every day,” 10 AM - 4 PM Tickets: $40 for Kilimanjaro. helped her up the rocks by Alma says. Alma saw a doctor who feared holding onto her hand while “It’s free,” Austri corrects with that she had a blood clot, but she grasped handholds that had a grin. This self-guided tour showcases six architecturally distinctive was cleared to climb the moun- been installed along the route. After conquering Kilimanjaro, Los Altos Hills homes and features the work of many tain under the condition that Despite the strenuous sec- mother and daughter completed talented ASID California Peninsula Chapter interior designers. she turn around and hike down tions, both Alma and Austri say their trip with a weeklong safari Tickets can be purchased online at www.asidcapen.org if her ankle got any worse that the climb was easier than in Africa — the vacation they or at the following retail locations: they had originally thought it had originally planned before Rutt Collection, Los Altos Design & Interiors, Los Altos SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO would be.