With her were World Cup colleagues Lauren Ross (Stowe, VT) and Chemmy Alcott (Great Britain).

The climb was originally intended to raise money and awareness for Right to Play, an international organization focused on bringing sport to underdeveloped communities. But for Mancuso, it turned out to be much more than a charity gig. "It's funny how things in life turn out so very different than what was expected," she blogged on www.juliamancuso.com after the climb. "When I first signed up for the climb, I had no idea what I was getting into. To be honest, I thought it was going to be another challenge that I would cruise through and conquer without a problem."

The challenge grew on May 31. On the morning Mancuso was set to leave for Africa, she received news that Betsy Watson, her 58-year-old grandmother, had lost a four-and-a-half-year battle with lung cancer. For Mancuso, Watson was "Grandmother Tutu," the nickname she lovingly called her. Watson was also a mentor. "Betsy loved the outdoors and was so gung-ho about going over my Kilimanjaro kit contents with me and giving me her advice. She told me to bring some walking sticks, so she left hers at the house for me. I didn't end up taking them, but now I wish I could have brought them up for her. Instead, I am going to do better and carry her memory up there with me," Mancuso said before setting off for the mountain.

Mancuso, a member of the U.S. Ski Team, won the Olympic gold medal in giant slalom in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games and has 19 World Cup podium finishes, four of which were wins, and she has been on the podium three times at World Championships. She battled for the World Cup title each of the last two years. Three days after this year's race, she tied on her hiking boots for the first time in Africa and began climbing.

Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano, rising from agricultural land at approximately 6,500 feet. The trail to the top runs through a mix of rain forest, moorland, alpine desert, snowfields and ice cliffs--all virtually on the equator. Germans Dr. Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller first achieved the summit in 1889 in a trip that lasted six weeks. Today, roughly 22,000 people attempt to conquer the peak annually. Most plan to do it, round trip, in a week. But 40 percent turn back because of the difficulty.

Mancuso recalled her grandmother telling her while on a phone conversation before the trip, "You know Jules, just because you'll be at the equator, it doesn't mean that it can't get pretty darn cold."

Miles from the summit the team began experiencing shortness of breath. One day a member of the group entered the beginning stages of acute mountain sickness (AMS) caused by the low air pressure at the high altitude. "Day three was tough. The full intensity of the climb becomes clear when you take a look at the state of our party: one person has tummy issues, another has blocked sinuses, one AMS, and another rolled her ankles several times. We sleep some 11 hours a night-- crazy but necessary," Mancuso wrote on June 9.

After fighting cramps, headaches, lightheadedness, and fatigue, Mancuso, Ross, and Alcott arrived at the summit on June 10. In the process they raised over $30,000 for Right to Play.

While on the summit, Julia ceremoniously held a flag up for her grandmother. It read: "I'll be thinking of your everlasting POSITIVITY as I push for the summit. With every step you've encouraged me. I will shine your light and keep shining!"

Following the successful summit, the team visited Right to Play camps in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, signed autographs, and spoke with the smiling children. A day later, she reflected: "Wow, it's amazing how a journey that I thought would be a cinch to handle and conquer nonchalantly, became something that stretched me to new limits; limits of perspective, of pain threshold, of awareness and gratitude, of compassion, giving and reciprocation. Who knew that pain could bring about such riches and richness?”