The climb: Spears Business students scale Mount Kilimanjaro
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Media Contact: Hallie Hart | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-1050 | hallie.hart@okstate.edu
The rich, rosy hues of a panoramic sunrise surrounded Bryson Wolfe as he approached the snowcapped summit. The climbers moved like slippery bars of soap across fragmented volcanic rock, and Wolfe bumped into Ben Simpson at 19,341 feet above sea level.
Somehow, their foggy brains latched onto the same rational thought.
“We’ve got to grab the shirts.”
In the unrelenting wind, Wolfe and Simpson pulled matching gray Spears School of Business T-shirts from their bags and held up the garments for a photo, representing their school while offering proof of a step toward their dream.
Wolfe and Simpson, Oklahoma State University seniors, had climbed their first mountain.
It was Uhuru Peak on Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa and one of the famed Seven Summits. Somewhere during their weeklong trek through five ecological climate zones, Wolfe turned to Simpson.
“Dude, this started with a handshake,” said Wolfe, a double major in management and management information systems.
Their unforgettable adventure did, indeed, begin like a scene from a buddy comedy.
Wolfe and Simpson, longtime friends from Tulsa, watched a mountaineering documentary together when Wolfe was an OSU freshman, before Simpson transferred to OSU from a military junior college. In awe of the Seven Summits — the tallest mountains on each continent — they made a pact to scale the geological giants together.
They shook on it.
About three years later, starting on New Year’s Day, they traveled to Tanzania and crossed the first summit off their list. To Wolfe and Simpson, the climb symbolized their growth through college, a prelude to their anticipated May 2025 graduation. At the same time, it was a testament to their unchanging friendship, the bond they forged as teammates in multiple sports at Metro Christian High School.
“For me, and I know for Ben, too, it was an emotional journey,” Wolfe said.
Simpson, a university studies major with a general business minor, is in the United States Army, planning to graduate and fulfill his military requirements before returning to OSU for another degree in engineering. Between classes, jobs at at Planet Orange Café and Simpson’s Army responsibilities, the friends squeezed in daily training sessions for the climb. They also went bargain-hunting for gear, using coupons and finding secondhand equipment that was cost-effective yet durable.
Everything led up to a seven-day push toward the summit.
Day 1
Wolfe and Simpson knew they lacked experience compared to the seven fellow tourists in their group.
One man had stayed at a Mount Everest base camp. A woman had lived in the Dolomite Alps.
Wolfe and Simpson trained in Stillwater with altitude masks.
As the logo of local business Stillwater Summit Co. shows, the elevation of their college town is 986 feet. Mount Kilimanjaro, though not the tallest of the Seven Summits, is like stacking nearly 20 Stillwaters on top of each other.
Although their peers’ impressive tales made Wolfe and Simpson feel a little self-conscious, they made it clear they had researched and prepared in their own ways. They stayed in shape by jogging around Boomer Lake, Lake McMurtry and Lake Carl Blackwell. The friends successfully completed an assortment of extreme challenges, including an event called Death by 5K, which consisted of running 10 5Ks in 24 hours. Why not take on a dormant volcano next?
“We’re not anybody special,” Simpson said. “We just said we would do it, so we did it.”
They found solace knowing they weren’t alone. A large group of Tanzanian guides and porters made the trip with supplies, first aid training and knowledge of the best routes, sometimes physically offering a hand in treacherous situations. This is their career, and some locals have summitted hundreds of times.
Wolfe and Simpson understood they would have to listen to the experts if they hoped to make it once.
Throughout the journey, they learned about Mount Kilimanjaro’s geographical, spiritual and historical significance in Tanzania, starting with their trip to an art museum the day before the climb.
Then it was time to set foot on the 43-mile Lemosho Route. It led the group through lush, green rainforest, a picturesque preface to the rugged terrain they eventually reached.
Day 2
The effects of high altitude didn’t take long to reveal themselves.
At an elevation of about 11,500 feet, climbers’ fingers swelled. Eye pressure increased.
Wolfe briefly had a cellphone signal, so he checked in with his family, knowing he wouldn’t be able to text for the rest of the climb. Although thoughts of home already crept into his mind, he figured out how to live in the moment.
