Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Kilimanjaro Trip Report (Jan. 8-17, 2012)

Hello folks. Back from a fabulous trip to Kili. Best vacation ever. We did the Lemosho route, lots of acclimatization, with a day time summit. Here are pictures:

First sight of Kili when hiking toward Shira 1 camp.



Sunrise from Shira 1 camp (all the sunrises were amazing)



Kili getting bigger as we approach Shira 2




Giant Senecio on the way to Shira 2 Camp



Shira 2 Camp





Arrow Camp/Western Breach (acclimatization hike)



Leaving Lava Camp



Barranco Valley







Barranco Wall



Kissing Rock on Barranco Wall



Karanga Camp



On the way to Barafu and Crossover Camps





My tent at Crossover Camp



Mount Mawenzi as the sun rises



Climbing to the summit....



Glaciers near summit



Stella Point!



First sight of summit



Crater/Ash pit



Summit!!! (Yes, they did replace the old sign)



Last view of Kili on the way down....

Beautiful pictures. The glacier looks a lot larger than I expected. I remember being disappointed with some of the recent pictures compared to its former glory.

Who did you use for the guide Akichow?

I used Thompson Treks. They are big, they are highly professional, and they are very expensive. I knew all that going in, and was and remain happy with my choice, but the group was on the large size (I think 6-8 clients is probably optimal). We did all summit, several of us joyously.

I am glad I did the long Lemosho route this time, as I needed all that acclimatization. I would consider, as an alternative, doing Rongai in a smaller group (i.e., the type of trek I understand that Kurt Wedberg organizes).

AWESOME!!!! So happy to hear you made the summit and home in great shape. Great photos & TR.

I'm guessing your four legged hiking buddy was excited to see you.

Congratulations Karen! That has to be an extremely satisfying accomplishment after pouring so much time, effort and money into the trip. Sounds like you definitely made the right call with guides. Looking forward to hearing some details about the adventure.

So, you've now got 19K' under your belt. What's next? You gotta go for 20K-plus - Aconcagua?

Congrats again!

Wazzu, yes, I got a very warm welcome back from Sasha! She is owed a special hike weekend....

Bulldog, yup, I have to admit that Aconcagua did run through my head a few times the last few weeks. But too technical for me. I do think I am going to give Shasta another shot this Spring ... and playing with Kearsarge Pass-Whitney, or Langley for this summer. Thinking of Bhutan or Everest area trek when I next have the funds, which may be a while.... Any suggestions?

The big surprise was how good I felt at the summit. Indeed, I had an appetite, and we enjoyed a picnic of corned beef, vegetable pastries, cheese, bread, cookies, fruit, etc. Shortly after the summit, my oxygen saturation measured 91, and my resting pulse was 62. Based on the pattern of prior measurements, I give 50 percent of the credit to the relatively gentle ascent profile, and 50 percent of the credit to, yes, Diamox. I had some substantially less-good readings earlierin the trip before I upped my Diamox dosage (initially at 62.5 mg once a day before sleep, which was not sufficient).

Here are some safari pictures....

This big fella was not even in a national park. He was off the "highway" just outside of Arusha.



These guys marked a Land Rover (yes, I have pictures) and then kept moving.



So many zebras....



Wildebeest



Why did the Ostrich cross the road?



Turns out that warthogs are really cute. It's not just Lion King.



This girl came right up to my (open) car window and plopped down for a nap outside my door. Apparently, they see Land Rovers as shade providers.

Nice report. But I was very saddened to see that the old summit sign on Uhuru Peak was replaced. I don't know why they do such things. Should the 103 year-old Whitney hut be torn down, and a nice modern structure put up in its place?

Here is what it looked like last February.

Your route and ours (Umbwe route) crossed, in the vicinity of Arrow Camp and Lava Rock.

Yes, I was disappointed to see the new sign. In my mind's eye, my goal that I had visualized was the old sign. But this means that at least some of the tourist money generated by park fees is going back into the park (apparently an issue about which the porters and guides are concerned).

Congratulations, Karen! What a wonderful adventure, and great pics, too! Sounds like you managed yourself really well, especially with those readings up high. Amazing!

Don't count yourself out of something like Aconcagua. Never say never! This life road winds and twists in myterious (well, sometimes not so mysterious! ) ways. Kearsarge Pass would actually be a great place to solidify some of those technical snow skills in the spring!

Congrats, again,
L

When you lead a trek up Aconcagua, sign me up!

