“I am done. There is nothing left in me.
This is where my life is ending now.
Maybe the doctors were right, I have signed my own death certificate. “
These were the thoughts that crossed the mind of Shaheen Soomar, a businessman from Kariega, in the 10 minutes he was allowed to spend on the summit of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Standing there, on top of the highest mountain in Africa and the highest single free-standing mountain in the world, Shaheen could hardly breathe. But life has taught him lessons in perseverance.
“I am more than a cat with nine lives. I survived 11 car accidents, been through nine kidney stones, had a lung blockage, suffered from a heart condition, been hijacked four times, and survived three armed robberies at my business,” said Shaheen back at his award-winning Starlight Cellular business in Kariega.
“During February this year, I suffered a minor stroke, my second stroke in three years. My doctors told me if you have a death wish, go climb that mountain, you don’t know what you are heading for.”
Being involved in many charitable organisations, he was invited to join a Kilimanjaro challenge with the aim to raise funds to build schools and support rural education efforts in East Africa. The group consisted of ten people who all hail from South Africa, with some living abroad, but their hearts remaining in Africa.
The slower the better
“I was told, ‘You always want to climb Everest, don’t you want to conquer Kilimanjaro to help raise money for rural kids up in Africa?’ And I blindly said, ‘Yes, Kilimanjaro is 5 895 metres above sea level, which is basically half of Mount Everest. How difficult can it be? It should be a walk in the park.’
“I’ve quickly learned that you can be as fit as can be and well- trained, it is not to say you will summit. Nothing can prepare you against altitude sickness.
“The thing with Kilimanjaro is that owing to the high altitude and thin air, it is difficult to breathe. You must go very, very, very slowly. The more slowly you go, the more friendly the mountain is towards you. The faster, the less you acclimatise.
“The toughest of all must be your mind, because if your body gives in, your mind must be the force to help your body carry on,” said Shaheen.
Apart from acclimatisation, climbers must also adapt to drinking four litres of water every day. This is to assist with oxygen. After each sip one must blow the tube to make sure there is no water left to freeze and block the tube.
“It is so high we were above the clouds and were looking down at the planes on international flights passing the mountain,” said Shaheen.
Only 50% will summit
The rule to summit is to start climbing at 24:00. Shaheen summited at 08:30 and his total duration up and down on summit day was 18 hours.
“Nothing that you could ever do, can prepare you for what you go through physically and emotionally while summiting.
“It was minus 20 degrees. All you see when you look up, is a pathway of people with headlamps climbing. As you look down, you see the headlamps of the path of people coming behind you.
“That night there were about 100 people. The ratio of people summiting is 50%,” said Shaheen.
You are not allowed to sit and must keep moving to keep your body warm. The worst thing you could do is to close your eyes at that altitude because you can slip into a coma very quickly owing to the thin oxygen.
“As you climb, you see people falling over with altitude sickness. Guides tell you to not look at the people suffering and screaming from pain. You must keep your mind and head on your summit path.”
Singing helps the wandering mind
“To keep my wandering mind on track, I repeatedly sang an Indian song from my childhood days. The morning we started to climb the steep Barranco Wall, my Tanzanian guide Bukhari, who had already been walking with me for three days, started to sing the song with me.”
Shaheen said it is a love song and is about “something, something happens to your heart.” Something indeed happened to his heart.
“On day two, with my head above the clouds, I saw the summit for the first time. The excitement was a needed boost, although I knew the summit was still four days away.
“I started to think of the mountain as a lady and said to myself, I am going to conquer you. I am going to win you. From then on, every morning I got out of my tent and looked at the summit. I told her: ‘I am closer … I am coming’.”
Life-changing experience
There are seven official routes up the mountain. Shaheen and his group of ten took the eight-day (six days to summit, two days to come down) Machame route which in total covers 62km.
“There are routes where you can sleep in lodges and huts. We took the rural route not only because it is the most beautiful scenic route, but also because it is a route without any luxuries to keep reminding us of what the children up in Africa are going through.
“It is like constantly climbing the Campanile’s staircase. It never levels. Even where we slept there was a gradient. During the night you are sliding downwards and must continuously pull yourself up in your sleeping bag.”
According to Shaheen, honour must go to the guides. “It is impossible to summit Kilimanjaro without the inspiration and the motivation of the guides.
“After Kilimanjaro, you see life from a different perspective. People are suffering in rural Africa. We think we have problems in South Africa, but if you look at what’s happening up there, we are blessed to have what we have.”
When asked what was next on his adventure list, Shaheen said, “I was invited to climb Mount Everest next year. I will think about it…”
