Thursday 17 September 2015

The effects of alcohol on training

This blog is not only about my Mt. Kilimanjaro climbs, but also, suggestions on how best to get to the summit and that includes proper training. I have learnt that alcohol and training - and ensuring that one reaches the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro without effort - do not mix.
Photo credit: kilo2kili
Here are a few reasons you should not drink when training to climb a mountain such as Kilimanjaro:

1. Alcohol serves no useful purpose to a healthy body. There are less positive factors than negative ones. The effects of alcohol remain in the body for a while and all these affect better performance of the body. Climbing mountains requires maximum performance.
2. Drinking strains your kidneys because water in your body is directed into your kidneys to metabolize the alcohol.
3. Your mental capacity is limited by the presence of alcohol in the body. The brain receives less glycogen and your general alertness is reduced - a factor that inhibits your training.

I used a few facts on the deleterious effects of alcohol from this source:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/swordchucks3.htm 

but there are numerous other links you can read:

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/healthy-lifestyle/can-alcohol-affect-sports-performance-and-fitness-levels
http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat/question-of-the-week-alcohol-and-fitness
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2014/apr/23/how-does-alcohol-affect-athletic-performance

There are some benefits to consuming alcohol but, in general, the negatives effects outweigh the positive ones.

Monday 14 September 2015

Vitali Maembe is the latest member of the Kilimnjaro Club

The Kilimanjaro Club lists people I know who have scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro, including those who join me every year on the annual Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb and those who join me for my non-charity climbs.
*********************************************************
There were only two of us on my ninth Mt. Kilimanjaro climb. The other person was musician and activist Vitali Maembe. It was a unique climb; he carried his guitar along and on several occasions, despite the challenges of high altitude, found the strength to open his guitar case and entertain other climbers and guides and porters with his songs.

Vitali is best understood when he speaks for himself. Here's a sampling.




He is the 15th member of the Kilimanjaro Club.

If you want to join this club, join the next climb.

No.
Name
Nationality
Age
Point Reached*
Summit Date
1.
Madaraka Nyerere
Tanzanian
48
Uhuru Peak
24th August 2008
2. 
Le Huyhn
Vietnamese
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
25th August 2008
3.
Markus Geiger
Swiss
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
2009
4.
Gerald Hando
Tanzanian
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
6 October 2009
5.
Notburga Maskini
Tanzanian
49
Stella Point
6 October 2009
6.
Dmitry
Russian(?)
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
13 December 2010
7.
Jaffar Amin
Ugandan
44
Uhuru Peak
13 December 2010
8.
William Rutta
Tanzanian
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
10 December 2010
9.
Mary Kalikawe
Tanzanian
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
10 December 2010
10.                          
Steve Kamau
Kenyan
25
Uhuru Peak
26 September 2011
11.                          
Jim Becket
American
74
Uhuru Peak
26 September 2011
12.                          
Andrea Wobmann
Swiss
39
Uhuru Peak
26 September 2011
13.                          
Zulfa Fadhili
Tanzanian
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
26 September 2011
14.                          
Jim Whitney
American
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
26 September 2011
15.                          
Vitali Maembe
Tanzanian
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
12 September 2014

*A climber is awarded a certificate for reaching one of three elevations: Uhuru Peak (5,895 AMSL), Stella Point (5,745 AMSL), or Gillman's Point (5,685 AMSL).

Related posts:

Join the Kilimanjaro climb in January 2016

The details of the 2016 Tanzania Development Support Kilimanjaro Charity Climb are now set.

The purpose of the climb is to raise $50,000 to build the computer lab wing of the Madaraka Nyerere Library and Community Resource Center. This facility will serve 10,000 children and 100 primary and secondary teachers in the Bukwaya region. The computer labs will connect these children and their families to the global community with high speed internet connections and computer literacy training. The money you raise in this climb will change their lives forever, helping them out of poverty and into healthier, longer, more satisfying lives.

The co-leaders of the 2016 Kili Climb are Mr. Madaraka Nyerere and Prof. Kurt Thurmaier. They led the successful 2012 TDS Kili Climb that raised over $33,000 to start building the Library and Community Resource Center (LCRC) in Nyegina.
  
Right after an early breakfast on Monday, January 24th, we will head to the Kilimanjaro Park Gate to begin our adventure to 19, 241 feet at Uhuru (Freedom) Peak! We will summit the highest peak in Africa on Saturday morning, January 30th

If you are interested in joining this charity climb, please get in touch.

Sunday 13 September 2015

Vitali Maembe joins the CDEA Kilimanjaro Climb 2014 (post 10 of 10)

On my latest Mt. Kilimanjaro climb I trekked on the Machame route for the first time. I was accompanied by musician/activist Vitali Maembe.

Here’s the tenth post of my blog log of the climb

Thursday 12 September 2014
Vitali changed the last-day rule on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Normally, it's the team of guides and porters who sing for the climbers. But today it was Vitali who sang for the guides and porters and his punchy lyrics were well-received. Yahoo said earlier: we listen to the porters (sing) everyday; it is better that you sing today.

After we descended to Moshi, I met a seasoned guide who at the top of the Barranco wall had posed with Vitali's guitar. I repeated to him my worry that Uhuru Peak (officially at 5,895m above mean sea level) is not the highest point on Mt. Kilimanjaro. I felt that a point further east appeared much higher. He said he would take measurements on his next climb.
Vitali plays one of his songs at the top of the Barranco wall.
Another guide said he thinks Bismarck Rock, just minutes before reaching Uhuru Peak from Stella Point, is actually higher. He said he raised the matter with the Kilimanjaro Park authorities and has been told [something I also theorized myself] that when Hans Meyer established the current position as being the highest on Kilimanjaro, there was almost full glacial cover of Kibo and that could have indeed been the highest point.

Then the glaciers shrank and Bismarck Rock was exposed and has become the higher point.

Another point made by the Park authorities, he said, is that there is little space to accommodate a large group of climbers congregating at the same time on Bismarck Rock. The current "peak" is flat and wide enough to accommodate a large group of people at the same time.

Related post:
http://blogkili.blogspot.co.ke/2015/07/vitali-maembe-joins-cdea-kilimanjaro.html
http://blogkili.blogspot.co.ke/2014/09/vitali-maembe-joins-cdea-kilimanjaro.html