Highly recommend a Bhutan trek. Very few outsiders are permitted to enter each year so there are few foreign travelers in the country. I went in 1998 so things might have changed slightly.

Thanks for the recommendation! Ever since I watched some BBC program, I've been intrigued by Bhutan.

Aha, with Steve's help, I figured out the problem. Here are the rest of the safari pictures.

More lions




So many amazing sunrises...









Love the hippos...





So long, folks!

Great photos Karen - that had to be the adventure of a lifetime! I've been wondering about what challenges you faced while you were at such a high elevation. I know you were well-prepared for just about anything, but any moments where the trip slipped from "Damn, this is fun!" to "Oh s__t! What was I thinking?!" How was the sleeping and appetite at 18K'? Did the Diamox and O2 regimen work out OK? Have to break out the Dex at any point? From your various posts, it appears there were a lot of altitude casualties on the mountain with other guides. I'd say you made a great choice in guide services.

As for breaking that 20K' threshold, with the notable exception of Denali (with some real technical aspects as well as notoriously ill-tempered weather), you'll have to head for the Andes or Asia. Even an Everest Base Camp trek wouldn't get you to 20K', I don't believe. Therefore, as Laura mentioned, get those winter technical skills going! You're now in truly big-girl territory! Way to go!

Loved the TR. Congratulations on a spectacular feat.

Brent N

yep me too!

Bulldog,

These are the exact questions that I have been pondering. So I am delighted to respond. I loved the trip, and did not find it overtaxing, but there were a few challenges, and at one point, when I was underdosing Diamox, I do think I veered into AMS territory (despite the good acclimatization route), and thought I might have to quit. A few points.

1. While I was not the fittest person in the group, I had by far the easiest time on the mountain, and also the most fun. I believe this is because I was the only person who hiked weekly (and backpacked) in the 8-10 weeks before the trip. The others relied heavily on the gym, stair climbing, biking, and other activities to train. Different muscles, different rhythm than hiking, etc. They were adapting to a type of activity that I do all the time. (I found Mission Peak, in Fremont, to be a terrific winter training hike for Kili.)

2. The other reason I think I had the most fun is because, although my mountaineering experience is limited, I have picked up some skills that helped me conserve energy. I used a rest step extensively on summit day, and I also did some pressure breathing here and there. I showed others the techniques, but people feel silly I guess, so only 1 or 2 folks took me up on these suggestions. Be that as it may, at the end of summit day, I was still full of energy, while everyone else crashed in their tents. (While Kili is strenuous, in my opinion, climbing Shasta from Helen Lake to the Thumb is even more so.)

3. Yes, there WAS a moment where I thought I might not be able to summit. It occurred the day before the summit day, when I was hiking from Barafu to Crossover Camp (i.e., 16,000'). This is a short hike that only gains about 800-1000 feet, and is done in perhaps an hour. I had skipped the morning dose of Diamox (in the Eastern Sierras, I only take 62.5 mg once a day, before dinner), reasoning that Diamox does its best work at night. I felt fine so long as we were moving (probably because I was breathing at an elevated rate due to exertion). However, whenever we stopped, a headache would start. Before the lunch break at Barafu, the headache was manageable -- I would pressure breathe, and just walk around. After the lunch break though, we did a climb that had some scramble to it, and each time we would pause, I would get a horrible pulsing headache. I could not stop visualizing what was going on in my brain, and the potential for HACE -- just felt like something in there would explode. It was scary. So when we got to camp, instead of resting, I spent an hour walking around the camp. Nonetheless, that night, my 02 blood saturation was the lowest in the group (74 percent), and my heartrate was elevated (105 or so). After talking with the head guide, I upped my Diamox to 62.5 mg every six hours through the summit. I did not experience another headache, not a mild one, not a severe one, none. Following the summit, my 02 blood saturation was 91 percent, and my resting heart rate had gone down to 62. Sure, some of that was the process of coming down from 19,300 feet. But still. Diamox did its job, IMHO.

4. I had no appetite problems on summit day ... just the opposite, no doubt because by that point, I really was properly acclimatized. I felt great. Before we reached the summit, we stopped for lunch just under 19,000 feet. I scarfed down, with no problem, a large lunch of corned beef, cheese, a roll, a vegetable filled pastry, cookies, and fruit. No nausea. No appetite issues.

