13 Students, One Epic Climb: How These Indian Teenagers Climbed Africa’s Highest Peak

At 5,895 metres, Uhuru Peak is the highest point in Africa, rising from Kibo, the highest of Kilimanjaro’s three volcanic cones, above the Tanzanian plains. The mountain is widely regarded as the world’s highest free-standing mountain and is one of the Seven Summits, drawing tens of thousands of climbers each year, many of them first-timers. This June, 13 of those climbers were teenagers from Shiv Nadar School.A 15-member contingent—13 students from Grades X to XII across the school’s Faridabad, Noida, and Gurugram campuses, travelling with their educators—flew to Tanzania and successfully summited Kilimanjaro. The group was notably female-majority: eight girls and five boys, several of whom were competitive athletes, including national-level fencers and a national medallist in roller skating. On the mountain, medals counted for less than they expected. Kilimanjaro doesn’t measure how fast you can run. It measures whether you can keep placing one foot in front of the other through a seven-hour summit push in the dark, at an altitude where each breath delivers less than half as many oxygen molecules as it does at sea level.Five Worlds, Eight Days, One MountainMount Kilimanjaro is a volcanic massif comprising three cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. Kibo is the highest and is considered dormant, while Mawenzi and Shira are extinct.Kilimanjaro’s defining trick is that it compresses, into a single climb, terrain that would normally take a journey from the equator to the poles. Climbing via the Machame route over eight days, the group moved through five ecological zones: cultivated lowlands, dense rainforest, heath and moorland, a barren alpine desert, and finally an Arctic-like summit zone of bare rock, ice and wind. Because the mountain stands alone rather than as part of a range, these transitions arrive abruptly, which is exactly why altitude sickness, not technical difficulty, is Kilimanjaro’s real hazard. A larger portion of the climb is non-technical: no ropes, no ice axes. It’s the mountain’s approachability that lures people into underestimating it.Aashita Baid (Faridabad, XII) recalled days that began at 6:30 AM with five to seven hours of hiking, camps that “became progressively more rugged” as they gained altitude, and surprisingly good food along the way. Early on, the group spotted blue monkeys and colobus monkeys in the rainforest canopy; by the higher camps, the wildlife had vanished, and the mountain felt remote. Different zones tested different students—Sana Sahrawat (Gurgaon, XII) found the thinning air of the higher reaches hardest, while Reyansh Dhaneshwar (Noida, XII) struggled most with the alpine desert’s swinging temperatures and its “extremely barren” horizon. Maira Sikka (Faridabad, X) watched the glaciers shrink into view as she climbed—smaller than she’d expected, but still “fascinating” against the volcanic rock, with Lava Tower standing out as one of the trek’s most dramatic waypoints.Seven Hours In The DarkEvery account of the climb converges on the same night. The team woke before midnight and began the final ascent to Uhuru Peak in total darkness, well below freezing, in winds strong enough to make each step deliberate. “I just kept reminding myself to take one step at a time,” Sahrawat said. “Reaching Uhuru Peak and watching the sunrise made all the effort completely worth it.”For the athletes in the group, that night reframed what fitness even meant. For Tiara Mongia (Gurgaon, X), a competitive basketball player used to short, explosive bursts of energy on court, the summit push turned out to be a different kind of test entirely: a long, quiet battle rather than a 45-minute sprint. When the teammate she was walking with was sent back down with altitude sickness during the 2 AM push, Mongia found herself climbing alone with just her guide, in silence, with no one to lean on. “I always had the option to give up and go back to camp,” she said, “but I reached a part of me I never knew I had,” pushing on step by step until she reunited with the rest of the group at Stella Point around 10:30 AM.A Three-Year Climb Before The ClimbKilimanjaro was the final stage of a three-year mountaineering programme the school built to earn students the right to attempt it—what lead instructor Ishani Jamwal, Outbound Learning Coordinator at Shiv Nadar School, described as wanting students to “earn the mountain through progressive learning, experience and preparation.” It began in 2024 with a 4,000-metre climb of Mount Patalsu, focused on navigation and camp craft, and progressed the following year to the 5,100-metre technical Mount O, where students learned rock and ice craft, rope techniques and rappelling under experienced mountaineers, including an Everest summiteer.Nalin Das (Noida, X), who climbed Mount O, found the comparison instructive: that peak demanded jumars, crampons, and helmets, while Kilimanjaro needed only “a good pair of boots and heavy protection against the cold.” Its terrain was easier, he said, but the altitude was higher and colder, and acclimatisation mattered far more. “The climb-high, sleep-low strategy of our team leaders really helped, as none of us experienced any serious bouts of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness).”Jamwal has led far more technical Himalayan climbs, including an attempt on the 8,188-metre Cho Oyu, where she once watched a hanging glacier detach and an avalanche sweep across Camp 1—“when we looked back, there was nothing.” Kilimanjaro