Blind Burnaby, B.C., man training to climb Kilimanjaro with his son

For some people, hiking is all about the view at the top — but not for Burnaby's Bill Der.

Der is almost completely blind, and along with his son Spencer Der, he's planning to climb the tallest mountain in Africa this September, both to raise money for charity and to honour his late wife.

"A lot of things that we had planned to do in the future just never came to fruition," Der said of his wife of 35 years, Lana, who died suddenly due to stomach cancer last year.

"As I move forward without my wife, things began to gel in my head that, hey, I need to do some of the things I plan now for a future that may never come about."

Der was diagnosed with glaucoma in 1975 when he was in his third year of university and 22-years-old. By 1986, he was legally blind.

He now has only about one to two per cent vision remaining. He can see some shadows, depending on lighting conditions, but nothing more than that.

But Der was never a big hiker before losing his sight. In fact, it wasn't until 2009, when some friends convinced him to try to the Grouse Grind, that he really got into it.

"I thought, 'OK, well, let's give it a shot,'" he said. "Then once that happened, a couple more times and I was hooked."

He's climbed the Grind every weekend it's been open since.

Between his son and some other friends, Der has worked out a system involving a stick held by both himself and his guide to indicate turns and elevation change.

The guide describes the terrain underfoot as they go, and Der constantly sweeps the ground in front of him with his hiking pole.

"I have to sweep constantly and be aware that there's potential drops or instant climbs up that I have to feel for," Der said.

"Sweeping becomes very important. It gets very tricky and you have to be really focused."

For their climb up the tallest mountain in Africa, the Ders have been training with a regimen of exercise, diet, and numerous hikes up local mountains — including plenty of trips up the Grouse Grind.

Though spurred into action by his wife's death, the idea to climb Kilimanjaro had been kicking around in Der's head for some time.

He first became interested in serious mountaineering after hearing about Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to summit Everest who later started a foundation that took blind kids to the mountain's base camp.

"When I read that, I figured, oh, well, that would be something I wouldn't mind getting interested in," Der said.

Later, Der met a woman on the Grouse Grind who was training for a major climb. She suggested he try Kilimanjaro first.

When Der and his son head up the mountain on Sept. 10, it will be more than just a hike — it will mark the start of a new phase in their lives.

"Lana's not with me now, but I want to pay tribute to her as we reach the summit, to sort of thank her for bringing Spencer and myself to the pinnacle of life," Der said.

"As we come down from the mountain, we'll keep her in our hearts moving forward into the future, with a focus of helping others as she has helped us."

The younger Der echoes the sentiment.

"As we summit, we'll definitely be thinking about her, and as we come down, it's about starting a new life, and to look into the future with new experiences."

Bill and Spencer Der are raising money to support both the Alzheimer's Society of B.C. and the Down Syndrome Research Foundation for the climb. You can follow their progress on Bill Der's blog.

With files from CBC Radio One's The Early Edition.