Slideshow

By Peter Baxter

Stacy Fulton at the Summit!

My first encounter with Stacy was a discussion sometime early in 2009 over the Western Breach and how feasible this route might be for a fist timer thinking about tackling this great mountain. The Western Breach is not a first timers option, however, and Stacy seemed ideally suited for Lemosho Route. This is arguably the most aesthetic approach to Kilimanjaro and probably the easiest thanks to the fact that it is also the longest. Of the infield routes, however, it is definitely the quietest, and this usually counts for a lot. Stacy originally booked for a September climb, but was forced to cancel, and then rescheduled  later for February 2010. The trip came a little late for the originally intended 40th birthday present to herself, but a definite indication of the determination of the woman to do this thing.

Climbing with Multiple Sclerosis

It was only later in 2009 that I discovered that Stacy was in the early stages of Multiple sclerosis. For those like me with no clear idea what this is, it is defined by Wikipedia as a disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms….

I had no idea what this ‘spectrum of signs and symptoms’ might turn out to be, but leaning a little on Stacy’s own determination and optimism, I was inclined to take the view that a slow approach, or pole-pole as the Swahili mantra goes, would overcome any physical problems that Stacy might experience. However, when the day came for Stacy to fly out and join her group in Tanzania, how she would fare in the days ahead concerned me a great deal…

In the event word filtered back to me through from the MEM office in Moshi that all had reached the defining Uhuru Peak safely, and most particularly Stacy. It always sounds easy when you hear that kind of news, but it never is on the ground, and certainly in this particular case it could not possibly have been.

Starting off at any of the Kilimanjaro gates is always accompanied by plenty of joie de vivre, and usually it is not until Lava Tower Camp on the Southern Circuit that the reality of climbing a big mountain like this starts to be felt. Lava Tower is at 4600 meters and is the point at which the camps start to smell bad and when high altitude physical and psychological adjustments begin to happen in earnest. Usually groups following Machame or Lemosho Routes ascend to Lava Tower before plunging back down to Barranco Camp at 3950 meters in order to work the ‘Climb-high-sleep-low’ principal. The descent is a tricky one, however, following a largely dry watercourse, and in dry condition usually not much more than an early challenge to the quads.

This, however, is where things turned bad for Stacy. The weather, which had been inclement from the beginning, descended into absolute mountain malice. Torrential rain was delivered as only the tropics can, which in due course turned into sizable hailstones, all under a maelstrom of roving thunder and lighting. In her own journal this is how Stacy records the moment:

This is where my nightmare began. The trek down to Barranco Camp was steep and rocky. Climbing down over boulders and then what would look like a steep river bed. Soon after we started down, it began to hail golf ball sized hail. Then it started pouring down rain with thunder and lightening. We quickly stopped and put our rain gear on as quickly as we could. The trek down to the Barranco Camp should take about 2 hours. It took me over 4 hours. The rest of my group went on ahead of me so it was just me and my guide trudging through. My MS was so bad I could hardly hold myself up my legs were so numb. That downhill walking over rocks like that kills my legs. I was in tears I was so scared with the lightening cracking over my head as I used my trekking poles to help me down the rocky terrain. I never once thought about quitting though, I just focused on getting down to camp in one piece!

She did make it, and was soon in a dead sleep, and in about as much comfort as high altitude expedition equipment can offer. The following day the much feared Barranco Wall slipped behind the group with a minimum of stress and much exhilaration. The challenge continued as a combination of exhaustion, altitude and inevitable sleep deprivation, all combined with Stacy’s own individual challenges, began to reinforce the reality of this high altitude endeavor. She did not miss out, however, on one of the great treasures of this experience….the southern hemisphere starscape spread like a blanket across a cold but brilliant tropical night. An exhilarating reward for the otherwise unwelcome midnight pee expedition.

Nothing, however, can be less welcome but more exhilarating than the the customary Kilimanjaro Alpine Summit. It usually follows a thankless few hours of trying to sleep followed by an unnecessary wake up call, a breakfast hard to keep down and a large infusion of hot coffee. The typical sight greeting a summiteer is a chain of head-lights disappearing up into the inky darkness as other summiteers wearily set off into a dark and uncertain night. In Stacy’s case the weather soon tuned to blizzard which added snow and sleet to the already ferocious wind and freezing temperatures:

We reached Stella Point after 5 hours. Stella Point is a stopping point where you see the first of the sunrise. And it was gorgeous! The glow from the sun not quite peaking up was a deep reddish orange color. Just stunning. At this point I was dragging, my head wasn’t with it, and we were all getting bad headaches. The altitude was getting the best of us. The rest of the way to the Summit was grueling. Our steps were about one step every 2 or 3 seconds. Just putting your foot in front of the other was exhausting. But we persevered and made it to Uhuru Peak! The highest point in Africa at 19,343ft!! I started to cry because I just couldn’t believe I actually made it!

It was the helter-skelter back down again that brought on the MS again for Stacy. In fairness this is never easy. Once you have tipped your skis over Stella point the trail becomes a dusty, increasingly sweaty and exhausting stagger/slide downwards in what is always an urgent need to bring an to the experience now that it has been successful. The journey down to Barafu Camp was followed by a quick snack, and short break and then onwards and downwards to Mweka Camp for a more comfortable night at lower altitude. This is always a killer day, and for Stacy it was particularly so, and the descent for her took several weary hours longer than other group members…

Here in Stacy’s own words is an assessment of how her MS impacted the experience of climbing Kilimanjaro…

For those wondering how my MS held up during the hike, well I was just fine as long as I was go uphill and didn’t get too cold!  Not many days when it was just an uphill climb though, we did have to go back down in elevation on some days to get our body adjusted to the altitude.  It was those days that I had the most trouble with my MS.  My MS acts up the most when I am using my legs muscles to hold me back when climbing downwards and having to methodically place my feet down over rocks and boulders while holding my balance.  So I just went slowly and relied heavily on my trekking poles for balance and stability (and my guide’s arm every now and then!).  Taking a lot of rest stops doesn’t help me.  The numbness almost gets worse if I take a lot of little breaks.  Plodding along slowly works best for me and then when I finally reach camp, I just collapse with my feet up.  Everyone deals with their MS differently and you know your body best so you do what you need to do to tackle the task.

The weather would have had more of an impact on me at the higher elevations where the temps were much colder, but I was dressed in 3 layers on top and bottom so the cold never got to me.  If I would have been more exposed to the elements and not dressed appropriately, than the climb to the Summit would have definitely been more difficult.  My MS doesn’t like the cold.  It does much better in the warmer temps.  That’s not the same for everyone that has MS though.

I never once thought about quitting hiking up Mt. Kili.  Never once, even when I was in tears going down to the next camp because I was so numb I could hardly move my legs, when I was hours behind the rest of my group, that I thought about quitting.  And I sure was not going to let my MS get in my way!  I have a determined spirit about me and when I am out to reach a goal, nothing stops me….

Well done Stacy…A Luta Continua…!

Tags: Climbing Kilimanjaro

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 11:19 am and is filed under Climbing with special needs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.