At 19,341 feet, David Topol was on top of the world.

Mount Kilimanjaro. Courtesy of David Topol

By Lisa S. Lenkiewicz

When you first meet David Topol, the impression he gives is of a quiet, unassuming man. But there is nothing low-key about his recent accomplishment – a climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

An avid climber and hiker, the longtime West Hartford resident ascended the snowy peak of the tallest freestanding mountain in the world in April of this year. At 19,341 feet, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa.

It took seven and a half days to ascend the mountain and one and a half days to return down. One day it rained so much Topol passed raging waterfalls that normally do not exist.

When he reached 18,000 feet, Topol recalled, altitude sickness became a serious challenge. One member of his group suffered from high altitude pulmonary edema and was quickly brought down to a lower elevation. Although Topol did not have any sickness, the high altitude definitely had an effect. “I felt like I was moving in slow motion,” he recalled.

On summit day, his group left at 10 p.m. from 15,000 feet, and climbed another 4,000 feet until they reached the summit at 8 a.m. On their way, they saw the sunrise. As he approached the summit, Topol joyfully broke into a short sprint. But the group leader coached him that a sprint was a bad idea. After a short break for photos, the group descended 11 miles to 10,000 feet, staying awake for 24 hours with only a 40-minute nap.

“It was the biggest challenge I ever had,” Topol said with a signature smile and laugh. “I was tired but so happy … over the moon. It was fun!”

David Topol, at home in West Hartford, is proud of his certificate attesting to successfully climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Photo credit: Lisa Lenkiewicz

Daypacks on their backs

Located in northeast Tanzania, near the Kenyan border, Mount Kilimanjaro can be ascended via several routes. Topol went with a group called the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), which sponsors leadership courses and organizes climbing expeditions.

Topol has gone on trips with NOLS in previous years. Last year, he went to Iceland and spent a week hiking 3,000 feet of volcanic terrain. The Kilimanjaro trip was what he called a “supportive trip,” meaning there were guides and porters carrying the heavy loads of tents, sleeping bags and supplies. The climbers had to carry their own daypacks, weighing about 75-100 pounds.

“The guides and porters were three times as fast as we were,” Topol recalled with a laugh. He added that at age 62 he was one of the slowest in the group, and the second-oldest participant.

Mount Kilimanjaro is near the equator and the climate is tropical, with wet and dry seasons. April is the wet season, but there are fewer climbers at that time. When Topol started out, temperatures were in the high 70s, but by the time he summited it was snowing. He put on double layers consisting of long underwear, two puffy jackets, gloves, and a hat.

To prepare for this huge undertaking, Topol stuck to his basic routine of going on long hikes in the northwest corner of Connecticut but also just walking in his Bishops Corner neighborhood. Starting at Lyman Road, where he resides with his wife Carolyn, he headed up and down the incline of Old Meadow Road with a full pack on his back. He also ran up and down the stairs in his house and jogged on a treadmill for 50 minutes at the maximum incline.

Since his early 20s Topol has gone on many backpacking trips – in recent years often with his son Adam, who has special needs but thoroughly enjoys hiking and camping. They have hiked 50 miles on the Connecticut Appalachian Trail and David hiked the long trail the length of Vermont. David once hiked 200 miles from the Massachusetts border to the Canadian border by himself.

As a teen, he climbed near the Rockies in Wyoming which he said “was hard, but I learned, I can do this.” He has climbed in the White Mountains and the Adirondacks. For his 30th birthday his family gifted him a “top-roping” Outward Bound trip to the High Sierras using ropes to go up and down. He has been on a NOLS trip in Utah, exploring extremely narrow canyons which he says were “spectacular.”

At age 51, he climbed Gannett Peak, the tallest mountain in Wyoming. He has an expertise in the use of crampons and ice picks for mountaineering and canyoneeering.

Topol feels fortunate his wife supports him when he goes away for long periods of time on these adventures.

Does she want to take up the hobby? “It is definitely not for me,” said Carolyn, a retired teacher and published author. “I am happy to kiss him goodbye and I am happier when he comes home.”

They spend family time with their son Adam and daughter Jennifer and her husband Rick Molinari at their favorite place – DisneyWorld. Their home is decorated in Disney memorabilia. Also adorning the walls are framed Playbills from Broadway musicals signed by the performers. David Topol’s brother, Richard Topol, is a Broadway actor.

So what is next for this Pratt & Whitney aerospace engineer?

The brave mountain climber dreams of a mountain in Alaska not far from Denali. He also has a desire to go to Nepal. Not to Mount Everest, but to Mount Manaslu, which is about 20,000 feet high and takes 11 days to summit.

“I like a good challenge,” he says with a laugh.

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