Kilimanjaro is a walk. What makes it hard is that the walk ends at 5,895 metres, where there is roughly half the oxygen there is at sea level. Almost everyone feels something. The skill is knowing the difference between normal and not.
What is normal
Headache, especially in the afternoon and at night. Poor sleep. Breathlessness on gentle ground. Loss of appetite. Odd, vivid dreams. Needing to stop more often than your legs suggest. All of this is ordinary above about 3,000 metres and usually improves as you acclimatise.
What is not
A headache that painkillers will not touch. Vomiting that does not stop. Losing your balance or being unable to walk a straight line. Confusion, or not making sense when you speak. Breathlessness at rest, or a wet cough. These are not “push through it” symptoms. They mean going down, and going down now.
Why descending works
There is no drug, no oxygen bottle and no amount of willpower that fixes altitude illness the way losing height does. A few hundred metres of descent often turns someone around within hours. That is why the answer is always the same and why it is not up for discussion at the time.
How a climb reduces the risk
- More days. Every extra night below the summit is time your body spends adapting.
- Climb high, sleep low. The detour up to the Lava Tower and back down exists for this reason.
- Slow walking. Slower than you want, all week.
- Water and food. Dehydration mimics and worsens the symptoms.
- Daily checks. Oxygen saturation and pulse, morning and evening, so a trend is visible before it becomes a problem.
Medication
Some climbers take acetazolamide. It is a genuine aid to acclimatisation and it is also a prescription drug with side effects. That is a conversation to have with your own doctor well before you fly, not something to decide at the gate.
Our position
Our guides are certified in Wilderness First Response and licensed by the park. They check on you every day. If they say down, it is down. We would rather bring you back for another attempt than carry you off the mountain.
