You may spend your life saying "someday." You may think you can’t accomplish big things in adventure.

You might be scared to travel off the beaten track. Well, if a 10-year-old can summit the rooftop of Africa, then I’m sure you can too.

Read the amazing story of a ten-year-old’s adventure to the world’s highest freestanding peak. Darcey Noble, a student from NLCS Dubai, summited Kilimanjaro in February 2025. Vertical Sky interviewed Darcey to find out exactly how she felt about this incredible accomplishment and if she has plans for more adventures.

How long have you wanted to climb Kilimanjaro?

Darcey: When I was a baby, my Mum and Dad did a lot of charity walks and climbs in Wales, raising money for various charities. We have a big family, and we all climbed together. I had seen photos of my Dad carrying me in a carry pack on his back at the top of many mountains. Climbing is something we have always done. When we moved to Dubai, we found lots of places to hike, and as a family, we decided we wanted to go bigger. Kilimanjaro seemed like a great place to start.

Did you know quite how big this adventure would be?

Darcey: Not at first. I started reading about the mountain online and discovered some facts about people who had climbed it before. It was only then that I realised this was bigger than anything we had done before.

How did you prepare for the trip?

Darcey: We climbed and hiked most weekends anyway, so I was quite fit. But I started running with my brothers and began some weight training at home. I gave up sugar for a while and tried to eat healthier food. Living in Dubai, I was more worried about the cold! We spent a lot of time in Adventure Outdoors trying on boots and clothes. My Mum would make me try on so many different thermals and thick socks!

What did the school say about you doing this?

Darcey: We had to ask for permission for some extra days off school for the trip. My Headmaster, Simon James, was really excited for me and kept asking if I was ready. I asked if I could take a flag from the school to hold at the summit. A lot of my friends didn’t know what Kilimanjaro was, but the ones who did understood it was a significant challenge.

When you arrived at the mountain, how did you feel?

Darcey: We had a very early morning flight, so we were all quite tired. But when we met the guides and the other climbers, we all had dinner and a good rest. The mountain is always in the background in Moshi, and it was only then that I realized how big it was. You could see the top was covered in snow, even though it was really warm at the bottom. I felt very nervous in the morning before we started, but Zizu, our guide, was really nice. He told me, “pole, pole, and we will get to the top,” which means “slowly, slowly.” Once we got started, it was a lot of fun. We saw many monkeys, and the forest was really beautiful.

What was it like in the camp, and how was the food?

Darcey: We climbed the Lemosho route, the camps at the bottom were very busy, and there were a lot of monkeys in the trees, so it was quite noisy at night. But the higher we got, the camps became bigger and more spread out, and there weren’t any trees, so no monkeys kept us awake but it did get colder and colder. The food was really nice, the camp chef made all sorts of dishes and would ask what I really wanted. We even had pizza one night! There was a lot of soup, but when we were above 4,000 meters, I lost my appetite and couldn’t eat any more soup.

What was summit night like?

Darcey: It was really, really hard. Every day we had walked a long way, but it wasn’t really steep; we sort of walked around the mountain as we got higher. Summit night, however, felt like we were going straight up. We had to get up at midnight to start the climb. It was so cold that my water pack froze, and it was also really windy. It took me about six hours to get to Stella Point and then another hour to reach the summit. My dad passed out on the way up, so I was really worried about him. But I knew he would want me to get to the top. My mum, my brothers and I stayed together and very slowly, we all made it to the top.

How did you feel at the summit?

Darcey: We all cried. My brothers were feeling sick, and my mum and I were freezing, but we kept hugging each other and cried a lot! We were so happy. We had our photos taken, and then we started on the way down, which at points seemed harder than the way up. We were all so tired but very happy when we got back to camp.

When you got to the bottom of the mountain, what happened then?

Darcey: It took two days to get to the bottom, and by the time we did, we were all exhausted. We celebrated and had some food while we waited for our certificates. I noticed how happy everyone was at the bottom gate; the porters and guides were singing, and everyone seemed to have a smile on their face. We were all so happy.

So what’s next, Darcey?

Darcey: I will be climbing Kilimanjaro twice next year on two different routes, and I also want to do Everest Base Camp in 2026. I would love to summit Everest before I turn 14. The youngest person to do so so far was 13 years and 10 months.

Did climbing Kilimanjaro change you in any way?

Darcey: Yes. I now know that I can do anything I work hard for. It also made me realize that I want to help people who have less than I do. The guides and porters work so hard and receive very little in return. I felt very lucky and fortunate.

Finally, do you think more children should climb Kilimanjaro?

Darcey: Yes, yes, yes! It was brilliant and pushed me really hard. I believe it’s something that many kids should experience.

Vertical Sky were truly amazed by Darcey and her climbing abilities. We specialize in running adventures for young adults and adults of all ages. If you want to experience climbing Kilimanjaro with your family or organise a school trip then please click on the link below and get in touch.

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