Moves for Seniors Blog

Octogenarian Anne Lorimor may be 85 years old, but she lives the lifestyle of woman 60 years her junior. This past summer, Lorimor became the oldest woman to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The trek took her eight days, but she emerged a champion – and a world record holder. The climb landed her the title of “oldest woman to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.”

And the Paradise Valley, Ariz. resident did it for a charity that supports disadvantaged youth in her home state.

“I was glad I did it, but I still do say it was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she told local paper The Republic. But the treacherous climb wasn’t all for charity. Lorimor said she also wanted to raise awareness for people her age who have all but given up.

Lorimor’s nephew, Kevin Gordon, was one of the 15 people in the climbing team taking on the mountain. He was there to document his aunt’s record-shattering ascent to the top of the mountain. He said after a while, it seemed as though the group would never reach the summit – until they finally did on July 12, the eighth day of the climb. He said his aunt was too exhausted to be excited, but it eventually sunk in that she was indeed now a world record holder.

“When we got on that last day, I was totally impressed,” Gordon told the paper. “She just wouldn’t stop. She’s had it in mind before we even left she’s going to get that world record.”

It took a few weeks of rest for Lorimor to regain her full strength and return to normal life, but according to the report, Lorimor still isn’t satisfied. Why? Right now, she’s just the oldest woman to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. She’d like to be more than that, and in two years, plans on returning to Kilimanjaro to seize an even more impressive world record.

“I’m still thinking about it, because in two years I’d be 87,” she told the paper. “I’d definitely be the oldest person then.”