James Mixon
2017
Mt. Kenya, Kenya
How to Find Snow In Africa and Other Stories
My name is James Mixon, and I’m a 21-year-old student at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. I was born and raised in the country of Kenya on the eastern coast of Africa. My parents are long-time missionaries; my family (I am one of five kids) first lived in a deeply rural area where my parents worked with the Maasai tribe. In more recent years my family has been based in the capital city of Nairobi.
I originally came to Nashville to study guitar, but since arriving have also pursued video production, philosophy, and outdoor leadership. I spent a semester abroad with the National Outdoor Leadership School in Chile learning how to survive in the wild of Patagonia, and have since been working for a local rock climbing gym as an instructor and a guide.
With the help of the Lumos Travel Award, I will returning to Kenya to film a documentary about the men and women who work on the tallest mountains in East Africa. These remarkable people work as guides, porters and rangers in the unique African alpine, furthering the exploration and conservation of this pristine environment. I will lead filming expeditions up mountains including Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Kenya, Mt. Meru, and into smaller areas such as the Aberdares mountains and Hell’s Gate National Park. I will working with a locally owned and operated guiding company, KG Mountain Expeditions. While building relationships with these men during our expeditions, I will also tell their stories through film. The final product of the documentary will be used to raise awareness of the experience of these mountain workers and encourage further tourism to East Africa.
While I’m enjoying my time in Tennessee, I’m excited to return to my homeland as an adult with something to offer the people with whom I grew up. I look forward to sharing this experience with you all through the Lumos blog!
More about me....
Major(s): Multimedia Production
My Stories
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Alone on the Roof of Africa
The Great White Mountain. Kilima Njaro. Ol’doinyo’oibor. The Roof of Africa. No mountain captures the imagination quite like Africa’s tallest, the biggest and
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The Men of Kilimanjaro
My guide would alternately march ahead of me to set a brisk pace up the ashen volcanic scree and fall far behind me
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Permit Me A Story
This is the story of a permit, or permits, or rather dozens of different forms and files and flagrant red tape that I
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Ol’doinyo’orok — The Black Mountain
For anyone growing up under Kilimanjaro, the inimitable snow-capped peak rising from the Kenyan and Tanzanian plains, there is a second mountain, literally
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Bada ya Tanzania
After a little over two weeks in Tanzania I’ve returned to Nairobi, having successfully bagged (and filmed) the other two major peaks on
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Team Tengeneza
They wanted to call themselves Team Simba, but I protested; it was so touristy. So they consented to “Team Tengeneza,” which means to
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Kirinyaga
I just spent 10 consecutive nights on Mt. Kenya, Kirinyaga, the heart and lifeblood of the country that’s inherited its name. Ascending Mt.
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Farther Up and Farther In
Here we go! I’m about to drive up to Mt. Kenya for a solid two weeks on the mountain, hiking, climbing, but most
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Ground Control to Ranger Tom
Ranger Tom, in his camouflage and galoshes, is a native of Meru, the gorgeous green hills east of Mt. Kenya. He has worked
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Naromoru
In the last month I’ve taken several trips to the small town of Naromoru to meet porters, guides, and their families and to
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Intimidation and Encouragement
In the last two weeks I’ve been darting around Nairobi interviewing contacts, collecting information, finalizing logistics and more. In less than a week
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On Kenyan Temporal Relativity
In my recent excursions making contacts, I’ve encountered two infamous African stereotypes and found them to be simultaneously very true and also more
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On Traffic
A quick note on traffic: I’m not sure how it’s possible, but there are both more vehicles and more pedestrians in Nairobi than
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A Second First Time in Africa
Over the past week I’ve been getting to know several Kenyan guides, shadowing them in their work, and laying groundwork for the film.
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Setting up base in Nairobi!
I’m in Nairobi! After a brief detour in Switzerland and some truly awful traffic (Nairobi has the second worst in the world!) I
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Getting Ready
In less than two weeks I will be a Belmont graduate and on a flight to Managua, Nicaragua. With my departure date so
