Curves Conquer Kilimanjaro

A long-time Nuu-Muu customer and adventurer, Kathy McCready puts her dresses through the wringer. When she reached out to let us know about her latest adventure, we wanted to know more! Read on to learn about what she's up to: climbing Kilimanjaro with a group of plus-sized athletes.

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“The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are”

Have you ever been told to do the things that make you happy and love will find you? I have. 

While I haven’t found love, I have found my people. I have been tackling my bucket list and going on some pretty amazing journeys: 17 days in Ireland embracing my solo traveler status, Iceland to see the northern lights, whale watching in Cabo, hiking to the turquoise waters of Havasu Falls, and in a little over a month I am taking on my biggest adventure to date. I am climbing Mt Kilimanjaro (19,341 feet!) with a group of 20 awesome plus-sized ladies. 

We call ourselves the #CurvyKiliCrew. We are tackling this mountain to represent the plus-sized community who seek adventures and extraordinary experiences in the bodies they are in. 

I have been training hard for a year, spending endless hours accumulating hundreds of miles on trails and getting very acquainted with the stair climber at the gym, always in my Nuu-Muu of course! I live in Minnesota, where altitude and elevation are not part of the local hiking scene. To combat this and fully prepare myself, I traveled to 5 group hiking weekends to expose myself to altitude and elevation while building everlasting friendships with the women of the CurvyKiliCrew. We spent time at 12,000 ft in Weston Pass just outside of Denver, CO and even went to an altitude-training center in Portland, OR. 

While the training has been a priority and major focus for us, we have created a bond that will get us to the summit one step at a time. I never expected to find such support and understanding in a group that were once strangers, but are now dear friends. These are my people. They are plus-sized, active and adventurous with similar emotions, struggles and fears. Together, we are a powerful and amazing group from around the world with diverse stories and backgrounds who hope to inspire other plus-sized women to take a leap and believe they can do whatever they dream. 

Our climb starts in just a few days and I just can’t wait. You can follow our Kilimanjaro journey March 3-9, 2019 on Instagram #curvykilicrew and #whoatravel. If you feel inspired to take on life changing adventures, think about joining the next WHOA Plus adventure to Machu Picchu in July 2019.    https://www.whoatravel.com/whoa-plus/

Be sure to check back for my follow-up write up about our adventure!

 -Kathy McCready