From the roof of Africa

There is adventure on Kilimanjaro, there is danger, you’re watching a movie and are in the movie, at the same time. It’s a memory for a lifetime, writes Dr Chittaranjan Andrade

Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano, located in Tanzania, three degrees south of the equator. It is one of the seven summits of the world; that is, the tallest mountains in the seven continents. It is also the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, one of the tallest land volcanoes, and one of
the tallest land mountains from base to summit.

Kilimanjaro is also the only place in Africa where it snows and, in fact, where there are enormous glaciers on different parts of the mountain. Climbing Kilimanjaro is technically not difficult. However, it is very challenging because of the speed at which the ascents are scheduled.

Kilimanjaro is nearly 6,000 m (nearly 20,000 feet) in height. To be precise, Uhuru Peak, the highest summit, is at an altitude of 5,895 m (19,341 feet). At that altitude, the quantity of oxygen in the air is less than 50% than at sea level, and unless climbers are acclimatised to the thin air, they struggle to breathe. In fact, every step can be an effort. Acclimatisation is a slow process.

The author at Uhuru Peak

Climbers on Kilimanjaro summit the 20,000-foot mountain in just four to five days. Almost everybody suffers altitude sickness during the ascent; in some, complications of acute mountain sickness are sufficiently serious to require a stretcher or even helicopter evacuation from designated camps at different levels on the mountain.

The ascent of Kilimanjaro is possible through any of the six different routes, and descent by either of two designated routes. All routes pass through five geographical zones: the cultivation zone, the tropical rain forest zone, the moorland zone, the alpine desert zone, and the arctic zone. The
views are different on all routes, and all are spectacular. Thousands of climbers, in teams from all parts of the world, attempt Kilimanjaro each year, and about half reach at least Gilman’s Point on the crater rim, if not Stella Point,and Uhuru Peak, the final summit. Some routes offer better chances of success than others, but the critical factor is time: slower ascents are more likely to succeed.

The deans of St John's Medical College and NIMHANS at Gillman's Point

The summit push from base camp starts at midnight, with climbers wearing headlamps and dressed in five or more layers of clothing because temperatures can fall to -20 degrees Celsius. On summit night, climbers have to ascend about 5,000 feet to reach Uhuru Peak. To get a sense of perspective, this is like climbing a 500-storey building during a night without sleep, using just one lung, and in subzero temperatures.
The day does not end there. After summitting, climbers need to descend to base camp, and then to a lower level, to avoid complications of mountain sickness. So this means going for up to 36 hours without sleep. It now becomes very obvious that it’s not just fitness but a very high level of motivation, determination, and mental fitness that climbers need to summit Kilimanjaro. If you’ve read stories of people who have climbed Kilimanjaro on crutches or in wheelchairs, be rest assured that they received plenty of help.

Jambo, meaning ‘Hello’, is a common Swahili greeting on the mountain. Mambo is also Swahili; so now you can guess where the phrase ‘mumbo jumbo’ comes from. If you have watched the Disney movie Lion King, you will also recognise Hakuna Matata, and other words, in Swahili songs that the porters and guides love to sing in camp. There is adventure on Kilimanjaro, there is danger, you’re watching a movie and are in the movie, at the same time. It’s a memory for a lifetime.