The Change Advisor for Leaders 📈 Bank COO (Citi) turned Entrepreneur 👉 Join my community and follow me for posts on career, leadership, future of work and my journey.
By the third day, you start realizing how insignificant you are as a human being vs the power of the mountain and nature. 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗿𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗯 𝗲𝗽.𝟱 We climbed 6 hours to 4,200 meters, lunched with the clouds, and then walked down another 3 hours to 3,900 meters to acclimatize at Baranco camp. This was to help us adjust to the high altitude. After 3500 meters, the landscape morphs into rock and sparse vegetation; weather swinging from scorching sun to snow in just half an hour. Despite the constant mix of oxygen (20%) and nitrogen (80%) up to 10km high, the real challenge at the summit isn't oxygen scarcity but the thinning air pressure. At the peak, every breath carries less oxygen into your lungs, making it tough to breathe as if you're only getting half the air you would at sea level. Also, being up high makes you lose water faster, risking dehydration, so you must drink even if you don't feel thirsty. Weirdly, you burn more calories but feel less hungry, so you've got to make yourself eat enough to keep your energy up. Day three was challenging for everyone, but some had it rough - nausea, headaches, weakness. You can only know how the high altitude will impact you once you are in high altitude. And it has nothing to do with being fit or not, young or old. That night's dinner was not fun - almost everyone didn't feel hungry and wanted to go to bed fast. #kilimanjaro #endurance #resiliance
📌 The tree on the photo have adapted amazingly to the harsh reality of 4000 metres asl - the brown bags under the green tops are full of cotton and they keep the tree warm.
I know this feeling, climbing up to 4200 mts. Fell so sick after the trek but recovered soon after hydration. This was Dhankar Lake trek in Himachal Pradesh India. You may want to check it. I would do it again. And no amount of training prepares you for that high altitude sparse oxygen. It's amazing how the body adapts.
Fascinating, it’s an actual real challenge 👏
Wow, what an experience. Thanks for sharing. It sounds more real coming from a 'normal person' not a mountain climber :)
Thank you Ani Filipova for sharing your experience of Kilimnjaro climb. That is a definite success of your writing that we feel to be a member of your team. What actually motivated you to go for this venturing?
Thanks for sharing this Ani Filipova, the only worry should be that as these videos appear more arduous, the less likely it will be for those considering making this climb, to actually do so 😊
"You can only know how the high altitude will impact you once you are in high altitude" - this potentially has application in a metaphorical sense too, Ani! Oftentimes, we may have goals imposed on us from without. Hence, it is vital to be clear what we want to do, and why.
You didn’t suffer any symptoms Ani?
The Change Advisor for Leaders 📈 Bank COO (Citi) turned Entrepreneur 👉 Join my community and follow me for posts on career, leadership, future of work and my journey.
7mo📌Fun fact (or not 😇) I put the clothes I have on the photo on the third day and took them off on the 7th day. I slept in them, ate in them, walked in them. It was so cold…. And the last thing you think about is about the clothes…