A 17-year-old girl Xu Zhuoyuan got to the top of the highest peak in Africa on January 1,
2024. Xu's mountaineering journey began on a family trip to Xizang and Sichuan four years ago. Passing by the mountains in Sichuan, she felt drawn to their beauty. So she decided to try climbing them. For the next few years, Xu did hard training. She climbed peaks over 5,000 meters and did physical exercises every day. All that hard work got her ready for the big challenges she would face on Kilimanjaro.
Above 4,000 meters on Mount Kilimanjaro, the climate (气侯) is similar to a desert, with big temperature differences. The whole climb took seven days, during which Xu faced unpredictable weather such as rain and strong winds. Staying warm and avoiding heat loss were the main challenges. Xu had to keep an eye on the temperature and change her clothes when the temperature changed. This climb was also a learning experience for Xu. She was climbing with Xia Boyu, the first Chinese climber to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma with a prosthetic (假肢的)leg. He was almost 74 years old, but was still pushing on despite(尽管) having bloodied legs from his prosthesis. She was deeply inspired(深受鼓舞的) after seeing Xia's bloodied legs.
She planned to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents (大陆) and visit the North and South Poles (南极) by the time she's 18. That's her "7+2 program".
