Conquering the majestic Kilimanjaro

Sanjay Bysani, a software engineer by profession, isn’t one to settle for a trip across Europe or for a cruise through the Caribbean. For him, every vacation needs to rekindle his spirit of adventure, enabling him to return to his stressful job at a San Francisco-based start-up. So when a close buddy, Pranesh Somasundaram, suggested hiking up to Africa’s tallest peak, he was as ready as ever for the challenge.

“Mount Kilimajaro in Tanzania, Africa, isn’t as intense as trekking up Mt.Everest or K2, but acclimatising to its varied ecosystems and battling altitude sickness are what make it challenging. Altitude sickness can take down an Olympic-level athlete and the only way one can find out if it affects one is to actually be at that height and see how the body reacts to falling oxygen levels. Unfortunately, I was affected very badly,” says Sanjay.

So while Sanjay flew down to Kilimanjaro from San Francisco, Pranesh and a friend, Naveen Parthasarthy reached there from Singapore. After catching up with guides George Mtaki and GoodLuck and packing their travel kits and emergency equipment, they started the ascent. Sanjay says, “People generally prefer to take about seven to eight days for the entire trek as it takes the body a long time to get adjusted to the altitude, but we’d wanted to complete it in six, considering how every added day would add to our expenses. But the downside of attempting it quickly is how the sickness could hit you abruptly.”

The first couple of days had been quite manageable; it was by the end of the third that Sanjay started to see the down side of the height. “It was becoming increasingly difficult to go ahead. Through the trek, one gets to see the chameleon-like nature of the mountain, the weather; and the eco system can change so fast that it all feels a bit mystical at times. In one such instance, we’d stumbled upon a fascinating desert-like place, filled with trees that are endemic to the region. It was truly surreal. We walked a bit more and the desert-like environment transformed into a rainforest-like setting in just a few hours,” Sanjay adds.

It was on the fourth day, Sanjay says, when things got really hard. From temperatures falling to sub-zero levels, to battling the side effects of a pill that was supposed to help him cope, the trek had started to take its toll on him. “As I struggled to move up, my guide had suggested a pill called Diamox which helps transfer oxygen to the body tissues. But it also comes with its own set of side effects — one being a need to urinate frequently. So on our fourth night, the temperature was well below zero and every time I managed to get some shut-eye, I had to walk out of the tent to urinate. I hardly slept that night and the next day became nearly impossible as a result.”

They’d managed to get past Barranko Wall, one of the steepest and most challenging parts, but they soon realised that it only led to similar places where trekking remained difficult. Sanjay’s friend went ahead and he continued his ascent gradually. According to plan, the peak was to be reached by the end of the fifth day. “As I struggled to inch ahead, my guide suggested I turn around and walk back to base camp. But I had come too far to turn around. That’s when the snow blizzard struck!” he says, pausing for a second, adding, “It had all become very hazy by then and even a five-minute break would have put to me sleep, burying me under tonnes of snow. My guide edged me on and we went ahead. I imagined my friend and his guide reaching the peak way ahead of us and waiting for us there.”

As they limped to the peak, they saw them there but they confessed that they’d reached just five minutes before Sanjay and his guide did. The hazy view from the top of Africa was spellbinding admits Sanjay, but his body didn’t really allow him to linger on. “After all that effort, we barely spent 10 minutes at the peak. We were far too tired and just wanted to get down to earth. We quickly started our trek back and in 30 minutes we’d descended about 3,000 feet to a more comfortable altitude. Unlike the way up, the body adapts much faster as we climb down and this gives you a rush of energy as though you’ve just come alive. It really felt like a resurrection,” Sanjay says. By the end of the sixth day, they reached base camp and after their canned meals of veggies, bread and rice, they could now eat something solid — and hot too.

“The whole trek was, of course, unforgettable and there were certain incredible moments along the way, but honestly, the best moment for me was returning to sleep on real beds after coming back. Nothing could beat that!” concludes Sanjay.