There is great pleasure to be had in reaching the peak of a mountain, but for Kibrom Kebedom, mountain climbing was also a way to conquer his own troubles and integrate into Australian society.
Kebedom migrated to Australia as a refugee two decades ago from Eritrea, and has since become highly involved in mountain climbing and trekking long distances. He even climbed Mt Everest.
Mountaineering is not common to Kebedom’s community, so his expertise has raised his profile among Eritrean in Australia. He also looks much younger than he is thanks to his adventures.
“Every day, I walk 12km and I go to climb mountains like Mt Bula, Mt Speculation, hiking tracks every time. This has helped me to be fit and strong,” says Kebedom of his youthful lustre.
Kebedom’s passion for climbing mountains and testing his physical endurance started when he first arrived in Australia as a refugee and needed to release stress. It turned into a way for Kebedom to connect with his new countrymen here in Australia, and constantly test his ability to push himself further than he had before.
Abedom enjoying the Australian great outdoors Source: Supplied
“When I came first to Australia, I used to walk long distances to be free of stress as a new migrant,” he says. “Then I started to run 5km, 10km distances, then a half marathon [21km] in Melbourne. This helped me to intermingle with the wider Australian society and make friends who like camping, hiking and climbing mountains. One day, I asked my new friends if I could join them with hiking and they were happy for me to take part.”
Kebedom, with his new friends, started to explore regional Australia. He trekked through the bush and climbed mountains, discovering Australia’s rich natural environment and a new, adventurous lifestyle.
“First, I started to go to the Macedon Ranges with my new Australian friends,” says Kebedom. “We went there because it is not far from Melbourne, but later on I started going to almost all the mountains in Victoria such as Mt Feathertop, Mt Bogong, Mt Baw Baw and hiking the Great Ocean Walk.”
The state of Victoria wasn’t to be the limit of Kebedom’s adventurous spirit either. He continued to explore Australia, then New Zealand and on to Nepal.
“One day, I and my friends decided to climb the world’s highest mountain, Mt Everest,” he says. “But first, as part of our training, we went to Milford Sound Track in New Zealand. It took us three days to reach the peak of the mountain.”
Once they had built and tested their fitness, Kebedom and his friends went through the necessary medical procedures while their trip to Nepal was organized by World Expeditions.
“In 2016, we travelled from Lukla in Nepal to the base camp of Mt Everest and it took us 12 days to reach Kala Patthar which is 5,500 metres high.”
As for any achievement there are obstacles to conquer, and the obstacles of Mt Everest are notorious. When Kebedom’s group reached about 4,000 metres of altitude, he suffered respiratory problems and received medical support.
Abedom at Mt Everest 2016 Source: Kibrom
Despite his friend’s insistence that he return back for his health (a not unfair request considering the dangers and regular deaths of hikers on the way up the mountain), he was determined not to be left behind. Kebedom persisted, and managed to continue with his friends.
“When I and my friends reached the height that we had planned to reach, I felt like I had conquered all my own problems,” he says. “As I was enjoying the views that opened up to me at those new heights, I felt that as a person and as a refugee I could conquer any issue in the world. I just was over the moon!”
Kebedom’s determination and mountain-climbing grit has held him in good stead as he has lived these past two decades in Australia. His sons are active too, and though they prefer swimming, with his youngest working as a swimming instructor, Kebedom makes sure to take them up mountainsides when he can.
As he told SBS Tigrinya, this past Australia Day long weekend, he headed to South Australia for more fresh adventure.
“We are going to explore and conquer mountains there.”
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