AFTER ten months of training, two Bahamian women, Stacee Bain Crittenden and Dr Nneka Davis, joined by Dr Davis’ husband, Maynard McAlpin, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa with a group called the Wisdom Walkers. Dr Davis is pictured with her husband flying the Bahamian flag on reaching their goal.
BAHAMIANS Stacee Bain Crittenden and Dr Nneka Davis recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro where Mrs Crittenden carried The Bahamas’ national flag all the way to the mountain’s summit.
They climbed with the Wisdom Walkers, who “made history as the most seasoned group of black men and women to climb Africa’s highest peak”, a press release noted.
Joining Dr Davis was her husband, Maynard McAlpin, who together with the Wisdom Walkers, undertook a nearly ten-month training regime to prepare for the expedition. The members, who range in age between 47 and 74, worked diligently to get prepared for this physically challenging feat. Meeting Sundays for five-mile treks in local parks, climbing local mountains in Aspen and working out regularly with personal trainers became the group’s norm.
“The mountain required great stamina, and physical and psychological commitment. We trekked through arid, rocky, and difficult terrain for more than seven hours a day for five solid days on Mount Kilimanjaro, often rock scrambling at 45-degree angles. We would be exhausted by the end of each day at the base camps. But the incredible Tusker Trails support team of porters, cooks, outfitters, and guides made the effort possible,” said Dr Davis.
“We carried the Bahamian flag as we ascended from 3,000 to 19,341 and began our ascent for the peak after 1am in the frigid cold, wearing headlamps, which pierced the darkness. It was extremely challenging with decreasing oxygen levels the higher we climbed; but we enthusiastically waved the blue, yellow and black flag representing the vitality of the Bahamian people and our enterprising and determined nature, as we reached the summit,” said Mrs Crittenden.
Dr Davis said the accomplishment is a legacy for her children and grandchildren.
“It was rewarding to climb the renowned Great Branco Wall, for my husband and I to achieve our personal summit at Stella Point, (18,885 feet) and to know this accomplishment in our lives. We leave this legacy for our children and their children,” said Dr Davis.
The Wisdom Walkers are working to inspire Caribbean and African-Americans to age responsibly and to choose health at every phase of life. The group consists of real estate developers, diversity and inclusion professionals, attorneys, business owners, a paediatric dentist, and former military officers.
Wisdom Walkers’ founder, Sharon Goods said, “Mount Kilimanjaro became a focal point in our mission to encourage blacks to choose adventure and heath in addressing the prevalence of impaired mobility, hypertension, and diabetes in our race.
We are navigating stress and it requires us to be deliberate with our health. We can choose either to gaze at the mountain or challenge ourselves physically and spiritually to trek it.
On October 2, 2022, the Wisdom Walkers made history as the senior-most group of black people to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, according to a press release.
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