An odd thing to me is that only two of us brought electrolytes. They saved me early in the trip when I was battling dehydration due to a bad reaction to their water treatment chemicals (for the rest of the trip, I ended up treating my own water with a Steripen that I brought). I then ended up handing out my electrolytes like candy to others as various issues arose in the group and were then addressed. I think that the outfitters would do well to (1) supply electrolytes, an (2) encourage folks to bring them.

I anticipate that my future Diamox dosing will be as follows.

Sleeping altitude less than 13,000 feet: 62.5 mg/once a day, before sleeping.

Sleeping altitude higher than 13,000 feet: 62.5 mg/twice a day, to be adjusted if necessary.

Thanks for that summary. The thing I battle with most is AMS and the headaches. Like you, the moment I start to get a headache, my imagination goes wild, and thoughts of my head exploding pop up.

I'm really surprised by your statement about Shasta being more strenuous.

I should clarify: overall, climbing Kili over 8-9 days is probably more of sustained effort than climbing Shasta. But in terms of 4-5 hour blocks, I didn't experience anything on Kili that was nearly as exhausting as slapping on crampons and going up to the Thumb in icy conditions, and coming back down (to be fair, conditions when I did Shasta were tough, and glissading was not possible). I believe that is 2600 feet in less than a mile; nothing compares to that on the nontechnical trails up Kilimanjaro.

On headaches, this was my first significant altitude headache ever, and it was a doozer. Frontal lobe, pulsing, and completely debilitating. An unambiguous warning that I could not ignore. On the bright side, I now know what to look for ... and avoid!

sounds like a really great adventure. And a testiment to proper planning and preparation making it an enjoyable experience. (and it sounds like your preparation with electrolytes probably made things better for a few of your group).

I can really relate to your comments about how people train other than doing climbing. One guy in our group of 7 was from Kansas and all he did was bike alot, no altitude or any real uphill or downhill hiking. He was mid 40s and 5 of us were 50-73 with one 32. Going downhill was the worst as he used a wooden hiking stick to control his descent and went at best 1/4 to 1/3rd mph. He actually got a jeep ride down the last part of the Mweka Route as the group had been waiting hrs for him to get down with his guide. He said : " I never prepared for downhill at all and using different muscles wiped me out completely."

We went up the Western Shira Plateau, spent 7 nights on the Mt and came down the Mweka Route. This was 1994 and I used Mt Madness when Scott Fischer was still alive. Whoever mentioned that their admin people were poor, I would go one step further and say they were the worst I have come across as they made alot of mailing mistakes and put out incorrect info to several of the 7 on the trip. I do not know what the company is like now as it has changed hands since my trip. The African tour group that Mt Madness used was Excellent.

I enjoyed your pictures as your route was very similar to the one we took as the routes merge after the 2nd day and then split off again above Lava Tower. We entered at Londorossi and passed Lava Camp, Arrow Camp and went through the Western Breach, camping in the inner crater at 18,800'.

We met Kyle, who was born with no arms or legs, on the mountain, a few minutes after he summited Kilimanjaro. Here is his story.

http://www.missionkilimanjaro.com/overview.html

Akichow, you mentioned taking frequent oximeter readings. In this thread http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/topic/1433/gonew/1 Harvey, Ken and George all discounted the use of the oximeter in predicting AMS and HAPE. How and why did you use the oximeter?

Brent N

The outfitter/lead guide organized nightly oximeter and pulse readings. The readings were not specifically "used" for anything per se while we were on the mountain(though I suppose if someone's readings had been really low, perhaps that would have informed action somehow). I found, personally, that that readings correlated with other indications of how well I was doing with altitude (e.g., the quality of sleep I would have that evening, likeliness of headaches, tendency to spaciness, etc.).

More than anything, it was the extremeley horrible, pulsating, frontal lobe headache that I experienced during a rest stop just as we were nearing our camp (at 16,300') the afternoon before our summit attempt that encouraged me to revisit my very low Diamox dosage (when hiking in the Sierras, I usually take about 1/4 to 1/8 of the "normal" dosage, specifically to address periodic breathing at night, which I do experience above 11,000 feet). I had never, either on Kili, or anywhere else, experienced such a headache before. I observed that, after I increased my Diamox dosage on Kilimanjaro, not only did I feel better, and not experience any further headaches (whether mild or pulsating), but my readings also improved substantially (91% 02, 62 resting pulse, at 16,300 feet, up from 74%, and a 105 resting pulse). I am not suggesting anything scientific, like direct cause and effect, of course, but just reporting an observation.

