Training for Mount Kilimanjaro at 68: Sibling Summit Story | HikeStrong | Ep. 35

How do you train for Mount Kilimanjaro at 60+ without living near mountains? Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro isn’t just about summit night — it’s about the months of preparation beforehand.In this episode, siblings Bob and Susan (both in their late 60s) share how they trained separately in completely different environments and successfully summited Kilimanjaro together.Susan lives in the Washington, D.C. area and trained using local hikes in Virginia and Maryland, treadmill work, stairs, and strength training — one year after her second hip replacement. Bob lives in Iowa and trained in flat terrain, relying heavily on stairs and an artificial sledding hill to build elevation gain.Both had real concerns: altitude sickness, balance, downhill scree, and handling back-to-back trekking days.Over 12 weeks, they focused on elevation gain, lunges, balance work, and milestone challenges — logging more than 35,000–40,000 feet of vertical gain in training.By the time they reached Tanzania, the physical side was no longer the question.In this episode, we cover:How to train for Mt. Kilimanjaro without mountainsElevation gain vs. mileageHiking after hip replacementBalance training for hikers over 60Trekking poles and downhill controlManaging altitude sicknessThe value of experienced guidesWhy preparation reduces anxiety on big expeditionsThis conversation is for anyone who believes big adventures are reserved for younger bodies or perfect terrain. Readiness can be built deliberately, locally, and imperfectly — and sometimes the most meaningful summits are the ones you share with someone willing to commit alongside you and stay accountable every step of the way.HikeStrong mobile App: https://hikestrongapp.com/Check out the audio podcast version on all platforms:https://hikestrongpodcast.buzzsprout.comLIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos:https://www.youtube.com/@HikeStrongPodcast