Best buddies and 2006 East Liverpool HS graduates Aaron Ring and Kevin Pridemore ascended Mount Kilimanjaro in mid-February. The tallest free-standing mountain in the world — meaning it is not part of a larger mountain chain — is located in Tanzania along Africa’s east coast.

The summit is Uhuru Peak at 19,340 feet. Or for perspective over 3.5 miles high. Right, not exactly a stroll through the park. Kili is one of the world’s Seven Summits (tallest mountains on each continent).

Ring and Pridemore, both East Liverpool natives, met around 1998 as Little Leaguers. They have been best of friends since. They share “outdoorsy” and adventures together. Such as water rafting in the New River in West Virginia — Pridemore once was a river guide — and hiking the Inca Trail to Macu Picchu in Peru.

The free-spirited friends rose to the occasion when it came to taking on Kilimanjaro. Hemingway would’ve been proud. Following their exploits is like skimming through a geography book.

Ring provided some insight into their ambitious hike.

Why hike Kili?

“I love taking on a challenge or pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. I am also inspired by my Dad who has a very adventurous spirit and always encouraged me to travel.”

Eight-day Lemosho route: Why this route?

“It’s said to be one of the best for acclimatization and we had only been up to 13,000 feet on our trip to Peru. The hiking along the Lemosho route is largely not very technical but proper acclimatization is the key to success. Also Lemosho is often touted as one of the most scenic routes.”

Who went on the hike?

“Kevin, myself, and his wife Brittany joined an expedition group of eight others (11 total) which was supported by a team of around 40 including guides and porters. The group was a mix of all ages and included folks from the US, UK, South Africa, Germany and Paraguay. The Paraguay group was a mother and son — the mother is the first woman from their country to make the summit.”

Highlights

— “Seeing monkeys at Mti Mkubwa Camp. We were told we’ve have to be pretty lucky to see them at camp.”

–“The first real altitude challenge was reaching the top of the Lava Tower and having lunch at 15,091ft. This is an important checkpoint and helps the guides get a pulse on how well you will deal with the summit night where you reach 19,340.”

–“Climbing the Barranco Wall was the most fun day for the more adventurous folks on the trip. It’s the only real technical section and includes some scrambling and climbing with some exposed cliffs.”

— “Summit night (and day) was pretty brutal. I’ve run five marathons and this was a much tougher mental challenge. Our team started at 11 p.m. Thursday night and reached the summit (Uhuru Peak) at 7:50 a.m. Friday morning (nearly nine hours walking straight up the mountain under the stars). After 20 minutes and a quick glass of sparkling grape juice at the summit we descended for about four hours back to base camp. After quickly packing we continued on to our final camp which was another two-hour hike. So all in it was about 15 hours of hiking without any sleep. Summit night although challenging will forever be a strong memory for me watching the sunrise and breathing life back into all of us.”

— “Getting to become close friends with so many awesome people and learning about their reasons for being on the mountain.”

What’s next?

“In terms of big mountains I’d love to start thinking about Aconcagua (South America’s highest peak) or Denali (North America’s highest peak) as another goal to chase. But those both need more training and planning before seriously commiting since they are a bit more technical with higher elevation as well.

“After doing it once though I’d strongly consider another go at Kili just to take my nephews and more friends for the experience and some friends.

“Otherwise Kevin and I have been chatting about something less intense like O or the W circuit in Patagonia (South America).”

Ring resides in Columbus and works remotely for a video game company. A Youngstown resident, Pridemore works remotely in tech sales.

Of course if ever needed, they would be great fits for Rand McNally.

jdcreer@mojonews.com