In 2021, Renick Odede, a 35-year-old Kenyan who lives in Nairobi, got interested in climbing mountains after watching a documentary about the sport. He started by climbing the Ngong Hills near his home and began to prepare to climb Mount Kenya, the country's highest mountain, and Africa's second highest, which rises to a height of 5,199 meters.
Nobody mentioned the dangers of altitude sickness. Odede was just told that climbing was a case of following the orders of the mountain guides. He remembers feeling on top of the world when he made it to the summit of Mount Kenya in March 2022, where he promised himself that his next challenge would be to climb Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain.
"At the time, I did not know when I would go to Tanzania to make the climb because the trip costs money, and I had to work to raise the funds," said Odede, who works at a bank in Nairobi, Kenya's capital.
He was encouraged by a fellow climber who had hiked Mount Kenya with him, and they decided to use the time before the Kilimanjaro climb to train, research the mountain, and organize the trip.
Over a period of a year, they trained hard, undertaking numerous nature walks while researching different routes up Kilimanjaro in order to decide on the most manageable and most interesting way to reach the summit.
Finally, this May, Odede and his friend were ready to take on the challenge for which they had been preparing.
Visitors can either fly into the Kilimanjaro International Airport which is about 50 kilometers from the peak, or use public transport, like Odede and his colleague did, by taking a shuttle bus from Nairobi to Arusha in Tanzania, before getting on a bus to Kilimanjaro.
"I am fortunate to have a relative from Kenya who relocated to Tanzania and does business near the mountain in the town of Moshi. Because he lives there, he has contacts in the Kilimanjaro tourist business, so he helped us arrange our trip by linking us up with a reputable tour guide company for a negotiated price," Odede said.
At 5,895 meters, Mountain Kilimanjaro is the highest single freestanding mountain in the world, meaning that it is not part of a range. Other than its fame as the highest mountain in Africa, it is known for having a permanent, though shrinking icecap, which is unusual given the mountain's tropical location and warm year round climate.
Every year around 50,000 visitors from around the world come for the climb. The time it takes varies. The ascent can be completed in as little as five days or as many as nine, depending on the route.
According to mountain guides, a typical day's hike is only 4-6 hours at a slow pace. The reason for such gradual progress is to slowly gain altitude so the body can adjust to decreasing oxygen levels. However, the final push to the summit and subsequent descent results in a very long day, which takes between 10-14 hours.