Congratulations on making it to the summit! I was on the mountain when you were! I summitted on January 10th. It is such an amazing adventure. We hiked via the Machame Route and used Good Earth Tours. I didn't take Diamox and did experience some AMS symtoms, but it didn't stop me. Thanks for sharing your pics!

Congrats to you too! Small world! Big mountain!

Karin, congratulations on your trip.
Some thoughts:

If the O2sat had stayed too low for many hours and unresponsive to rest and rehydration, then HAPE would have been the explanation.

Your relatively fast response at the rest stop (for how long? 1 hour?) suggests you had "desaturated" with overexertion at 16,000 ft, something that does not happen at sea level.

The fact that you improved all the way back up to 91% at 16,000 implies good acclimatization, in fact, really good, at least as far as that component of high altitude living is concerned.

The resolution of symptoms could have been some unknown combination of rest, rehydration, refueling, and the Diamox. Just curious, did you carry any steroids like Dex for emergency use?

Harvey

Hello. Yes, I did carry steriods (Dexamethasone). The lead guide also had steriods. I did not use them. Had the pulsating headache persisted, I would have given up on further climbing and possibly broken out the Dex--there was no ambiguity about the pain.

I want to emphasize that my biggest surprise and takeaway was how amazingly great I felt on summit day, all the way to 19,300' feet. I did not know it was possible to feel so great at such a high altitude. The relatively small issues I experienced were in the days before the summit, and I believe tied to a number of issues (Diamox dosage, GI issues/dehydration, acclimatization, etc.).

What occurred was little more complicated, with a few more factors, than what my prior postings conveyed. For those who are interested in the details of such things, here is some more context. For those who are not...please ignore!

The first time my 02 dropped during the trip into the 70s (i.e., 78% oxygen sat) was on Day 4, when we camped at around 15,000 feet. I was battling dehydration, caused by a bad GI reaction to water treatment used by the outfitter (PUR water treatment packets I think). That night I had a mild, diffuse headache (nothing scary), was a bit spacey (and aware of it), and did not sleep well. My appetite stayed high,though. I rebounded by (1) doing my own water treatment from then on (Steripen), (2) taking a single dose of Immodium,(3) swigging water and electrolytes like there was no tomorrow, (4) taking a pre-dinner acclimatization hike up to Arrow Camp before sleeping on Day 4, and finally (5) having the benefit of a good acclimatization route, as on Day 5, we went back down and slept at 13,000. So by day 5, I was back in the 90s.

Then we went up to 16,300' (Crossover Camp) on Day 6. I did not take Diamox that morning when we left 13,000'(a mistake, I came to believe). I was fine for most of the hike up to our lunch stop, except as we got close to our lunch stop at Barafu Camp (15,400'), I started getting mild headaches whenever we stopped moving for rest breaks. I could manage the headaches to a tolerable level by staying in motion while everyone rested, and doing some pressure breathing. After our lunch break at Barafu Camp, though, I ran into trouble. We had another 800-900 feet or so to get to Crossover Camp. As we got close to our destination, we had a small scramble, and then a short rest, and during the rest, my head exploded into a pulsating, frontal lobe headache. Moving slowly and pressure breathing helped, but it was still scary. When we started climbing again, the headache subsided. When we got to Crossover Camp, everyone else got into their tents for a nap. I just circled the campsite slowly for an hour, not wanting to stop moving right away. The headache did not come back, but I did feel a little spacey, and was back in the 70s (74%) at dinner when we were tested. My appetite remained good. Everyone else was in the 80s or 90s, and everyone else was taking full doses of Diamox.

That night, which was the night before our summit, I took 62.5 mg before going to sleep, and but experienced periodic breathing. So, at midnight, I decided to up my Diamox dosage, and took another 62.5 mg, which did solve the periodic breathing problem. After talking with the guide in the morning, I took another 62.5 six hours later (i.e., 6:30 a.m.), and another 62.5 mg after lunch (12:30 p.m.). I had no more headaches. I felt great going up to the summit. I literally danced at several points on the trail I felt so great. I had a good appetite for lunch at 19,000 feet. I was astounded by how good you could feel at 19,300 feet. Except for not wanting to run fast, I felt 100 percent the entire day. That night, my numbers reflected how good I felt...I was back in the 90s, and my pulse was way low.

