Baptized Dec. 28, 1930 in Ferslev, Frederiksborgamt, Denmark. Came to Canada on April 18, 1953.

Here’s a newspaper piece about her climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. It was written by Joe Fiorito, columnist, and published on Friday Dec 28 2007.

Anne Windh said, "You see the sun, the blue sky, a bit of snow here and there; you see the rocks. I wasn't up there very long. Long enough for the guide to take a couple of pictures." And long enough to throw up.

It is, after all, a hard climb to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro; the altitude is a complication, and her malaria pills were bothering her as she climbed.

But she arrived at Uhuru Peak, 5,895 metres above sea level, on the 11th of October at 10 a.m.

The youngest person to reach the top of the mountain was a boy of 9; the oldest, a man of 79.

Anne – you wouldn't know it if you saw her – is 78; she figures she is the oldest woman in the world to make it to the top. "I told the Guinness people, not that it really matters."

We were sitting in her apartment in Oakville; art on the walls, lots of light, kayak paddles here, camping gear there, souvenirs on all the side tables.

Apart from its thereness, why did she climb the mountain?

"It was in the back of my mind for a long time. I wanted to prove I could do it. The older I get, the crazier I get."

She's not crazy. Her long marriage came to an unanticipated end. She took stock of her life, and figured she ought to get busy.

She got a canoe and she also learned to handle a kayak; she has paddled the Nahanni River, made her way through Gros Morne, and so on.

Kilimanjaro?

She said, "I went on my own to Nairobi. I used my air miles. I met up with a group and went on safari for a few weeks. Then I met with another group for the climb; some Irish people, an English couple, and little old me trotting along behind." Little old her, but the young English guy had to be hauled off on a stretcher – altitude sickness.

A tough climb; five and a half days going up, and a day and a half coming down.

Where is her toughness from?

"I was born in Denmark on a farm by the ocean. Three brothers; I was the only girl. There was one bike, one pair of skis, one sleigh; a battle to get to use them."

She came to Canada as a young woman and worked on a ranch in B.C. She went back to Denmark after a time, but she liked Canada so much she came back.

More about the trip:
"It's expensive. After you pay for your air fare, you have to pay $685 for the guide; we had two guides and 12 porters carrying canned food and sleeping bags."

How was the food?
"I didn't eat much. In the morning there was porridge, lumpy and runny like soup; powdered milk, I didn't like that. I had hot chocolate, and tea and toast. Lunch was sandwiches. I fed the ravens. There was soup for supper, leek soup; that, I could eat."

I asked to see her climbing boots. She rolled her eyes. She climbed in borrowed boots; hers weren't big enough for all the socks they made her wear.

I imagined solitude.
She said, "It was so busy I couldn't believe it; people coming up and going down, the huts so crowded some people had trouble finding spots."

But, she said, "It was a pretty awesome trip. I can't believe it's over. I did it, but I don't look back on it."
What's next?

"I think a trip to Denmark to celebrate my brother's 80th birthday. Then maybe New Zealand to do some kayaking."

Anne Windh.
Woman of the year.
.