MSU Football Coach Ready To Tackle Kilimanjaro
6/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 29, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Thrill-seeking Michigan State football coach John L. Smith has run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, barrel-rolled as an Air Force jet passenger at 600 miles per hour and jumped from a Cessna at 14,000 feet.
Next month, Smith plans to climb a 19,340-foot peak on Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro.
"We've got our Spartan flag we're going to plant on top," Smith said Tuesday.
Smith, entering his second season as Michigan State's head coach, is well-known for his wild streak. The 55-year-old Idaho native says it's part of his nature to seek challenges on and off the football field.
Smith's family is forced to live with it. His wife, Diana, and the couple's three children will come along for at least part of the trip, which begins July 8 with an African safari.
Smith's sons - Nick, 25, and Sam, 20 - will join their father for the Kilimanjaro climb in a party expected to include at least 10 people.
The climb will be guided and is non-technical, meaning ropes and mountain climbing expertise are not necessary. But the trip will lead Smith through five distinct climate zones - starting in a rain forest and ending in bitter cold with temperatures below freezing.
The climb and descent of the mountain in northern Tanzania is expected to take about a week, ending in late July.
Smith has been training for an hour-and-a-half a day a few days each week in anticipation of the climb. Most of his work is on a stairclimber, treadmill and exercise bike.
"The problem isn't being in shape," said Smith, a former college athlete who has remained in good physical condition. "It's altitude sickness. ... You just don't want your lungs to explode."
Smith can't totally explain his risky behavior. He attributes part of it to his upbringing and his personality.
"You make a list of the things you want to do before you leave," he said. "As I get older, the list seems to be growing all the time, not getting shorter."
A phrase from an anonymous author in a frame in Smith's office offers a clue to his life philosophy. It says: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
Smith led Michigan State to a surprising 8-5 record last season, his first in East Lansing. He was previously head coach at Louisville, Utah State and Idaho.
Smith has a career record of 118-65 record in 15 seasons as a head coach.
Michigan State opens the 2004 season Sept. 4 at Rutgers.
By TIM MARTIN, The Associated Press