And you were afraid to ask…

Mt. Kilimanjaro, Process

As I share my upcoming adventure with friends & family, several recurring questions arise.  To the best of my “pre-climb” knowledge, I will answer some of those questions now:

How much weight do you carry?   I will only carry what I need during that day’s hike.  I carry my lunch, 2L water, camera, extra layers of clothing, hat, sunscreen, etc.  It will likely be about 15 lbs.

What happens to all of your other gear?   Porters will carry the majority of our gear up the mountain.  I am allowed to bring 25 lbs of gear (including sleeping mats and sleeping bag) in a duffel bag.

What about the bathroom?  There are public washrooms along the climb to the summit.  I have been warned that they are less than pleasurable.  Chagga Tours will provide our own, private latrine, which will be set up at each camp, inside a narrow little shelter.

How do you avoid altitude sickness?  It is advised that I take Diamox starting a day before our climb, and every day we are climbing.  The Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) is the world authority on high altitude trekking and they state, “Trials with thousands of trekkers show that Diamox benefits most climbers adjusting to the increased altitude.  A small minority of climbers experience no benefit.”  It is also advised to drink 4L of fluids each day (and we circle back to the last question).  Most importantly, we will be climbing very slowly, to allow our bodies time to adapt to the elevation.

What happens at Summit?  It has been explained to me that every day on the mountain is leading up to Summit.  We try to go to bed very early after Day 5.  Day 6 will begin at midnight.  We will hike, slowly, in the dark & cold with a goal to summit by 8:00 am.  I cannot tell you the emotions that I feel – thinking about being at the top of Africa watching the sunrise!!!!!

Mount St. Louis Hill Climb

Training

Today, Cindy and I climbed six hills of Mount St. Louis ski resort.  529m total elevation gain over the 8km / 2 hour hike.  On my first day at Mt. Kilimanjaro I wil be climbing over 1200m in six hours.

The steep hill climbing, without any stairs, certainly puts a strain on my calves.  I’m also starting to work on managing my nutrition throughout a tough work-out.

Climbing Six Hills at Mount St. Louis

Bike Intervals

Training
Interval Bike Workout - Warmup, 5 reps of 5 min Hard x 2 min Easy, Finish
Interval Bike Workout – Warmup, 5 reps of 5 min Hard x 2 min Easy, Finish

My training includes a weekly interval bike ride.  This is the 20 km loop that I like.  My husband, Markus, joined me for this ride.

Meet & Greet

Process

Outward Bound Canada hosted a “Meet and Greet” for alumni and 2014 participants of the Reach Beyond Expeditions Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb.  I met five of the eleven participants that I will be climbing with.  We were able to share our fundraising successes (and challenges), training regimes and get to know our fellow climbers for the first time.  One of the alumni told us that the experience is “like doing the hardest thing you’ve ever done – while nauseous”.  The other climbers that I met come from various backgrounds, different parts of the country, range in age and experience.  We all share a common excitement for this opportunity and can’t wait to meet again in Africa!

We had a presentation on gear and packing by an experienced climber.  At the end of the night we received a “swag bag” with some Outward Bound promotional material.  My favourite part of the whole night – I got a BUFF!  As a true Survivor fan (guilty pleasure) – I am very excited to have a buff 🙂

Four Months

Family

Four months from now I will be on the plane – flying to Africa!!  It is exciting, thrilling and very scary all at the same time.  I will admit that in the past nine years the longest I have been away from my girls is 3 nights.  And now, I plan to  be half way across the world for 12 days!  They will have a fantasic “Daddy & Girls” time – but I will miss them all like crazy!

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Making Progress

Training

My training continues to progress.  This week I took 10 minutes off the “long, hilly walk”.  I held a plank for just over 2 minutes.  And, this morning I did 11 push-ups (admittedly, they were not consecutive – but 5+3+3=11!)