Archives for General category
Posted on Dec 09, 2008 under General |
In an interview with TVweek, Ann Curry, Today show host, discussed her recent trip to Kilimanjaro. She and her production crew attempted to climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro as part of the show’s ‘Ends of the Earth’ series. But she was turned around at about 16,000 feet due to altitude sickness.
Currently, Curry is recovering from amoeba that she got from bad drinking water. In the interview, she reveals just how sick she and her crew were during the trek. She reported having a headache “from the top of my skull to the back”, being nauseated, having swollen legs, hands and face, being bloated, hallucinating, and having a chest cold. Curry said that, “Every moment we had was suffering” and that, “We were in bad shape.”
While 80% of climbers do experience symptoms of altitude sickness, Curry’s collection of symptoms and their severity were more serious than the average climber would, and should, experience. In my opinion, she shouldn’t have been on the mountain in the first place. Curry states, “We climbed with little or no training, certainly with no expertise, trying to do something that had never been done before, and I’ve got to tell you we were all heart. That’s all we had.” Furthermore, she talks about her Walmart raingear malfunctioning and getting blisters from wearing boots she didn’t break in. In other words, she was woefully unprepared, physically and mentally - a recipe for trouble on the mountain.
Curry noted that she was supposed to go to the Great Barrier Reef for her show, but did not because they could not get a live signal there, so they went to Kilimanjaro instead. This decision occurred three weeks before her departure. Complicating the matter, she attempted to climb the most dangerous route during the rainy season.
Kilimanjaro is known as a “beginner’s” mountain, because it requires no technical skills and is a ‘walkable’ mountain. However, it is not to be underestimated. 19,341 feet is an extremely high altitude. Kilimanjaro claims lives every year. All climbers need to prepare and outfit themselves adequately for the journey.
Curry’s tale is an example of how not to climb Kilimanjaro.
TVWeek Interview with Ann Curry
Posted on Nov 26, 2008 under General |
Ann Curry, Today show host, is back from climbing Kilimanjaro and is in New York. She is recuperating from her trek and is taking this week off from her Today show duties. She and some members of her team are a bit sick, reportedly feeling the effects of “poor drinking water.” Curry noted that her blisters are healing and she is ok. She will be back on the show next week, after the Thanksgiving weekend.
Here is the video:
Posted on Nov 20, 2008 under General |
Ann Curry, host of the Today show, reported that their five person team decided unanimously to call off their summit attempt today. As noted yesterday, Ann and fellow members of her party were experiencing altitude sickness as they rested on Arrow Glacier camp and were deciding whether to continue climbing today. She stated today that all of the team members were still feeling the effects of acute mountain sickness.
I had noted in the last post that it was a near certainty that they would not climb the Western Breach despite Curry’s reporting a “50/50″ chance of going for the summit. Given the condition of the team and the challenges of the Western Breach and Crater Camp, it would have been irresponsible for their guide service to lead the Today show team up the mountain. Rightfully, the team began their descent.
Here are the latest videos of Ann on Kilimanjaro:
Posted on Nov 19, 2008 under General |
On the latest video, Today show host Ann Curry reports that the team is about “50/50″ on whether they will attempt to climb up the Western Breach tomorrow. She noted that her original itinerary called for a climb to Crater Camp starting at 4:30am tomorrow, and a summit attempt on Friday.
Curry said that they have a five person group, made up of members of her production team, who have experienced differing degrees of altitude sickness thus far. They have decided that they will either all continue or all descend. That being said, it’s almost certain they will NOT climb tomorrow. The likelihood that one of the five members will have symptoms of altitude sickness in the early morning is high. On the video, mountaineer Ed Viesturs warns Curry not to ascend if the team has any symptoms and to err on the side of caution, meaning to descend, rather than taking another rest day at Arrow Glacier.
The latest video of Ann on Kilimanjaro:
Posted on Nov 19, 2008 under General |
Anny Curry is still at Arrow Glacier camp and reports still feeling somewhat sick despite taking a rest day. It was 3pm Kilimanjaro time at the time the video was made. This is not a good sign and I predict she will not attempt the Western Breach tomorrow morning. Proper acclimatization is particularly important when using the Western Breach because once a partial ascent is made, it is tremendously difficult, if not impossible, to descend on the breach. Therefore, if her symptoms worsen during the climb, she will not be able to make an immediate descent, which is the best treatment for altitude sickness. Instead, Curry would still have to continue climbing to the crater ridge before descending on the other side of the mountain.
Additionally, her itinerary probably calls for her to spend a night at Crater Camp (18,500 ft) tomorrow night. The increase in altitude from Arrow Glacier to Crater Camp is beyond the recommended guidelines which say that ideally one should gain no more than 1,000 feet per night. Crater Camp also sits in what is classified as the “extreme” zone - over 18,000 feet. So it would be highly risky (and pretty foolish) for someone who is experiencing altitude sickness at 16,000 feet during a rest day to stay at Crater Camp on the next night.
Curry confirmed on video that yesterday she climbed from Barranco Camp, to Arrow Glacier. Barranco sits at about 13,000 feet. Thus, it appears that her climb itinerary looks like this so far.
