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Lyons man honored for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
A suburban man climbed one of the world's tallest mountains and brought back definitive proof.
LYONS, Ill. - A suburban man climbed one of the world's tallest mountains and brought back definitive proof.
"So first off, I want to say I have the shirt to prove I climbed the mountain," said Stephan Alheim, showing off his ‘I summited Kilimanjaro’ t-shirt.
On top of the commemorative t-shirt, Alheim got honored by the mayor of Lyons on Tuesday, for summiting Mount Kilimanjaro and inspiring the community.
"Trainer Alheim stands as an inspiration to all those looking to accomplish a dream," said Village of Lyons Mayor Chris Getty.
Alheim is a trainer, so he's clearly in shape. He calls his trek up the tallest mountain in Africa "seven days of awesomeness." But perhaps he started out a bit cocky.
"I thought you know, this isn't gonna be too bad. It's just steps up the mountain," said Alheim.
Then he suffered altitude sickness, stomach issues, an angry knee, and arctic cold. So he thought of his late father when it got really tough, to put one foot in front of the other.
"I want to do this for my dad, make him proud. And secondly, I always tell people in my training programs that the mind always gives up first and I totally believe that."
But Alheim didn't give up and reached the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro on a sunny January day.
"Truly seven days of just awesomeness and a really cool experience. I've never had a vacation where I came back and felt like I accomplished something," said Alheim.
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The trip up and down the mountain busted all possible step goals. Alheim's step total was 128,562 for the trek.
As Alhaim kept hiking that mountain 8000 miles away, back at home in Lyons, the community was cheering him on.
"I would just be in town and people would come up to me and ask me if he made it to the top of the mountain. And it was just recurrent where everybody kept asking about his journey," said Mayor Getty.
Now, Alheim plans to train others to tackle their own mountains.