To celebrate his 50th birthday, Nimish Patel, vice chairman and partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp in Los Angeles, successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. During his adventure, Patel says he discovered ways to become a more effective firm leader and advocate for his clients.

Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano containing three volcanic cones and stands over 19,318 feet, is the highest mountain in Africa and is the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Patel started his climb July 25 and returned safely Aug. 1. 

How did you prepare for your climb? Since you really cannot train for altitude, you must be in good physical shape to be able to hike for eight to 10 hours a day. I work out on a regular basis, but I started doing a lot more cardio about one year ago to prepare for the climb. I increased my cardio by climbing eight to 10 sets of staircases once a week and taking spin classes three to four times a week. And, if I didn't have time to work out, I would walk up and down 20 flights of stairs in our office building, for one hour, during lunch.

Courtesy photo – Tents under the stars.

Our climb schedule was six days climbing up the mountain and two days to coming down. Climbing up the mountain is difficult because of the thinning altitudes. Going down is faster because you are getting more acclimated to sea level and because of gravity, the body moves faster. But it's also harder on the legs and calves.

What did you learn about the climb that has helped you as a lawyer? I learned that only when you get out of your comfort zone do you truly realize what your potential can be. I discovered that I am a lot more resilient than I ever gave myself credit for and that I have the patience, endurance and the drive to think long-term and take on challenging goals. All of these new qualities I discovered about myself I hope to bring to my firm as a leader and to my clients as their zealous advocate.

What inspired you to climb Kilimanjaro? The Kilimanjaro climb is not considered a technical climb, so no ropes or ladders are needed. It's still a hard and rigorous climb, but it's safer. Kilimanjaro is one of the seven world peaks, and to say you climbed one of them is awesome. We took the Lemosho route (one of six routes) to the summit. We hiked through the jungle, desert and rocks to the peak. Every day we started our climb at 6:30 a.m. Then we took a break for lunch, rested for one hour, then climbed until just before dark. When it was time to sleep, we descended to a lower point, about 500 feet, to get our bodies used to the altitude.

My worst memory of the trip was having to pee constantly. Hydrating and drinking water is important, so I drank six to seven liters of water a day. At night, I would have to get out of my tent multiple times to pee. My best memory was seeing the stars and entire Milky Way at night. It takes your breath away. You can see forever and the curvature of the earth. It's something you never forget.

When we got to the summit, we spent the night at Crater Camp, which is about 500 feet into the crater area. The oxygen was 40% and it was minus 10 degrees. We were exhilarated that we summited, but it's at that moment that it's the harshest conditions for you. It's cold. You are at a high altitude and you are fatigued. When we reached base camp after coming down the mountain, the guides and porters formed a circle and sang a song in Swahili. The energy was high and everyone started dancing. All eight days of emotion was coming out of you. There is nothing like it.

Our porters were also a source of inspiration. The porters were in charge of making camp for us during our climb. They fed us, packed up our stuff and put about 60 pounds of our stuff (kitchen supplies, sleeping supplies and more) on their back. They would run ahead to prepare for our next camp. Half of the porters on our climb were women. We needed all their expertise to make the climb successful.

Courtesy photo – Hiking Kilimanjaro.

What is the most surprising thing that you realized about yourself? Your body tells you to stop at a certain point, but you realize that the human body is a lot more resilient than you think. The idea of hiking eight to 10 hours for eight days with altitude changes is not easy. I had never really trained for this climb, and I never thought that it was possible for me to accomplish the climb. I was wrong. It was possible. I took my body beyond what I thought was possible. I pushed past that mental barrier. Also, since I was completely off-line—no cell, emails or texts—I had the ability to recharge. I came back home more rested and invigorated. Psychologically, turning 50 seemed scary to me. I wanted to prove to myself that I capable of doing the climb. I was not mentally ready to do this in my 20s or 30s. I was taking on a challenge and checked off my bucket list item.

What was the most exciting part of the trip? The bonding part. You get to know your hike mates. You see people when they are at their lowest. And you also get to see the best of everyone. We got to share all these experiences together.