75km on foot - climbing from 2020m to 5895m - heat, sun, wind, rain and snow, temperature on summit day at Uhuru peak was -20C. 5 climatic zones. Kilimanjaro - the roof of Africa.
We walked for 3 days and on the 4th day we arrived at Kibo Base Camp at 4720m. Our sub-group of 11 people left base camp at 00:15 and reached Uhuru Peak (5895m) at 06:35. That is 6 km to the summit. We stopped only for 3-5 minutes to catch our breath, have a drink, get some sugar, and continued the ascent to avoid getting cold. And the most important thing: we walked slowly! Our guide kept slowing us down, saying "pole-pole", which means going at a slow steady pace. In hypoxic conditions, especially for newbies you do not want to go too fast and use up all your oxygen.
At 5000m the amount of O2 in the air drops to 50% of that at sea level. Thanks to my breath training, I did not need additional oxygen and I avoided other symptoms of altitude/acute mountain sickness (AMS). But there were quite a few of us who started developing AMS symptoms as early as 3,000m, and they suffered from weakness, dizziness, nausea, severe headaches and even hallucinations!
This expedition was not only about overcoming myself and getting out of my comfort zone, but also about team spirit, unity and connection. Also this ascent was very symbolic and timely for me - for some time now I've been going through some change, closing one chapter of my life and starting a new one. There are many mountains, inner and outer ones, and I already have at least two in the pipeline!
Karima Jam
10 июл 2022
