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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

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:

• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27715113#27924293

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: 

• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27819034#27819034
• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27819034#27811310

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:

• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27800578#27800578