Picture this. You are 5, 895 metres high, on the roof of Africa, just about to take your final steps on to the summit of the ‘Dark Continent’s highest mountain; the beautiful majestic Mt Kilimanjaro. As you reach the summit, the memories, the struggles and tribulations of the past six days’ adventure come flooding back and culminate into one euphoric emotion. At that moment, the feeling of achievement and success in reaching your goal is almost overwhelming….YOU FEEL ALIVE!!. For the past six days, you have experienced an array of emotions as you battled and pushed through new personal physical and mental barriers. Having climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, it is impossible not to be changed by the experience in a positive way – almost going home a new person. During your journey, you have discovered much more about yourself, your personal strengths……and limitations. Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro is not just about reaching the summit; it is a journey of self-discovery from the day you make the commitment to do it to the day you return home, the memories and the experience will last a lifetime.

About this adventure

To support Make-A-Wish Australia, adventurers and philanthropists Darren Wise and Shane Pophfer are offering you the opportunity to join this exclusive, fully led from start to finish, charity adventure and life changing experience to Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. Join the team, raise funds and help us make a difference in the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions and enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. There are only 10 positions available, so don’t miss your opportunity to be part of the team on this amazing adventure in support of Make-A-Wish Australia.

Make-A-Wish^® Australia – help grant the wishes of children and young people with life threatening medical conditions

Make-A-Wish Australia grants the wishes of seriously-ill children and young people, providing hope, strength and joy when they are needed most. Each year, hundreds of children and teenagers across Australia are affected by life-threatening conditions. Beyond their illness, these children all share a common bond – they all have wishes and hopes for the future. They wish to be doctors and fire-fighters, to go to exotic places or their ancestral homelands. They wish to meet their sports heroes or the world’s most influential businesspeople. Some children wish to have a laptop computer, and others wish for a pet they can share their time and love with. Through the Mt Kilimanjaro Charity Challenge, Peak Potential will be supporting Make-A-Wish^®by raising funds to make wishes come true for those who need them most. We look forward to sharing the enriching work of Make-A-Wish with you.

Why team up with Peak Potential

Peak Potential was founded by renowned adventurers, philanthropists and human performance advocates, Darren Wise and Shane Pophfer. Darren and Shane have built a solid, well regarded reputation – not just by taking on extreme adventures, but by extracting the most out of their experiences mentally as well as physically. Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one, and Darren and Shane will be there every step of the way to encourage and support your journey from start to finish. Previously serving with the Australian Regular Army’s elite airborne battalion as paratroopers, Darren and Shane know what it is like to be part of a high performance team and that cohesive team spirit and effort will emerge victorious in the end.

How to become part of the team

Please contact Darren on 0407 607 947 or email darren@wiseleadership.net.au if you have any further queries or questions.

by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Photo taken on the summit of Mt McKinley, which is also known as Denali in Alaska in July 2011

Lest We Forget

]]> http://darrenwise.com.au/2012/04/25/anzac-day-post-25th-april-2012-2/feed/ 0 Darren Wise DIGITAL CAMERA http://darrenwise.com.au/2012/04/22/20000-feet-high-on-denali-alaska/ http://darrenwise.com.au/2012/04/22/20000-feet-high-on-denali-alaska/#comments Sat, 21 Apr 2012 23:56:53 +0000 Darren Wise http://darrenwise.com.au/?p=1193 ]]> Photo taken and courtesy of our expedition teammate from Sweden Erik Åkerberg.

Exclusive Mt Kilimanjaro Charity Challenge – September 2013

Picture this. You are 5, 895 metres high, on the roof of Africa, just about to take your final steps on to the summit of the ‘Dark Continent’s highest mountain; the beautiful majestic Mt Kilimanjaro. As you reach the summit, the memories, the struggles and tribulations of the past six days’ adventure come flooding back and culminate into one euphoric emotion. At that moment, the feeling of achievement and success in reaching your goal is almost overwhelming….YOU FEEL ALIVE!!. For the past six days, you have experienced an array of emotions as you battled and pushed through new personal physical and mental barriers. Having climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, it is impossible not to be changed by the experience in a positive way – almost going home a new person. During your journey, you have discovered much more about yourself, your personal strengths……and limitations. Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro is not just about reaching the summit; it is a journey of self-discovery from the day you make the commitment to do it to the day you return home, the memories and the experience will last a lifetime.

