The Chief Executive Officer of Orca Décor, Rayan Sharara, has made it as one of the most adventurous people in the world by hiking up to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
According to the Orca Décor boss, climbing to the highest peak in Africa took eight (8) days. For the first few days, there is the walk through dense rainforest, followed by the Shira plateau “before making it further up to the cold and dry final days,” he said.
Sharing his experience, Mr Sharara highlighted that, throughout his expedition, he was living outdoors and sleeping in tents “Very average food, no access to normal toilets, no showers, your dignity is questioned. There was a team of porters who would carry your food, your water, your tent, and your belongings while singing traditional songs to keep your spirits up. They are the real heroes. “
He added that, while hiking, the temperature goes down to -20 degrees Celsius, and on summit night, these cold temperatures are coupled with winds of 80km/h. “Each day consists of 6–8 hours of hiking uphill, some days through very dense clouds. The evening before the summit, you have to sleep at 6 pm and you are woken up at 11 pm to start hiking at 12 am. At this point, you are at 4,600 m, with very low levels of oxygen (50%). Altitude sickness symptoms (headache, nausea, vomiting) are present, and the temperature is extremely low, rendering your hands and feet completely numb. You are in complete darkness, with only your headlamp as your source of light. You have to put one foot in front of the other for hours, trusting that you will eventually make it. People around you are struggling, with blank faces, out of breath, crying, but if you stop to help them, you might freeze, so you have to just keep going. You feel out of breath after every step due to the low oxygen levels, but you have to push yourself mentally to keep going and to reach the summit of Africa. And when you do, it feels like you’ve arrived on another planet. “
Mr. Sharara also added that, while hiking, when it is 6:30 am, the sunrise rises “behind you and you are now stepping in snow. Around you, a horizon of clouds and the crater of the old volcano just beneath you. The scene is simply surreal. “You’ve reached the top of Africa”.
Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa at an altitude of 5,895m and the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
