Posted on Wednesday January 31, 2018

Marc Bossé: a 30th birthday atop Mount Kilimanjaro!

This year, Marc Bossé, a personal financial advisor at UNI in Fredericton, is celebrating his birthday in a unique way: he will do it from the top of Kilimanjaro with his friend Stéphanie. What could be better? Since January 28, he has been making a long-time dream come true: braving this larger-than-life mountain and seeing Africa from its highest point. The adventurer is clearly driven by a challenge.

Higher, farther

Hiking and climbing have long consumed much of Marc's free time. But during the last two years, the adventurer and dreamer, with self-described nerdy tendencies, took his pastimes into new territory by tackling peaks and mountains in the Atlantic provinces, Quebec and the U.S. After every ascent, he would immediately start looking for another challenge, ?something higher and farther,? as he says. 

Why all the challenges? ?It recharges my batteries,? he says. ?Once I accomplish something exciting, I go back to everyday life feeling energized and like anything is possible. Everyday problems don't intimidate me when I think back to adventures where I took risks.?

A quick decision, but plenty of preparation

This time last year, Marc was trying to think of special ways to celebrate his 30^th birthday. ?I went online and searched for the world's top ten climbing and hiking destinations.? Kilimanjaro was the one he picked.

While he quickly made the decision to tackle this challenge, preparing for the adventure took a full year. After getting the green light from his doctor about his physical ability to complete the expedition, Marc carefully followed a training program to increase his heart and muscle capacity and his endurance.

?I had to prepare for the trip financially and set money aside for it,? he says. ?To get ahead of the game and stop money from slipping through my fingers, I went with automatic transfers.? In hindsight, he congratulates himself on that choice, because in addition to the flight and accommodations for the days surrounding his ascent, Marc had to buy equipment. Lots of equipment. This is not the sort of journey you just wing!

?Our guide gave us a long list of what we needed, which we followed to the letter, and it included lots of different clothes.? During the climb, Marc had to adapt to five ecosystems, from hot and humid tropical forests to Arctic conditions, with the temperature dipping to -20 degrees Celsius. 

A team effort

In the days before his departure, Marc bounced back and forth between nervousness about the challenge ahead and excitement at the idea of visiting a country he had long been dreaming of and the chance to outdo himself, once more. Marc and his friend Stéphanie have already climbed a number of mountains. This time, the pair will be supported by a team of guides, aides, porters and cooks, who are responsible for setting up tents and preparing food during the seven-day ascent. It's nice to have people you can count on.

At UNI, we love to hear stories from inspiring people. Do you have one? A mountain to climb, a challenge to tackle, a project you're working on? A team of professionals is available to help you realize your dream.