Larry Madowo Meets First Kenyan to Climb Mount Everest [Photos]

CNN Presenter Larry Madowo on his latest episode of the African Voices Changemakers featured James Kagambi, the first Kenyan man to climb Mount Everest. 

In the episode, Kagambi revealed that he managed to climb the world’s tallest mountain despite having bad knee pain.

He admitted that the ignored advice from his doctor and opted to climb Everest with injuries in his knees.

“I know my knees so well that I know how to use them. The biggest problem is coming down and the medicine for that is just going slowly. And that's why on my way down from Everest, I took my time. I didn't get to camp until 10 at night and I was okay. I was fine. I was having fun looking around and taking care of my knees,” Kagambi narrated.

The 62-year-old noted that his aim to climb Mt Everest was to motivate the African people to go outdoors and try new things.

“My first goal obviously was to entice people of colour who I don’t see in the outdoors and communities that are not exposed to this. It’s for them to see that this can be done through my successes. My hope is that we see it happening in Africa because we need people to realise the benefits of being in the outdoors,” he stated.

Kagambi mentioned that before climbing Mt Everest he was the first African to conquer Congo in 1994 and Denali in 2013.

He grew up in the foothills of Mt Kenya and had a strong passion to pursue a career in nature, however due to lack of job opportunities he decided to become a primary school teacher coaching athletics.

Kagambi added that he has begun an annual fundraising hike on Mount Kenya to raise money for surgeries for children in need.

“Now that I know that there is something I can do about it and I can tell people that there is something that can be done. I feel like I have the duty to go out and preach this and bring more donors. I feel happy that I can see some of the results of our work, kids walking out here who couldn’t walk in,” he said.