For American actor George DeNoto, climbing mountains has never been about collecting summits. It is about discovering who he becomes along the way.
A year after climbing Mount Fuji with Explore-Share, George found himself standing beneath another giant: Mount Kilimanjaro. Rising to 5,895 meters (19,341 feet), Africa’s highest mountain would test him in ways Fuji never had.
Thin air. Freezing nights. Seven days on the mountain. And one question only the climb could answer: “How high can my wings carry me?”
From Mount Fuji to Kilimanjaro
George still remembers what his first major climb meant to him.
“Mount Fuji was quite literally a movie moment for me,” he says. “As actors, we can become accustomed to very privileged, pampered and protected lives. Climbing Fuji felt like a scene from Toy Story, like a toy being taken out of its box and discovering the world for the first time.”
Standing on Fuji’s summit changed something in him: “Reaching that summit showed me that I had wings.”
Kilimanjaro was not simply another destination to check off a list. It represented the next chapter in a journey that had only just begun.
“I booked Mount Kilimanjaro because I wanted to find out just how high those wings could carry me.”
This time, however, the scale of the challenge was different. Kilimanjaro would involve several days of walking, significant altitude and a long summit push through darkness and freezing temperatures.
George knew that reaching the top would require much more than enthusiasm.
Respecting the Mountain Begins Before the Trailhead
George trained hard for several months before traveling to Tanzania.
As he became more immersed in climbing culture, he began to understand what mountaineers mean when they talk about respecting a mountain.
That respect, he believes, starts long before the first step.
“Beginners should understand that respect doesn’t begin when you arrive at the trailhead. It begins months before the climb, in how you prepare.”
Physical conditioning gave him confidence in what he calls his “gas tank,” but he also understood that high-altitude climbing could not be controlled through fitness alone.
Altitude affects every person differently. Small problems can become difficult to manage when the body is tired, oxygen is limited and the nearest comfortable environment is several days away.
There was also the uncertainty of traveling far from home.
“You’re entering a completely unfamiliar environment, and before you arrive, you don’t truly know the people whose hands you may have to place your life in.”
That uncertainty disappeared soon after he met his local guiding team.
Finding the Right Rhythm
Through Explore-Share, George was paired with an experienced local guiding team. George was immediately impressed by the guides’ experience and professionalism. But what stood out most was not simply their knowledge of Kilimanjaro.
It was their ability to observe him.
“Within the first day or two, they had already figured out exactly how my body worked.”
They understood his natural pace. They recognized when he needed to slow down and when he could continue. They reminded him to drink before he had to think about it and built the day around a rhythm he could sustain.
“They allowed me to take all those small decisions out of my head and put my entire mind toward one thing: reaching the summit.”
This awareness became particularly important as the group gained altitude. At elevation, decisions that seem minor, likewalking slightly too quickly, forgetting to hydrate or failing to rest properly, can influence how a climber feels later.
For George, that attention marked the difference between someone who simply accompanies a climber and someone who truly guides them: “That level of awareness is what makes a real mountain guide.”
Watching Other Summit Dreams End
Before the expedition, George expected Kilimanjaro to challenge him physically. He did not anticipate how emotional the experience would become.
Throughout the climb, he saw other people struggling with the effects of altitude. Some required oxygen or emergency assistance. Others were evacuated or had to abandon their summit attempts after days of effort.
“Before the expedition, I was completely focused on preparing for my own experience. What I never imagined was how frequently I would watch other people’s summit dreams end during my ascent.”
Witnessing those situations could easily have created fear. Instead, George treated them as a test of his focus.
“It would have been natural to see those things and wonder whether I might be next. But I never allowed myself to disappear into those dark possibilities.”
He remained aware of the seriousness of the environment without letting anxiety consume him.
“While people around me were turning back or receiving aid, my mind remained completely focused on finishing what I had started.”
The Longest Walk of His Life
Kilimanjaro’s summit attempt normally begins at night. Climbers leave camp in darkness and advance slowly through the cold toward Stella Point, on the edge of the summit crater.
Throughout the ascent, George repeatedly heard the same reassuring message:
“You just have to make it to Stella Point. Once you reach Stella Point, the path to the summit is a victory lap.”
He laughs at that description now.
“Let me tell you something: the climb from Stella Point to Uhuru Peak was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.”
Although the final section is not especially technical, it unfolds at extreme altitude. At nearly 6,000 meters, even a gradual incline can feel overwhelming. George found himself taking only a few steps before stopping to breathe.
“The air pressure is so low that even a few steps on an incline can push you to the edge of what feels recoverable.”
Continuing required a kind of determination that was difficult to explain.
“You have to want the world above the clouds badly enough to keep moving when every part of your body is telling you that you have already done enough.”
Then came the moment he would remember more clearly than any landscape or viewpoint. His guides saw how hard he was fighting to continue. Without saying anything, they moved closer and placed their hands on his back. Then they began helping him forward.
