糖心Vlog传媒

Coach Wylie Flies 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Flag on Mount Kilimanjaro

While most 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock employees and students took the winter break as a time to rest and rejuvenate, Jenna Wylie, head women鈥檚 golf coach, took the opportunity to complete her long-held goal of climbing the highest single freestanding mountain in the world. At 19,341 feet above sea level, Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania, is the high mountain in Africa. Wylie, who鈥檚 had her heart set on climbing the mountain for more than a decade, reached the top on New Year鈥檚 Day. 鈥淚t really was amazing. I don鈥檛 know how to describe it,鈥� Wylie said. 鈥淚t tests you mentally more than it does physically. You have to walk really slowly to acclimatize to the altitude. You are excited, and you want to go faster, and the guides are telling you to walk as slow as possible as you hike for 7-8 hours a days. I love traveling, and this is one of the most epically big adventures of my life.鈥� Considering her previous mountain climbing experience involved hiking Pinnacle Mountain State Park with her husband Justin and their dogs, Wylie admitted the trip was a big step up for her.聽聽 鈥淭his was my first trip mountain climbing,鈥� Wylie said. 鈥淚鈥檓 one of the people that jumps in with two feet. This is something I鈥檝e always wanted to do. I鈥檝e been saying this for more than 10 years that I want to climb it. When 2020 rolled around, before COVID, I said I was going to do something crazy this year. I booked it, counted down, and hoped for the best.鈥� Wylie prepared for the trip by ramping up her cardio training and running. She also worked with a personal trainer to strengthen her ankles, legs, and shoulders. Since much of the training took place while coaching the golf team, Wylie said her players became 鈥渦sed to my crazy adventures.鈥� 鈥淲hen I booked it back in January, I told the team I was going,鈥� Wylie said. 鈥淭hey got used to me coming to practice sore from workouts or showing up in hiking boots. I am probably one of the crazier, adventurous, fun-loving coaches, and that is part of my personality. They do think it鈥檚 pretty cool. I have a player from Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro borders Kenya, so she thought it was cool that I hiked Kilimanjaro.鈥� After spending Christmas with her family in England, Wylie arrived in Tanzania on Dec. 27. That night, she met her climbing companion, Jeremy Bergstom of Houston. While there were originally supposed to be more climbers, COVID-19 dwindled the group down to just two climbers and their guides. 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 truly possible without the guides and sherpas that take you up there,鈥� Wylie said. 鈥淭hey deserve half if not more of the credit. They tested my oxygen levels everyday and sang Ed Sheeran to keep us entertained.鈥� When she reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, where climbers are advised to spend no more than 20 minutes, Wylie represented the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock community by breaking out her Little Rock Trojans flag. 鈥淧eople usually take little signs or flags, but they were surprised when I pulled out this huge 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock flag,鈥� Wylie said. 鈥淚t definitely wasn鈥檛 on the smaller scale. Little Rock is my home now, and I thought it would be cool to have a representation of me being at the top of the mountain. I will have something to remember where I was at that point in my life. When I am 65 or 70 and I鈥檓 looking at pictures of my life, I will always remember I worked at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.鈥� After finishing her climb and descent of Mount Kilimanjaro, Wylie went on a six-day African safari before returning to the U.S. on Jan. 9. Her adventures are far from over as Wylie is already planning another trip to Tanzania. 鈥淚鈥檓 actually hoping to go back to Tanzania in November,鈥� Wylie said. 鈥淚 want to do some volunteer work with an orphanage, a school, and an animal rescue organization. That will be the next adventure. Also on the bucket list, I want to walk the Great Wall of China and Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.鈥� When asked if she would consider leading a group from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Wylie said it鈥檚 a possibility. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 tried to get anyone from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to go there, but I would be all for a group going if anyone did want to go,鈥� Wylie said. 鈥淚 know when I was up on the mountain there was a workplace group. I鈥檓 definitely all for going back again.鈥