Wolfe and Simpson stayed off their phones except for playing a couple of songs in the tent and snapping photos of the changing scenery and abundant wildlife.
“That was a nice little break from social media,” Wolfe said. “You were just able to have streamlined thoughts and not be distracted by anything. You don’t want to be distracted.”
Day 3
Elevation increased from 11,500 feet to nearly 14,000. Simpson noticed.
Altitude masks couldn’t simulate this.
“I was not a happy camper,” Simpson said. “And then you nap it off and feel a little bit better.”
Day 4
One climber had to be evacuated.
Medical personnel didn’t want to take any chances when her oxygen levels dipped, so they made sure she was safe. Despite the sadness of a team member’s departure, Wolfe and Simpson also found reassurance knowing they were in good hands if a health problem arose.
The group ascended above the clouds as Wolfe and Simpson continued to motivate each other. Loss of appetite set in, and minds grew hazy with the altitude. Looking back after the climb, they chuckled at their delirious states.
“Our conversations probably sounded incoherent,” Simpson said. “The most trivial task, you have to be so deliberate with because your brain is just not having it.”
Day 5
Wolfe had to learn how to sleep in an unusual place.
He curled up on a slanted part of the mountain with the wind roaring around him. Temperatures plummeted, and the climbers kept pushing.
“This is where it gets gnarly,” Wolfe said.
Day 6
The climbers stopped at a camp for their final slumber before it was time to reach the summit.
Closing their eyes around 10 p.m., they rested for an hour. Stars unfolded like a glimmering blanket above the mountaineers as they awoke. Simpson compared the celestial pattern to the ornery cartoon smile of the Cheshire Cat.
The timing was strategic. If they awoke at 11 p.m., then they would summit with a stunning sunrise greeting them.
"For me, and I know for Ben, too, it was an emotional journey."
Day 7, midnight
The breakfast menu consisted of anything the climbers could force themselves to eat. Wolfe managed to scarf down two cookies and a few pieces of popcorn, but nausea hit as soon as he approached Stella Point, one of Kilimanjaro’s three official summits. Guides steadied the climbers as they stumbled over uneven rock, dealing with altitude sickness.
“It feels like putting a pillow over your face and running a marathon,” Simpson said.
The marathon was almost over.
From Stella Point, the mountaineers had a relatively short journey to Uhuru Peak, the true summit. The morning sun said hello, replacing the bitter cold with slightly warmer temperatures as they reached their ultimate destination.
Wolfe and Simpson marveled at the beauty of nature from their elevation of 19,341 feet.
They sang “Happy Birthday” to a group member. They took pictures.
After posing with their matching T-shirts, Wolfe and Simpson knew what to do. It’s customary to present a gift of gratitude to the lead guide, the trusted mountaineer who makes a living making it possible for tourists to safely navigate unfamiliar terrain. Wolfe said the mountain guides influenced his business philosophy, reminding him to care for others in any career he pursues.
One guide now has a Spears School of Business shirt as an extra layer to wear on the mountain.
Day 8
The descent was like the ending of a novel. The suspense faded, and everything became easier.
Dropping in elevation, the group hiked through the rainforest, where a wildfire had recently ripped through the area.
“You could see the rainforest building itself actively back together,” Simpson said. “It was visible how quick it was putting itself back together.”
The climbers’ bodies recovered, too.
Fighting off jet lag and lingering altitude sickness, Wolfe and Simpson made it back to OSU for the first day of the spring semester. In Wolfe’s talent development class, students were asked to say what they did during winter break, and he mentioned the climb as if it were an ordinary holiday gathering.
He and Simpson don’t brag about it, but the personal significance is clear.
As they prepare for life after graduation, they see value in balancing work with adventures that build character and camaraderie. They’re planning for the next summit, Mount Kosciuszko in Australia.
Future employers can know this: Wolfe and Simpson take the promise of a handshake seriously.
And they won’t leave a friend behind.
“We just want to inspire people to do the same and do what they’re passionate about,” Wolfe said. “Just don’t stop, because there’s no point in stopping and there’s no guarantee to anything. Do what you can while you can, and do it to the fullest. That’s the biggest thing for us.”