“Before a climb, you imagine the route, the views and the summit. You never imagine those quiet moments of support, the hand on your back when your body is reaching its limit. But those moments become everything.”
For George, that simple gesture captured the trust at the heart of guided climbing. The guides were not only showing him the route. They were fully invested in helping him complete it safely.
A Mind That Refused to Turn Back
Despite the exhaustion of summit night, George says there was never a moment when he seriously believed he could not reach the top.
His confidence came partly from training and partly from the people following his journey from home.
“One of the greatest blessings of my life has been watching the people who support my acting career carry that same support and fire into my summit attempts.”
Knowing that friends, family and followers were invested in the climb gave him another reason to continue.
“The love they pour into me makes it impossible for thoughts like ‘I’m not sure I can do this’ to enter my head. I feel that even if my brain switched off, my body would still push upward.”
His determination was personal, but it was also shared. Every step represented the support of people who could not physically stand beside him on the mountain.
The Symphony Above the Clouds
George often compares acting to performing on a stage. On Kilimanjaro, he found another kind of performance.
“A mountain climb feels like an orchestra. It is made up of hundreds of small instruments that all have to come together to reach one grand finale.”
Every training session, meal, night of recovery and deliberate step plays a part. So do the guides, the equipment, the weather and the decisions made along the way. In George’s metaphor, the climber becomes the conductor.
“We turn our backs to the audience and to everyone cheering for us because the only direction we can face is upward.”
For hours, or sometimes days, the performance continues through exhaustion, uncertainty and discomfort. Each small action contributes to the final moment.
Then George reached Uhuru Peak: “At the summit, the music suddenly stopped.”
Standing on the roof of Africa, he took slow, heavy breaths and realized that he could finally turn around.
“My summit photographs became my bow, the proof that I had delivered the performance, survived every rise and fall, and carried my existence somewhere above the clouds.”
At 5,895 meters, one of the most demanding chapters of his life had reached its closing note: “The expression was complete.”
More Than a Summit
Kilimanjaro helped George understand why mountains had begun to occupy such an important place in his life.
“I’ve known my entire life that there is a fire inside me.”
He speaks openly about the people who helped shape that fire: his mother, his grandmother and his close friend Jahseh Onfroy, the musician known as XXXTentacion.
“Every one of them carried an extraordinary fire for life, and every one of their flames helped forge my own.”
Losing them left George carrying something powerful without knowing where it belonged. Acting gave him a profession and a public platform. Mountains gave that inner fire another stage.
“Mountains are where I get to show what I made from the hardships of my life.”
Each expedition has become a way to honor the people he loved and the strength they passed on to him.
“Every time I climb above the clouds, I get to show the world that their fire did not disappear when they passed away.”
It is still with him, he says, burning at heights most people will never experience.
What Kilimanjaro Taught Him
Looking back, George believes the mountain revealed something not only about himself but about everyone drawn to high places.
The reasons people climb are intensely personal. Some go in search of challenge. Others want silence, perspective, healing or proof of what they are capable of.
But George believes they share one impulse: “At some point, we all got tired of looking down, and one day, we decided to look up.”
That idea connects Kilimanjaro with his first experience on Mount Fuji. Both climbs gave him a way to step outside the protected world of acting and enter a place where progress had to be earned one step at a time.
The mountains stripped away the noise and left him with something more fundamental: movement, breath, uncertainty and purpose.
George’s Advice for Future Kilimanjaro Climbers
George does not hesitate when asked what he would tell someone considering Kilimanjaro: Prepare seriously, respect the altitude and climb with experienced local guides.
“On mountains like Kilimanjaro, the smallest decisions matter: your pace, your recovery, your hydration, everything.”
A strong guide does far more than identify the path. They monitor how the climber is responding, manage the pace, encourage regular hydration and recognize signs that may not be obvious to someone focused solely on reaching the summit.
“Having guides who constantly paid attention to those details allowed me to focus on what really mattered: putting one foot in front of the other.”
For George, their support shaped not only whether he reached the summit, but how he experienced it: “I genuinely don’t believe I would have experienced my summit the way I did without them.”
Where Will George Go Next?
George does not yet know which mountain will call him next.
It could be Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America. It might be a more technical objective such as the Matterhorn. He may return to Japan to continue learning alongside Yuichi Kanzaki, the guide who introduced him to the world of mountain climbing on Mount Fuji.
Or perhaps, as he jokes, he will finally share a summit with his friend Gauthier from Explore-Share.
The destination remains uncertain, but the direction does not.
“Outside my acting career, you will always find George DeNoto’s name somewhere above the clouds.”
Ready for Your Own Kilimanjaro Adventure?
George’s experience is a reminder that climbing Kilimanjaro is about far more than standing on Africa’s highest summit.
It is a journey shaped by preparation, patience and respect for altitude. It requires the humility to listen to your body, the determination to keep moving and the trust to place yourself in the hands of people who understand the mountain.
Explore guided Kilimanjaro expeditions on Explore-Share and discover what your own journey above the clouds could look like.
