palanpuronline

News & Events

News Room >> News & Event >> News Content

26 Jul 2025

13 Year-old Kabir Mody and his father Rishabh Scale Mt. Kilimanjaro, Highest Peak in Africa

On July 13, 2025, 13 year-old Kabir Mody achieved something that few other children of his age even imagine – he scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro! Standing at an astounding 5,895 m (19,341 feet), it is the highest lone standing peak in the world, the highest peak in Africa and one of the largest volcanoes in the world.

Kabir, son of Tarini Sheth Mody and Rishabh A. Mody, studies in Grade 8 at The Bombay International School.

Behind this amazing feat by the young student lies a story of grit, determination and sheer hard work spanning over six months when he first began his training for the expedition. It involved many days of waking up early for workouts, stair climbing (even up to 150 floors in one go) and HIIT based running. Giving up some teenage sleep, some social activities, a lot of football and tennis matches and F1 races, Kabir stayed true to his resolve as he slowly but surely built both mental strength and physical abilities.

Kabir trekked to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro as a part of a larger group aged between 13 and 65, which also included his father, Rishabh. The group motivated, pushed and guided each other as they crossed tough terrain, faced strong winds and frigid nights and lay in sleeping bags in tiny tents even as stones massaged their backs and sides. There were many challenges and fresh experiences – from sub-zero temperatures, the fury of hard sunlight in the day and extreme wind in the evenings to facing thinner air as they got higher, where breathing was heavier, nights were colder, and each trek was longer and steeper! It was the collective strength of each individual’s positivity and focus that helped all of them through this journey.

The day before the final climb, they endured a five hour trek to their last camp - perched at 4,900 m where dark clouds loomed and it began to snow! At midnight the summit climb began! After the snow, the air was colder, and the wind was stronger, but they focused on the climb, one step at a time or “Pole, Pole” (slowly, slowly) as they had learnt to chant in Swahili. The stay at the peak was short – it was really cold, and they still had to walk another seven hours down the mountain to their last camp of the trek!

It was only the following day when they reached the exit of the area, that sheer joy and ecstasy took over, and the appreciation of how lucky he was to have things he had taken for granted till then – a warm comfortable bed, hot shower, a roof over one’s head, hot and fulfilling meals, the warmth of a loved one’s hug, and clean clothes, dawned. At the end of the experience, Kabir firmly believes he has learnt a lot about life – about taking on hardships, appreciating many smaller things, working together as a group to motivate and get motivated, and to appreciate and acknowledge the hard work he and many others put in to make it happen.