About this adventure

To support Make-A-Wish Australia, adventurers and philanthropists Darren Wise and Shane Pophfer are offering you the opportunity to join this exclusive, fully led from start to finish, charity adventure and life changing experience to Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. Join the team, raise funds and help us make a difference in the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions and enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. There are only 10 positions available, so don’t miss your opportunity to be part of the team on this amazing adventure in support of Make-A-Wish Australia.

Make-A-Wish® Australia – help grant the wishes of children and young people with life threatening medical conditions

Make-A-Wish Australia grants the wishes of seriously-ill children and young people, providing hope, strength and joy when they are needed most. Each year, hundreds of children and teenagers across Australia are affected by life-threatening conditions. Beyond their illness, these children all share a common bond – they all have wishes and hopes for the future. They wish to be doctors and fire-fighters, to go to exotic places or their ancestral homelands. They wish to meet their sports heroes or the world’s most influential businesspeople. Some children wish to have a laptop computer, and others wish for a pet they can share their time and love with. Through the Mt Kilimanjaro Charity Challenge, Peak Potential will be supporting Make-A-Wish® by raising funds to make wishes come true for those who need them most. We look forward to sharing the enriching work of Make-A-Wish with you.

Why team up with Peak Potential

Peak Potential was founded by renowned adventurers, philanthropists and human performance advocates, Darren Wise and Shane Pophfer. Darren and Shane have built a solid, well regarded reputation – not just by taking on extreme adventures, but by extracting the most out of their experiences mentally as well as physically. Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one, and Darren and Shane will be there every step of the way to encourage and support your journey from start to finish. Previously serving with the Australian Regular Army’s elite airborne battalion as paratroopers, Darren and Shane know what it is like to be part of a high performance team and that cohesive team spirit and effort will emerge victorious in the end.

How to become part of the team

Complete the booking form on page 17. You also need to sign the terms and conditions on page 19 and send back pages 18 and 19 with the booking form. Please contact Darren on 0407 607 947 or email darren@wiseleadership.net.au if you have any further queries or questions.

Inspired to Climb – Denali (Alaska) 20,320 feet from Darren Wise on Vimeo.

What was it like to climb Mt McKinley (Alaska) which is also known as Denali, and regarded by some as one of the world’s coldest, highest and physically demanding high altitude mountains?…..watch and find out as you follow our personal journey.

This video really captures our emotions, as well as some of the most memorable moments and breathtaking scenery whilst climbing Mt McKinley (Denali), which is the North American continents highest mountain at a height of 20,320 feet and part of the famed “7 Summits”.

Full credit for this video goes to the talented Neill Johanson who is in the yellow puffy jacket in the video.

We can honestly say that Denali is a very tough and unforgiving mountain. For much of the expedition, the prospects of us actually making the summit looked very grim due to poor weather conditions. It took us 4 days to get on to the glacier to start the expedition, and then we were hit with more bad weather at 14,000ft camp. On an expedition like this, you only have 5-7 bad weather days up your sleeve to make a push for the summit.

After a few days of poor weather at 14,000ft camp, lady luck smiled upon giving us a weather break to move to 17,000ft camp, where we had a day’s rest. The following day presented us with a reasonable summit window, so we went for it. It is fairly unusual on Denali to get a clean run from 14,000ft camp, to 17,000ft camp and then have the right weather and snow conditions for a summit attempt. Many teams wait for days at 17,000ft camp for the right weather and snow conditions for a summit attempt given the instability of the weather at that high altitude. We definitely had some luck on our side.

Standing on the summit of this great mountain was an overwhelming experience. Given that we were constantly facing the prospect of not making it to the summit, we felt both very privileged, as well as perhaps even relieved that we would not have to make a return journey to have another go at this great mountain.

The completion of Denali which was mountain number No.5, now puts us on a collision course with the mighty Mt Everest on our quest to complete the ‘7 Summits’……….stay tuned.