Kilimattjaro

My journey to reach the roof of Africa

Category Archives: General

Job Done!

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Job Done!

We reached Kilimanjaro’s 5,895M / 19,341ft summit at Uhuru Peak on Sunday 23rd June at 06.45am. It was by some measure the most challenging thing I’ve done so far. I’ve posted a set of photos to my Kilimattjaro Facebook Page.

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Just a little prick…

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I’m a human pin cushion – well that’s how it felt today when I went for my first set of travel shots for Tanzania.  I’ve never been a big fan of injections (well who is?) but to be fair the experience wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I’d imagined – just a few little pricks and I was done for this month. Here’s what I’ve been getting protection against:

  • Hepatitis A & B – Liver complaints and given I’m fundraising for PSC and have seen at first hand the impact liver disease can have this was a “no brainer”. It needs 2 follow up shots after 1 month and 6 months but the first 2 will cover me for my June trip to Kilimanjaro. Covered by the UK NHS.
  • Measles/Mumps /Rubella – 2 shots so I need to go back in a month. Not normally needed but there was no record of me having these as a child  on the system so they gave them “just in case” I hadn’t had them. Covered by the UK NHS.
  • Tetanus/Diphtheria/Polio – single shot which lasts 10 years. Covered by the UK NHS.
  • Typhoid – Tablets but needed to be bought from a pharmacy after getting a private prescription (£15 from my GP).
  • Cholera – Liquid but needed to be bought from a pharmacy after getting a private prescription.
  • Malaria – Prescribed Malarone tablets which you just need to start taking 1-2 days before travel , whilst you’re away and for 7 days once home. Needed to be bought from a pharmacy after getting a private prescription?

I didn’t get a sticker from the nurse for being a big brave boy though…


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Kebabs and the Rongai Route

7 months, 29 days to go before I leave for Kilimanjaro…

After many hours of online research of many different combinations of flights I’ve finally settled on Turkish Airlines to Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO) via Istanbul as they were almost 40% cheaper than the KLM alternative I was looking at. The only down side is I have to overnight in Istanbul – still a night in an airport hotel is a modest amount and I like the odd Kebab now and again 😉  I’ve flown with Turkish Airlines before and always found them to have a modern fleet of aircraft and good service.  I’m also going to give myself 48 hours in Tanzania to rest, recuperate and hydrate before my climb.

I’ll be staying in Arusha which is where my chosen climb operator, Team Kilimanjaro is based. As it looks like I’ll be doing the trip alone I’ve booked on to a pre-scheduled open group climb organised by Henry Stedman the author of the definitive guide book “Kilimanjaro: The Trekking Guide to Africa’s Highest Mountain”.  Between 18 – 24th June 2013 I’m going to be doing TK’s variation on the Rongai route up Kilimanjaro which they say offers excellent acclimatisation opportunities. I’m now pondering which hotel / lodgings to select. Whilst I don’t want to slum it I don’t really want some fancy air-conditioned hotel either as I want to ease my way into the climb and get used to the local conditions – it’s not like the Mountain will be offering me AC, mini-bar and satellite TV is it…

My fitness is slowly improving as I’ve extended my cycling circuit and improve on my times. I currently feel like I’m getting my fitness up to the point where I can start training in earnest – kind of “getting fit enough to get fit”. The months will soon fly buy and once I’m into the New Year I’m definitely going to have to up the training I think.  Haven’t really lost much more weight but I’ve had two weeks travelling with my work – never easy to avoid opportunities to over eat or enjoy the odd drink or two.  Generally feeling good though, energy levels are up and what used to be almost chronic indigestion has disappeared so something positive is already coming out of my exercising. Better not have too many Kebabs then…


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Doctors in the Death Zone

I just caught a replay of BBC’s 2007 Horizon program “Doctors in the Death Zone” which followed a group of British intensive care clinicians researching the effects of hypoxia on the human body with a view to gaining new insight to help critically ill patients. Everest makes a pretty cool laboratory! If you’re quick and in the uk you can still catch the second part of the program on iPlayer.  The team is looking to revisit Everest in 2013 to do further research – more details on their web site www.xtreme-everest.co.uk

They said that 1 in 15 attempts to summit Everest result in a climber’s death and that often was associated to the affects of hypoxia. It was eye opening to see the affects of altitude and reduced oxygen on some of the climbers. Everest is over 29,000ft but even on Kilimanjaro’s slightly more modest 19,340ft slopes the affects of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is apparently still felt by most climbers during their ascent. I’ll be doing more reading on this I think!