Luke Kittel Conquers Kilimanjaro

by Leslie Parsons

Luke Kittel has climbed many mountains throughout his life. In 2018, after a series of injuries and infections left him with chronic pain and forced him to retire from the U.S. Army, he elected to have his right leg amputated below the knee. Almost immediately after receiving his first prosthetic, Luke began working towards returning to—and exceeding—the level of physical activity he’d enjoyed before his leg became an issue.

Since the amputation, Luke has made a habit of doing things that most people  would think are nearly impossible - regardless of their level of physical ability. In 2021, he completed his first Ironman Triathlon and he continues to compete in sprint triathlons, 10K, and 15K runs, and long-distance swimming events.

Always searching for new ways to push himself, Luke has recently begun climbing real mountains. In February 2024, he joined other military veterans, professional athletes, and clean water advocates in The Chris Long Foundation’s “Conquering Kili” challenge. The group climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and raised money to build wells in villages throughout the Arushan region of Tanzania that might not otherwise have a sustainable source of clean water.

For Luke, the impact this project has had on the lives of the villagers was far more important than the climb itself. Before the climb began, the Chris Long Foundation arranged for participants to visit several sites where wells had been built thanks to previous “Conquering Kili” expeditions. These sites included one of the oldest primary schools in Arusha. Luke was deeply moved when he learned that, until last year, schoolchildren had to walk nearly two miles each way to fetch water from a nearby river. During the dry season, they sometimes had to dig holes in the riverbed to access the water. The wells provide these children and their families with easily accessible clean drinking water for themselves and their livestock.

As part of his preparation for the climb, Luke thought carefully about all the things that could go wrong with his prosthetic leg and planned accordingly. While he was fortunate enough not to require any repairs, he ran into issues with the leg his prosthetist built and customized for this trip. Luke had trained for more than 150 hours with this leg without any problems, but once on the mountain, he says, “It just didn’t feel right.”  He switched to an older leg, which was much more comfortable, and made the ascent without any difficulty. Unfortunately, this leg also began giving him trouble on the day they reached the summit and began the descent. The next morning, Luke switched back to the new leg and described the rest of the descent as “wonderful.” 

Other than the initial difficulty with his leg, the climb went well. Luke says that his biggest challenge at first was that the group wasn’t moving as quickly as he wanted. The guides stressed the importance of walking slowly from the beginning to get them used to the pace they would be confined to once they reached higher altitudes. Luke described the pace as being “painfully slow,” but acknowledged that the guides were correct. While he had only minor issues with altitude sickness and was able to handle those without medication, others struggled. 

It takes dedication, discipline, and motivation to reach the top of a mountain. Thanks to his experiences as a para-athlete, Luke Kittel is familiar with the time, effort, and preparation needed to take on such a large and daunting challenge. As for motivation, Luke says that doing the site visits on the first two days of the trip was truly inspiring and gave him such a strong sense of purpose that it made the climb far easier than it would have been otherwise. He is determined to continue using his athletic endeavors to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes.

The True North Foundation is proud to have been a part of Luke Kittel’s “Conquering Kili” journey and we look forward to supporting him in his future endeavors. To learn more about Luke, True North, and the other organizations we support, please visit our website and consider subscribing to our newsletter.