tested her differently. “It doesn’t greet you with crevasses, hanging glaciers or fixed rope sections,” she said. “That’s precisely why many people underestimate it. Being a non-technical mountain does not make it an easy mountain.” Her team covered nearly 65 kilometres, much of it across loose volcanic scree “where every step forward often slid half a step back,” and watched climbers being evacuated by helicopter after their bodies failed to cope with the altitude. “No amount of enthusiasm can replace good judgement, proper acclimatisation, and the humility to recognise when it is time to descend.”The daily rhythm followed the philosophy heard on nearly every Kilimanjaro route: pole pole (Swahili for “slowly, slowly”). Nightly health checks and frequent rest breaks tracked both physical recovery and each student’s emotional state, watching closely through summit night for the headaches, dizziness, and confusion that mark Acute Mountain Sickness.What Athletic Ability Couldn’t Buy“At 6,000 metres, the mountain doesn’t care how many medals you’ve won or how fast you can run,” Jamwal said. A 40-day pre-departure training block built the physical base, but she was equally deliberate about preparing students mentally, talking honestly about altitude sickness, self-doubt, and the certainty that at some point, every part of their body would tell them to stop. The students who adapted best, she found, “weren’t necessarily the fastest or the fittest. They were the ones who stayed patient, respected the pace, listened to their bodies.” On summit night, “no one asked to turn back simply because it had become difficult… that is when the mind quietly takes over. And that is where the mountain reveals character.”Avantika Sehgal (Noida, XII) described the daily discipline of layering against weather that swung from warm and humid to bitterly cold. Parth Mehta (Gurgaon, XII) offered advice for future climbers: train seriously, don’t get so fixated on the summit that the journey passes unnoticed, and never be too proud to ask for help—“it’s much more rewarding when everyone reaches the summit together.” Vivaan Agarwal (Noida, X) summed it up in one line: “Mental toughness counts for just as much as physical fitness.”A Glacier, And A WarningKilimanjaro's glacier cover has declined dramatically since the early 20th century. Research has documented a loss of more than 80 per cent of the mountain's ice cover over roughly the past century, with some studies estimating an even greater decline depending on the period and measurement used. Kilimanjaro's retreating glaciers have become one of the most visible symbols of climate change in Africa. Scientists have linked their long-term decline to a combination of regional climate changes, including shifts in precipitation and cloud cover, as well as warming.For Jamwal, who has watched glaciers retreat across her own Himalayan training grounds near Manali, the sight felt personal: “I wasn’t looking at an isolated story unfolding in Africa. I was looking at the same story I had already begun to witness across the Himalayas.” Taking students into the mountains, she believes, makes that real in a way no classroom can.Asked what she’d tell other instructors leading young climbers, Jamwal didn’t reach for a gear checklist. “Lead people before you lead the expedition,” she said. “Every student arrives on the mountain carrying something different… our role isn’t just to get the team to the summit; it’s to recognise those individual journeys and respond to them with empathy.” The line that became the expedition’s informal philosophy, repeated at every difficult moment: “You don't climb a mountain in giant leaps. You climb it one step at a time.”By the time the group descended, the summit photograph was almost beside the point. “Quiet students emerged as leaders. Confident students learnt humility,” Jamwal said. “Every student returned with a stronger belief in themselves, not because someone told them they were capable, but because they had experienced it firsthand.”FAQs1. How high is Mount Kilimanjaro?Mount Kilimanjaro rises to 5,895 metres, with Uhuru Peak on Kibo being its highest point. It is the highest mountain in Africa.2. How difficult is it to climb Mount Kilimanjaro?Mount Kilimanjaro is considered a non-technical climb, meaning most routes do not require ropes, crampons or advanced mountaineering skills. However, altitude, cold, long trekking days and the final summit push make it physically and mentally demanding.3. Which is the best route to climb Mount Kilimanjaro?The Machame Route is among the most popular routes because of its gradual approach, scenic landscapes and opportunities for acclimatisation. The students featured in this story climbed via Machame over eight days.4. What is altitude sickness on Mount Kilimanjaro?Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) can occur as climbers ascend rapidly to high altitude. Symptoms can include headache, dizziness, nausea and fatigue. Gradual acclimatisation, a slow pace, hydration and following guides' advice are important for reducing the risk.5. How long does it take to climb Mount Kilimanjaro?Most organised Mount Kilimanjaro climbs take around five to nine days, depending on the route and itinerary. Longer itineraries generally allow more time for acclimatisation, which can improve the chances of reaching Uhuru Peak safely.The Fascinating Story Behind The World’s Highest Unclimbed Mountain In Bhutan

13 Students, One Epic Climb: How These Indian Teenagers Climbed Africa’s Highest Peak

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