Kilimanjaro National Park Travel Forum

Hello - I had surgury on my ankle 6 months ago (severed tendons) and I just got the go ahead from my doctor to climb Kili in January. I have not exercized in 6 months except the last three days I did a 5 mile run, 2.5 and 2.5. What are all your recomedations for physica training, altiutude sickness and building up confidence. Our climb date is January 15.

Thank you for any assistance

Check with Geisha_Girl, she just did kili. Also Ruchei may be training for it.

I did it a couple of years ago and you can read my kili pages for my tips.

It sounds to me like you are in pretty good shape already!

I found that the toughest part was the downclimb - on the last day you climb 6 hrs to the summit, and then you downclimb 6+ hrs almost all of the way down. If you have a ski area nearby, practice running downhill!

Have a great trip,

Dave

physically you sound fine. its a long slow walk to the top so the impact on your ankle wont be so intense, especially if you use poles which i would definitely recommend.
Some poeple use Diamox to combat altitude sickness but its a bit hit or miss. If you are going to try it you should get some in advance to see what side effects you will suffer(best to find out before you get there). Its not a guarantee for combatting it: there were only 4 of us in our group of 16 who got to the top and none of us were taking it.

Best advice would be:
Take it SLOW
keep hydrated (4/5 ltrs per day)
keep eating: you may well sick of what they feed you on the mountain, bring some dried fruit
bring plenty of ibuprofen/paracetemol/imodium

Ask plenty more questions if you have them!

Hi Nikki,

You've got some sound advice so far! I agree .... you already sound in good shape.

There were 6 of us on the climb, and 2 of my crew had previous knee injuries and hiked with their knee braces. The poles were a lifesaver and highly advisable that you use a pair.

Have you decided which route you'll be taking? We did the Machame Route, and VA_Dave did the same a few years ago. There are some challenging spots along that route, but as the previous poster stated, you go at such a slow rate, you put no extra pressure on your ankle as you ascend

The best thing to do to prepare is to just keep hiking. We did practice hikes every weekend to build up our stamina and I religiously worked out during the week at the gym and focused on building up strength and endurance. I also took Bikram yoga classes to strengthen my lungs and oxygenate the blood. The combination of these workouts along with the hikes definitely helped me be physically prepared (and mentally more confident to take on Kili). I reached the summit!

Our litmus test for the altitude was on White Mountain (up to 14,000 ft.) I didn't take any diamox while on that climb, and suffered from headaches and that lethargic feeling....as well as a little nausea on the descent.

I didn't want to repeat that feeling while on Kili so I did end up taking the diamox and it helped tremendously. I didn't feel any adverse effects of the altitude other than a little shortness of breath on summit night.

I totally agree with Dave in that I felt the toughest part was descending Kili. Your climbing down on the loose rocks (scree) which is like downhill skiing without the skis. My toes got totally bruised from the downclimb, and I would highly advise you have some sort of ankle brace to protect you on the descent.

One thing I did learn is that no matter how physically fit you are, it's hard to tell how your body will react to the altitude, so if you can get yourself on a practice hike to a higher peak prior to Kili, that will help you tremendously.

I had an amazing time on Kilimanjaro and just completed my trip last month. It's still fresh in my blood!!

Good luck on the preparations and let us know if you need any more info!

Take care,

G_G