Chris Long Recalls How He Conquered 19,341-ft Mount Kilimanjaro With Alejandro Villanueva

The 11-year stint in the National Football League, two Super Bowl wins, and a Walter Payton Man of the Year award were evidently just one chapter in the life of many adventures for Chris Long. Adventures that also involve giving back to society, which the former defensive end values as much, or even possibly more than the trophies he collected in the league.

Long’s latest adventure: The former Philadelphia Eagle just returned home from his trip to Africa, where he successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for a 10th time. It was an anniversary trip for Long and his foundation’s ‘Conquering Kili’ event, which is aimed at raising funds to provide sustainable water wells in the region.

According to Long, this edition of Conquering Kili was special. After all, this was the first time they successfully managed to guide the entire group to the mountain’s summit. “We were 12 for 12,” he proudly recounted.

“We had 12 people up there. We’d never been 12 for 12 on summits. 19,331-foot mountain, the highest walkable mountain in the world, but I think that’s a bit of a misnomer because it’s the hardest walk you’ll ever take,” he added.

During the climb, Alejandro Villanueva, a former offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who also happens to be an Army ranger, informed him that it was “the hardest thing he’s ever done.” Long revealed this to highlight the daunting challenge that they had conquered.

“The altitude is a motherf**ker,” added Long.

While they were certainly proud of the fact that everyone was able to complete the journey this time around, Long and his co-hosts were clearly more thrilled to see their past projects running strong, serving the community.

“We got to see two well sites that your foundation has built,” one of the group members said. “It was incredible to see the communities it’s impacted, the work that’s being done, and the joy that it brought to those areas in Tanzania.”

Former NFL players, such as Jason Kelce, Steven Jackson, and Rob Ninkovich, have been part of Long’s past trips. They all took on “intense altitude, freezing weather, and challenging terrain” alongside former military service members to achieve the goal of climbing the tallest mountain in Africa.

With an official goal of providing clean drinking water to one million people worldwide, Long and his foundation’s mission has been gaining strength with every passing year. If anything, their most recent trip seems to have reinvigorated them to do even more than they already have.