You just never know where you might catch someone reading PN… or why!
The February issue features PN at its highest point yet with a photo of Lou Petritz and his daughter, Kat Lukes, at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on the East coast of Africa. According to Petritz, age 60, he had an idea to take his daughter, age 23, on a trip to celebrate her recent graduation from American University in Washington, D.C.
“When I suggested to her that we take a trip, I was thinking something more along the lines of Paris or London. Imagine my surprise when she suggested we climb a mountain!” Petritz said, mindful that Mt. Kilimanjaro, “the roof of Africa,” rises 19,341 feet above the Serengeti Plain in Northern Tanzania.
Petritz explained it took almost nine months to plan the trip, get Visa’s, inoculations, and to get physically prepared.
“We spent eight days on the mountain and it took 13 people— nine porters, one cook, and three guides— to move the two of us to the summit.”
Petritz went on to describe one of the unique aspects of climbing Kili (the African locals’ name for Mt. Kilimanjaro) was the extreme change in temperature from bottom to top.
“Since Kili is very near the equator, you start off in the heat and humidity of the rain forest and then it gets colder as you climb,” said Petritz. “So you’ve got to be ready for a wide range of conditions.”
The day they summited there was a blinding snow storm which limited visibility and made the climb especially challenging, but they got it done.
“The physical effort of climbing at high altitude in thin air was more difficult than I’d anticipated and I lost 10 pounds during the climb,” Petritz added.
“I don’t think we’ll be doing it again anytime soon, but the experience has definitely created a lasting memory for Kat and me.”
Editor’s Note: When Petritiz isn’t climbing mountains, he’s serves First Community Financial Bank as Market President in Naperville.
