Kilimanjaro's perils and pitfalls

[caption id="attachment_160185" align="alignright" width="300"] Guy Pitman and Andrew Smith approach the foot of Kilimanjaro
File picture: Marianne Schwankhart[/caption]

It’s no secret that climbing the African continent’s highest peak comes with its fair share of pitfalls and perils‚ but the death of South African racing driver Gugu Zulu while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro serves as a warning to future climbers.

Conquering the mountain is not only a matter of skill and training‚ but also coping with a change in altitude.

Tanzania’s National Parks website describes Kilimanjaro as the tallest free-standing mountain in the world‚ “rising in breathtaking isolation from the surrounding coastal scrubland – elevation around 900m – to an imperious 5 895m”.

However‚ senior tour consultant for Climbing Kilimanjaro‚ Annalé van Rensburg‚ said that conquering the mountain required a combination of skill‚ training and being able to cope with the change of altitude.

“We normally recommend to our clients that they keep in mind not to go too fast too quickly‚ to allow their bodies time to acclimatise‚” she said.

Van Rensburg said there were various routes on the mountain‚ one that specifically offers climbers the option to climb high and sleep low.

“That means the trail goes up to a higher altitude but then you descend a couple of metres and that’s there you spend the night. That climb high‚ sleep low option helps your body to produce oxygen in the blood and also helps the body adjust to the altitude and prevents the body from experiencing acute mountain sickness (AMS)‚” Van Rensburg said.

Some of the signs of AMS include‚ dehydration‚ headaches and disorientation – all as a result of the lower oxygen levels at higher altitudes.

“It can become more severe … causing breathing problems. It could also cause swelling of the brain and if it is not picked up soon enough it could be fatal‚" she said.

The cause of Zulu’s death has not been confirmed. Three days ago he posted an image on social media saying‚ “Am having flu like symptoms and struggling with the mountain but taking it step by step!!”

The death of a climber‚ said Van Rensburg‚ could also be related to the fact that they may have done a route in a shorter period of time – in other words‚ climbing too high‚ too fast – and their body did not have sufficient time to adjust.

Other health issues and risks stated on the Climbing Kilimanjaro website include; hypothermia and sun-related injuries. Van Rensburg said she and her husband were both shaken after hearing about Zulu’s death.

“As I am sitting here‚ I am still shaking‚ my husband follows Gugu Zulu’s career on Instagram‚ we are all really shocked‚” she said.

- TMG Digital