Page 12 - QARANC Vol 16 No 1 2018

10 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Kilimanjaro
A group of eight student nurses attempted to climb the world’s highest, free-standing mountain; Mount Kilimanjaro. The team was composed of seven Army nursing students and two Royal Navy students. This was a self-funded trip, apart from the donation received from the QARANC Association.
The aim of the climb was predominantly to raise money for the cohort’s two chosen charities: Hounds for Heroes and the Brain Tumour Charity. The climb also provided an insight into the effects of altitude sickness including knowing the signs and symptoms and some treatments to combat this.
Once the group had arrived in Tanzania, a few days were spent exploring the local community and town. This included a visit to a local orphanage school. Whilst there, we were shown the very limited facilities the orphanage has and were also shown an English teaching lesson where we were encouraged to participate with the children.
Day 1 began at Lemsosho gate at an elevation of 2100 metres; the trek was 6 km long until reaching Mt Mkubwa camp.
Day 2 was the longest trek of the week; the route was 14 km and involved passing through the rainforest over high terrain. Then bypassing Shira 1 camp we headed straight to Shira 2 camp at an elevation of 3850 metres.
Day 3 was one of the toughest days as it involved ascending to lava tower at an elevation of 4200 metres and then descending to camp at Barranco at 3940 metres. This day was essential for altitude training; however, many of the group began to feel the effects of altitude involving headaches, nausea and loss of appetite.
Day 4 started with ascending the Barranco wall which involved climbing on our hands and knees. This was one of the shorter days until we reached Karanga camp at an altitude of 4200 metres.
Day 5 the group ascended a short day to Barafu camp, also known as the base camp to summit the mountain. This sits at 4763 metres. The rest of the day was spent trying to catch up on needed sleep and refuelling, ready to reach the summit at midnight.
Day 6 began at midnight when the group took a very steady start to reach the summit. This was the most gruelling part of the expedition; not only was fatigue now playing a part but the altitude had taken serious effect on the majority of the group. Despite best efforts, two members of the group were evacuated back down the mountain due to serious altitude sickness. After seven and a half hours the group finally reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and reached Uhuru peak at an elevation of 5895 metres.
After enjoying the view we began to descend back to Barafu camp for a short break before continuing to high camp where we stayed for our final night on the mountain.
Day 7 involved descending the rest of the mountain until we reached the bottom of Mount Kilimanjaro.
The expedition managed to raise £1,576.25 for Hounds for Heroes, and The Brain Tumour Charity.
Amy Schmidt Student Nurse
This expedition was supported with a grant from the QARANC Association