CLIMBING KILIMANJARO An Insider’s Story

ON TOP OF THE WORLD
Aimee Olson’s Kilimanjaro Experience

Tanzania‘s Mount Kilimanjaro is one of Africa’s most spectacular landmarks.

A behemoth of the climbing and natural worlds, Kilimanjaro is one of the world’s ‘seven summits’ – the seven tallest peaks on each of the seven continents. Despite its reputation with experienced hikers, it is considered the easiest ascent of the summits, requiring no special equipment and equally as accessible to novices as experts.

With porters carrying most of the burden, the is no need for heavy packs, and most reasonably fit, able-bodied walkers can make the climb to its snow-capped peak.

At a height of  19,341 feet (5,895m)  above sea level, it is the tallest mountain on the African continent and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Comprising three volcanic cones, Mawenzi and Shira are extinct, but Kibo – the highest peak – is dormant and, while presenting little activity, could erupt at any time. Thankfully the last major event was over 360,000 years ago, so any eruption is highly unlikely.

Beginning in the foothills of Tanzania and the mountain’s eponymous national park, the trek spans up to nine days over 35 miles (66km) and it is advised to take a more relaxed approach to the climb in order to acclimatize to the changing altitude.

Rothschild Travel Designer Aimee Olson shares her life-changing 2018 Kilimanjaro experience:

Preparation

I’m an avid hiker, and one of my walking friends asked me, ‘what do you think about climbing Kilimanjaro?’ And I just looked at her like, really? We’re just two middle-aged moms with little kids and kids in high school.

I’m not a runner or I’m not a powerlifter or any of those kinds of things, but I love to hike and be outdoors, so we started planning.

We planned almost a year in advance because we had to put a deposit down and one of the prerequisites that she wanted was to summit on a full moon; they wake you up at midnight, you have a simple little meal and then you start your trek up the mountain to Stella Point, which is the point that you reach before you go up to the top.

We wanted a few creature comforts, so we paid a little bit extra to have a smaller group with a few more amenities, though still not of the standard we usually book for Rothschild Safaris clients.

Planning for the trip, we trained consistently. I would literally walk around with a 20-pound weight vest on. I was trying to emulate what it was going to feel like at a high altitude to carry a day pack every day. I live at sea level, so I would go on walks for five or six miles a day.

I soon realized that it wasn’t so much the physical part of it that would challenge me, it was more a mental journey. I am someone who always has done everything for everybody. I’m a mom and a military wife, so there’s a lot of volunteer work and activities and things that you’re constantly in motion with, being a part of and supporting. And you aren’t really, and I don’t mean this negatively, you aren’t really your own person.

That was part of the reason why I wanted to do this; I wanted to prove that I could do something, that I could set my mind to something and live up to the challenge. So for me, before, during, and after, it was about the preparation, the anticipation of getting there.

The Summit

“On the final night at the summit, I almost gave up. We spent the last night at 16,000 feet and that altitude is a big part of the challenge.

If someone is suffering from altitude sickness, the only way to recover is to go down, and they will immediately take you down if you’re not doing well. They’re constantly monitoring you. They had a little oximeter to check your oxygen level on a regular basis. I always felt I was well taken care of and that the guides weren’t pushing me per se. But on the last day, I felt like the little engine that could as I put one foot in front of the other. It’s dark, you can’t see how straight up it is despite a full moon, and I was thinking to myself, ‘you can do this, you’ve got this’.

And then it was the anticipation… ‘okay, we’ve just got to keep going’. We made it to Uhuru Peak and its infamous sign that everybody talks about, but I remember being in a daze at that point because, at 19,000 feet, the guides were guiding me along, holding my hand to make sure that I would keep going.

The moment we summited, all the weariness, the altitude sickness, the aches and pains – I didn’t feel any of it. 

The Descent

I can remember being so excited even on the way down because once you’ve been to the peak, you don’t get to linger up there. It’s not a place where you stand around and take lots of pictures. You get your photo, you spend a short amount of time up there and then you start going back down because they don’t want you to get sick. We went back to our camp and had an opportunity to rest. They had a great big meal for us and a celebration because we had all made it to the top. After the celebration, they packed up camp and we started our descent. 

Heading down the mountain, you spend one night at 10,000 feet and then the next day you return to your lodge. It was a celebration even when we got back there because it was so exhilarating. And I remember having this overwhelming sense of accomplishment. I mean, I’ve had accomplishments in my life, but that was a big one.

When I say that it was life-changing, I mean that in the sense of having accomplished something for myself. I was the only one that was going to do that. For me I felt like it was a pivotal moment of being able to accomplish anything; doesn’t matter how old I am, what kind of shape I’m in, where I am or what I’m doing. It really changed my perspective on life beyond Kilimanjaro. My husband was retiring, my kids were going off to college –  a lot of things coming together at the same time. I really think that I fared well through a lot of those transitions because I would say to myself, ‘you know what? You can do this, you’ve got this’.

How Imperative Is Physical Training?

Very. I don’t think I would have been able to place one foot in front of the other had I not had some sort of walking or hiking endurance. On the summit day, I was not thinking about the physical part of it at all – it was all, ‘I got this, I can breathe, I’m going to keep going, I feel good’.

So by training, you knock out that physical aspect so you don’t have to worry about the muscles and the legs. You just need to focus on altitude and your mental fortitude.

However, here’s something else I want to point out: It is more than physical. I have seen people who are physically fit, but not make it to the top because of how the altitude affects everyone differently.

Discuss numerous Kilimanjaro explorations with a Rothschild Safaris Travel Designer.