It Was a Peak Performance for All : Special Olympics: Not even the snows of Kilimanjaro could keep San Diego’s Francisco Villasenor from reaching the top of the African mountain, but those who came up a bit short accomplished a lot, too.

Nothing was going to keep Francisco Villasenor from reaching the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and nothing did. Illness did stop Diane Hall some 1,500 feet from the summit, but she isn’t brooding about it.

Villasenor, of East San Diego, and Hall, of Santee, were among 12 Special Olympics athletes from California who went on a recent expedition to Africa. Hall was the only woman and also the youngest at 19, but nothing bothered her until an attack of food poisoning that forced her to turn back early on the final day.

As with everyone involved in what was called the Kilimanajaro Confidence Climb, Hall said she was as big a winner as Villasenor and the four others who went all the way.

Looking back after returning home, Hall said, “It was easy, just regular climbing and hiking. It was heartbreaking when I got sick, and I cried. But I’m ready to go again.”

The climbers were plagued from the start by foul weather--rain, hail, gale-force winds and finally an unseasonable snowstorm described as one of the worst to hit the 19,340-foot Tanzanian mountain in 75 years. As a result, six of the 12 were held back at 17,500 feet, and Hall’s misfortune left five to complete the climb.

For Villasenor, 22, who is nicknamed Cisco, just reaching the top wouldn’t have been enough. He wanted to be the first to get there, and nobody who knows him was surprised that he was.

Walter Jackson, area director of San Diego County Special Olympics, said he and others in the local office had predicted that Villasenor would be No. 1.

“We were totally convinced that if only one person made it, Cisco would be the one,” Jackson said. “His history is that he won’t quit no matter what happens. If it killed him, he was going to get there.

“He not only has tremendous determination, he has the athletic ability to do anything he wants to do. His quickness, strength and stamina are amazing.”

Karen Wilson of Newport Beach, the volunteer tour director, called Villasenor “tireless.” She also took note of his ever-positive attitude.

“He wears a permanent smile,” Wilson said. “All the coaches fell in love with him. He was sick the next to last day, but he kept saying, ‘Today I’m sick, but tomorrow I’ll be better, because I’m going to climb the mountain.’ He was everybody’s favorite.”

Besides Villasenor, those who climbed to the top were Stoney Sherman and Joe Hayden of Imperial Valley, David Heffernan of Foster City and Jeffrey Scott of Brea.

Others on the trip included Steve Hickey of Vista, Gary Stubblefield of Carlsbad, Patrick Hulsbus and Tim Shorten of Tiburon, Steve Sepulveda of Temple City and Damon Parker of San Luis Obispo.

When it was determined that the weather--the snow near the top was hip high--made it too hazardous to send all 12 climbers on the final leg, Hall was not among those chosen to continue. She became an added starter at the last minute.

“Our food was running out, and the storm was getting worse,” Wilson said. “The master guide told us it was dangerous, and some of the climbers were sick. We made the decision to send five climbers, five coaches and five guides. We decided on that number because we had only five professional guides, plus only five of our coaches had previous mountain-climbing experience.

“I wanted to go myself and, individually, I was very disappointed, but the team was the most important thing. Diane was disappointed, too, but the next morning we changed our minds and allowed her to go up without a coach.

“Needless to say, she was very excited. But after an hour and a half, she got sick, and one of the coaches, Terry Cotter, volunteered to go back with her.

“That was too bad. Diane is a unique, fascinating person.”

Hall spoke in equally glowing terms of Wilson, 40, a mother of children aged 13 and 11.

“I loved her,” Hall said, “She was like my mom.”

The venture was the second Special Olympics brainchild of Jim Benson, 43, a Los Angeles insurance executive and a board member of California Special Olympics. In October 1987, Benson organized a cross-country bicycle ride for 25 California Special Olympians.

Not surprisingly, the food, which was prepared by hired porters, left a bit to be desired.

“They only served us lamb, chicken and fish, and I got sick of it,” Hall said. “The vegetables weren’t cooked, and I think that’s why some people got sick.”

On the fifth day of the seven-day journey, the party stopped at Arrow Glacier, 15,700 feet up. The next day, a crater and ash pit not only invited exploration but posed a challenge.

“Going inside the crater was the toughest part of the whole climb,” Villasenor said. “It was hard to walk in there.”

The unexpected snowstorm also presented problems.

“We were kind of hoping the snow would go away, but it didn’t let up,” Hall said. “We had hiking boots, but they weren’t snow-proof. We started out in shorts and wound up with five layers of clothing.”

As long as it was going to snow, Villasenor made the most of it.

“When it snowed, we built snowmen,” he said. “I made the mother and baby, and Diane made the father. That was fun.

The climactic climb began at 4 a.m. on Feb. 22 and took 10 hours because of 50-m.p.h. winds and zero visibility.

“When we got to the top, we yelled, ‘We made it. We made it.’ We put up a flag, and we sang a song that we had made up. But when we looked out, it was too foggy to see anything. All we could see was air.”

The successful group stayed only 15 minutes before heading back down, and spent the night in a tourist hut that had something welcomed by all . . . a stove.

Then climbers then went all the way down to the starting point at the Kibo Hotel in one day. Then followed two days in Nairobi, some sightseeing and a farewell dinner before the flight back to Los Angeles.

“Everybody cried,” Hall said, “and we made a promise to get together again.”