An article about hiking to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro appeared in today’s Chicago Tribune Travel Section (6/17/2007) and really upset me. The writer, comically, wrote about “the 10 things she learned about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.”

I’d love to demolish each point she made, for example, “it’s okay to be naive“…“climbing Kilimanjaro just sounded like such a hoot”…but I’ll settle for plainly stating — she had absolutely no business setting foot on this mountain!

Mt. Kilimanjaro is a serious climb but within the ability of anyone who prepares themself accordingly. Preparation is the key! That means lots of exercise if you expect any chance of completing the climb in decent shape. And, some hiking experience certainly doesn’t hurt. You also have a better chance of summiting if you opt for one of the longer 7-8-day treks offered that give more time to acclimate to the high altitude. We’re talking hiking up to 19,000 feet, and if that’s not serious, I don’t know what is. Kelly (the writer) put not only herself in danger but every one of her friends on this climb as well as the guides responsible for their safety. The only sensible part of this article was when she described stopping during the summit bid knowing it would have taken her another 10 hours to reach the top. (Continuing on meant it would have taken her fit friends another 10 hours since the guides try to keep everyone in the group as close to each other as possible.)

People die from high altitude pulmonary edema and cerebral edema every day. Even the best-prepared, but at least you have a fighting chance by preparing properly. I have a friend (Margie, the Surgeon) who did climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with her husband and had to help support another climber who developed edema and collapsed at the top, down to the first base camp. Kilimanjaro is high, the top third is cold, and difficult…not a stroll in the park by any means.

The article should have been called…”11 Lessons of Kilimanjaro: I shouldn’t have been there” or “How I risked my friend’s lives by being completely unprepared on Mt. Kilimanjaro.”

Enough said…