By Jeffery Kurz
Record-Journal staff

MERIDEN — Chantal Laliberte made it to the top of Mount Kiliman-jaro, though for a while during her trek the goal was in considerable doubt.

The Meriden resident chose the climb in January as a way of raising money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The breast-cancer survivor, who underwent radiation and chemotherapy at MidState Medical Center in 2003, wanted to raise a dollar for every foot of the climb. Kilimanjaro, the largest summit of the African continent, peaks at 19,559 feet.

Though Laliberte made it to the top, the fund-raising goal is as yet considerably short. She’s raised about $8,500 so far, she said Friday.

Laliberte, an accountant who graduated from Maloney High School in 1980, trained for her trek by hiking to Castle Craig. It turned out to be the right approach, though at least for one moment she wasn’t sure.

“It was challenging on different levels,” she said. “I felt I had the right training. We were talking about training and so many people spent hours in the gym and I felt, oh God.” Hiking Kilimanjaro has become a popular way of raising money for causes. Climbs organized by Tusker Trail, a trekking company in operation for 31 years, have raised about $4.6 million since 2003.

Laliberte’s party was led by Amy Frank, a breast cancer survivor who first scaled the mountain on behalf of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in 2005. Since that initial climb, more than $165,000 has been raised for breast cancer research.

The 10-day hike is not a technical climb, but it is demanding. Laliberte said her assent was plagued by three straight days of rain at the start. Toward the end, another storm moved in, throwing winds of up to 100 mph.

With a day-and-a-half left, it was decision time, recalled Laliberte. Of the initial 10 in the group, two had already dropped out. One woman stopped because she was suffering from altitude sickness, and another climber went back with her. Of the eight left, three decided not go on because of the winds. Laliberte was among the handful that “decided to go for it,” she said. Going for it meant reaching the top in nine instead of the planned 10 days.

One benefit of the winds was clearing the weather, so that when the party reached the top the views were spectacular, recalled Laliberte. “It was amazing to be above the clouds,” she said.

“I was doing it not just for me, but for other survivors,” she said. “All the people that supported me and donated to Komen – you’re doing it for them, too.”

Laliberte said it was also rewarding to prove to herself that “my body’s really back.”

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Anne Gilberto, executive director of Susan G. Komen for the Cure Connecticut.

“I think people celebrate life a little more and to the fullest when they’ve gone through what Chantal has gone through,” she said. “It’s a battle, and not everybody wins it.”

Laliberte, who followed up her mountain trek with a safari in the Serengeti, said she’d make the climb again.

Those who climb to raise funds pay their own costs for transportation and the climb itself. The money raised goes to the organization of their choosing. More information about such treks is available on the Web, at www.upkili.com.

Until March 21, donations for Laliberte’s climb can be made through the Up Kili Web site or directly to: Susan G. Komen for the Cure – Kili Climb, 350 Church St., Metro Center, Lobby level, Hartford CT 06103.