When the going gets tough

Date: July  3, 2016

Trail:  B.C. Mountaineering Club  (M.C.) Trail

Weather: Sun throughout the  day.

Climbers: Bill, Salim Kamani (also part of 2016 Kili climb team), Jane and son, Salim "Sal" Devji

Climb Time: 3 hrs 15 min.

Many of us have heard of the phrase:  “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” And I’m amazed at the people I’ve met along the way who embody the above phrase.

Last Sunday, Salim Kamani (part of the 2016 Kili climb team) and I had the privilege of meeting and hiking with Jane Devji and her son Salim up the BC MC trail.  It’s a trail next to the Grouse Grind (see https://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/bcmc-trail/).

The BCMC Trail is located just east of the Grouse Grind and offers a less busy alternative workout. The start of the trail is the same place as the start of the Grind before branching off onto the Baden Powell, then left at the junction up the steep hill to the Grouse Mountain chalet.

There are no man made stairs like the Grouse Grind.  It’s a hiking trail strewn with lots of roots and rocks of all sizes and most difficult near the top because of many loose rocks. The initial part of the trail is steep but eventually tapers off.

Jane and her son Salim Devji have climbed Kilimanjaro on more than one occasion.  Once in 2009 and a second time in 2013 with the Alzheimer Society of BC. Unfortunately, she was not able to summit either time whereas Sal, her son, was able to.  You can check out Jane’s profile when she and her two sons, Sal and Aly, joined the Alzheimer’s Kilimanjaro climb team in 2013 (http://ascentbc.ca/the-2013-ascent-team/.

The BC MC trail, right from the very beginning, is strewn with loose rocks, protruding roots and a fairly steep incline.  It takes some effort to keep to the trail as one switches back and forth on the way up. Jane, in spite of her age of 74, was able to head the charge up the BC MC trail. Salim and I were trailing behind, struggling to stay close to her.

She and her son have been training every Sunday morning climbing the BC MC trail since the beginning of June. They are preparing to go back to Tanzania this August to climb Kilimanjaro for a third attempt for Jane to summit. When we’d slowed down at one point in our ascent I asked her, “Why are you attempting a third try to summit Kilimanjaro?”

I was  both amazed and inspired by her response, “If I quit then my sons can say you quit so we can quit too.” She is being a role model for her family. That's when the going gets tough, the tough get going! And I can attest that Jane is one tough Kili climber and I believe that when she hits Kilimanjaro this August, 2016, even at the age of 74, she will summit Kilimanjaro.

I wonder how often, in the past, I have given up when the going got tough. Moving forward, I will remember Jane Devji and follow her lead. Don’t quit when the going gets tough!

Until next post, happy climbing.

Bill

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