Machame/Western Breach
- Machame Gate to Machame Camp (9,350 ft)
- Machame camp to Shira Camp (12,500 ft)
- Shira Camp to Barranco Camp (13,044 ft)
- Barranco to Arrow Glacier Camp (15,998 ft)
- Rest day at Arrow Glacier Camp (15,998 ft)
This is not a typical itinerary. I’ll be watching closely to see what happens from here.
Videos of Ann on the mountain are linked below:
Posted on Nov 18, 2008 under General |
Ann Curry, Today show anchor, is reporting from Arrow Glacier camp (16,000 ft). She stated that she has climbed from 13,000 to 16,000 ft. today in 8 hours, which suggests that she left from Barranco camp (13,800 ft). The distance between Barranco to Arrow Glacier is about 3 miles.
Curry is feeling the effects of altitude and will stay at this camp for an extra day to acclimatize. From what I can gather from her videos and journal entries, she began her Machame route climb on November 15th, making today her fourth day on the mountain. Her summit attempt should occur on November 20th (day six) or 21st (day seven), depending on whether she spends a night at Crater Camp at all, and if so, whether it is before or after summiting. The next segment, the climb up the Western Breach to Crater Camp (18,500 ft), should prove to be the most physically challenging of her journey.
Videos of Curry’s climb are linked below:
Posted on Nov 17, 2008 under General |
Today show anchor Ann Curry is currently on Mount Kilimanjaro to report on the state of the planet. In their ‘Ends of the Earth’ series, NBC reporters Meredith Vieira, Al Roker and Matt Lauer are in Australia, Iceland, and Belize respectively to explore climate change.
Based on her Kilimanjaro Journal, Curry, age 52, is attempting to climb using Machame route and the Western Breach summit approach. The Western Breach is the most difficult path - and the most dangerous. The rocky slope ascends 2,800 feet in a distance of 1.25 miles. Rockfall in January 2006 killed three Americans, resulting in the closure of the route for nearly two years. Even now, there are few operators who will guide climbers up the breach due to the risks. Given that Curry is an inexperienced climber, only learned of the assignment three weeks ago, and admittedly did not train much, I am a bit surprised she would attempt to climb Kilimanjaro using the Western Breach.
I will monitor her climb in the days ahead.
Below are video links of her on the mountain:
Posted on Sep 13, 2008 under General |
Signs at the park gates offer words of caution for climbers. Here’s what they say:
POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Hikers attempting to reach the summit should be physically fit.
- If you have a sore throat, cold or breathing problems, do not go beyond 3,000 metres A.S.L.
- Children under 10 years of age are not allowed above 3,000 metres A.S.L.
- If you have heart or lung problems do not attempt the mountain at all without consulting your doctor.
- Allow plenty of time for the body to acclimatize slowly.
Posted on Jul 11, 2008 under General, Global warming |
National Geographic News published some stunning satellite images of Africa last month, courtesy of United Nations Envitonment Program. One of the images shows the glacial retreat occuring on Mount Kilimanjaro between 1976 and 2006. It is estimated that the glaciers have decreased by 80% since the early 20th century.
This story follows after a May 1, 2007 National Geographic News article that stated that the earlier predictions of the glaciers disappearing by 2020 were “unrealistic.” An Austrian-U.S. research team predicted that the ice atop Kilimanjaro would exist for another 30 to 40 years.
Additionally, the team attributes the glacial retreat to lower precipitation, and not global warming.
Posted on Jun 02, 2008 under Diamox, General, Statistics, Training |
Continuing on the previous post on the Kilimanjaro Climb Survey, below are the summarized results of the last 10 questions:
- 76% of climbers experienced at least one symptom of altitude sickness
- 33% of climbers used Diamox
- 100% of climbers rated their fitness level as “average”, “very good”, or “excellent”
- 55% of climbers found summit day difficult or challenging
- 37% of climbers found altitude acclimatization difficult or challenging
- The most common rating for the climb difficulty was 7/10
- 35% of climbers prepared for the climb primarily by hiking
- Of those who trained, the median frequency was three times per week
- Of those who trained, the median training time was two months
- 18% of climbers did not train
- 62% of climbers paid $1,500 or less for the climb
- 92% of climbers rated their experience 8/10 or higher (10 = great)
The respondents’ susceptibility to altitude sickness is consistent with published figures citing that more than 75% of climbers will experience at least some form of mild AMS over 10,000 feet (Kilimanjaro is 19,340 feet high). While the most common symptoms among respondents are indicative of mild AMS, a few respondents showed symptoms of moderate or severe AMS. Most respondents chose not use Diamox.
All respondents rated their fitness level as average or better, which is good considering that 18% of respondents said they did not train at all for the climb. Of those who trained, the majority hiked, which is the best form of training, and trained three days per week, which is the minimum recommended frequency. Most operators recommend a minimum of two months of training; 66% of those who trained did so for more than two months.
The price respondents paid to climb Kilimanjaro is understated in today’s dollars due to the doubling of Kilimanjaro park fees over the past several years. The increase in these fees alone would increase the price per climber by around $300 (for a six-day climb). Therefore, it appears that adjusting for this increase would result in most respondents paying between $1,000 to $2,000 per climber if they were climbing today.
Finally, it is interesting to note that almost all climbers had a great experience on the mountain, regardless of all other measured variables - how old they were, when they climbed, what route they chose, how many days they climbed, and whether or not they reached the summit.
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