Many individuals living in Paradise Valley have reached great heights and success, but one in particular has reached incredible heights, literally.

Long-time Paradise Valley resident Anne Lorimor holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to summit Kilimanjaro in Africa. Now at 92, Lorimor has just returned from yet another incredible, record-breaking feat: Hiking the Inca Trail in Peru for her birthday right before hiking in Machu Picchu, according to the Town Manager’s Weekly Update, July 1.

Lorimor was honored by the Mayor of Ollantaytambo as she started her pilgrimage to Machu Picchu. The Mayor of Ollantaytambo presented Lorimor an official proclamation and told the assembled group that in their ancient native language they don’t have the word for “friend,” only “family” and “stranger.”

“Anne,” he proclaimed, “was his family.”

You may wonder how and why someone would choose to make such a difficult hike. Lorimor is tough and determined, the newsletter stated. She doesn’t take altitude pills, carries her own water, sleeps on the ground in a tent, and doesn’t let people help her. She also doesn’t like short-cuts.

So when her guides, who were worried about her, asked her to take the shorter but steeper, less traveled route with high weeds and stones rolling around her feet, she did it ... but doing so wasn’t what Anne envisioned in hiking the longer route.

Although she accomplished her goal, she now wants to go back in a year or so and do it again and take the more traditional route to Macchu Picchu.

Lorimor first summited Kilimanjaro when she was 85, but an 88-year-old man reached the summit making her the oldest woman to hike it … so she returned in 2019, at 89 and with several broken ribs, to earn the title of oldest person to summit its 19,341 feet elevation. Being the oldest woman was not enough for Lorimor, so she twice earned the Guinness World Record title of oldest person to hike Kilimanjaro.

According to the newsletter, Lorimor’s mission, and the reason she hikes incredible heights, is to show underprivileged children what can be possible if you try your hardest and keep on trying. For decades, Lorimor has made it her life’s mission to make a difference in the lives of others with Creating Exciting Futures. She now hopes to offer scholarships to underprivileged youth among her new Ollantaytambo family.