Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania tends to require months of rigorous training and dedicated training for even the most experience hiker, let alone for a cabinet minister coming off the heels of a busy legislative session. "As a person that hunts quite a bit I do a fair amount of hiking in the woods. I don't do a lot of mountain hiking though," said Alberta's Minister of Forestry and Parks, Todd Loewen, in an interview with the Western Standard.However, on Wednesday, Loewen will join Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides and eight other individuals when he trades his dress shoes for hiking boots and begins the 80-km journey..Beyond the accomplishment of ascending one of the world's largest mountains, the endeavour, which the group has named "Melanie's Ascent," will honour Nicolaides' late sister, who died as a victim of domestic violence in Calgary.Along with spreading awareness about the issue, the hikers are raising money for FearIsNotLove, a nonprofit that helps victims of domestic violence."I just thought it was a great opportunity to give back to society, to be able to help others," Loewen said. "We know domestic violence is a problem, and a continuing problem. If there's a way that we can help out, this is a great opportunity.".According to Loewen, the hikers are covering their own expenses for the trip, and the donated funds will go toward providing victims with devices that let them press a button to call for help or set up security cameras in their homes."I think that's a great program," Loewen said. "I think it's an opportunity for prevention. To try to get involved before a situation actually happens." The group has setup a website where individuals who wish to donate to Melanie's Ascent in support of FearIsNotLove can do so."It's something that our society suffers from, and if there's any way that we can help people get through this, I think we should be doing that," Loewen said. .Preparation for the trip began in 2025, when Nicolaides informed him of his plans to hike the mountain in honour of his sister and invited Loewen to join. Loewen initially said yes to going on the trip.Soon after, he asked for a few weeks to reflect and make sure he actually wanted to do it, but he eventually called Nicolaides to confirm that he was in.An outdoorsman, but admittedly not a hiker prior to this, Loewen has had to get creative while balancing training with his roles as cabinet minister and MLA for Central Peace-Notley."We don't have any mountains right at home here in my backyard, but I do have a stair machine that I've been using quite a lot in the last couple of weeks," Loewen said.Looking to increase his lung capacity, Loewen's recent training has focused on doing continuous short cardio exercises separated by short breaks. On Saturday, he planned to attempt the Wildland Firefighter Physical Fitness Test, which he passed two years ago..The group had a mini trial run in September when they travelled to Colorado and hiked to an altitude of 14,000 ft, still 6,000 ft below Mount Kilimanjaro, but Loewen said that his analysis of statistics has taught him that experience at high elevation is the best training."I just think probably the biggest thing is that acclimation, dealing with the altitude, and we don't really know, going into it, how our bodies will react," Loewen said."And I don't know if it matters necessarily, how good a shape you're in, or how good you can run or jog, it's all going to be depending on how your body deals with that altitude.""And of course, the better shape you're in, the better chances, but again, I don't know that anybody really can tell how that's going to affect a person."In the end, however, while reaching the top of Mount Kilimanjaro is the physical goal, that is not what Loewen would use to classify the endeavour as a "success.""That's not the part that's going to last. It's not the part that's going to make a difference in society for years to come," Loewen said. "The important part is the fundraising and awareness."