I have some thoughts about what was going on here, but I am not a scientist or a doctor. What I think I will do in the future, based on my own experience, is continue with my low dosage of Diamox at sleeping altitudes below 13,000 feet (i.e., 62.5 mg once a day before sleep), but increase my dosage when sleeping above 13,000 feet (to 62.5 mg twice a day). This is what seems to work for me, based on my gender, weight, genetics, physiology, serendipity, what-have-you....

This is a great report. Thanks.

It points up some of the multiple factors that make analysis so difficult. Are the symptoms just plain AMS, or are they complicated by dehydration, or GI issues, or fatigue, or etc? Diamox is used as both a (partial) preventative as well as a (partial) therapeutic for AMS. The exact dose and timing is not so clear, not the same from individual to individual, not even within the same individual from trip to trip. This makes the science often turn into guesswork and lots of personal opinions.

One interesting point was that you recognized the need to move around as opposed to lying still at the rest stop. "Keeping the juices stirred" a modest amount is talked about, although there is not much scientific data on this. One breathes more (relative hyperventilation) while walking around a bit as opposed to the slower breathing (relative hypoventilation) while lying down and resting. The key is how much - just a bit, enough to help, but not too much which would further worsen the issue. Furthermore, if there is any fluid in the lung from very early HAPE, it is better to be upright.

Glad you seem to have a handle on what helps you. Hope you have success on the next adventure.

So you hit the nail on the head re my untrained thinking/analysis of the rest stops. I am not aware of the literature/debate you reference. But, on the mountain, it just seemed to me that I needed to keep the rate of respiration up, and that walking and moving (even slowly) did that, and it provided immediate relief.

By the way, I am curious about your mention of HAPE. Every once in a while, I would take a really deep breath to see how my lungs were functioning. Everything seemed normal to me...no noises, lots of volume. And my energy level and strength stayed very high -- notwithstanding my numbers, I had more energy than anyone in our group for most of the trip. The pulsing headache made me worry more about AMS/HACE than HAPE...am I missing something?

BTW, I did hear about two instances of HAPE in a different group that went up the Marangu route around the time we at Crossover Camp. And I saw an incident of HACE at the summit. And a woman in a litter at Barafu camp being carried down who had recently had Lasik (!!!) and went blind at altitude -when I had Lasik years ago, I was told to avoid pressure-changing recreation (diving, climbing) for 6 months.

Not sure I can find a reference for you - but both anecdotally and in some trekkier advice on AMS a mild form of activity is often preferred rather than being too sedentary. If someone like you who has a history of altered ventilation such as periodic breathing of high altitude, then it makes sense to stay awake and consciously breathe more when there are problems. The fact that you successfully raised the O2Sat means that is exactly what you did and did not have HAPE.

Headache can be a prominent part of AMS, or AMS complicated by either or both HAPE or HACE. Some say there is is a headache continuum from simple AMS all the way to HACE/Death.
Sorry to end on that note.

edit: one more thought.
We all take breathing for granted. But at high altitude, especially while acclimatizing, our oxygen receptors, carbon dioxide receptors, and brain's control of breathing is out of sync. That is the only thing going for us while we sleep (hence periodic breathing at night) and similarly at rest and awake. With exertion and VOLUNTARY hyperventilation, we consciously increase our ventilation, a very useful way to stay alive up high. We do it all the time even at sea level. Just think how many times we have run up steps. Do we wait for a minute or 2 and the O2 and CO2 to change in our blood and our brain to stimulate more breathing? No, any athlete knows to begin breathing now. Same thing on the mountain. For example, leaning over get dressed in the tent at 19,000 ft - you know to start consciously breathing harder just to tie your shoes. In your case, with the degree of O2 desaturation, fatigue ,and whatever else was going on, it took more than a few minutes to resolve. I can remember a time when I was coming down from 19,800 to 16.500 ft and the degree of work caused me to desaturate even though I had been at altitude for 2 weeks already. It took an hour for my O2sat to come up and my heart rate to settle down.

Great job. Congratulations. Stunning pictures of Africa and it's wildlife.

In 2002 my son Bruce and I traveled to Africa to climb this mountain. We had a fine time, up to when several of us contracted food poisoning. The others recovered enough to be able to summit, but I had to turn back early on the climb. I gave my camera to Bruce and told him to make me proud. He did.

I gave it a shot again last year and, overcoming a different medical issue, succeeded. Of course, I had my camera along.

A 16" x 20" version of this picture hangs on my wall, and his:

Bruce looks cold, while Bob appears as comfortable on the peak as he ever was.