You may call yourself a rock climber, and perhaps you have done some hiking at one time or another in your life. However, chances are that you haven't climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, reaching 19,335.6 feet above sea level, is a stratovolacano (a volcano composed of both lava flows and pyroclastic material) located at the northeastern tip of Tanzania, near the Kenyan border. A climb up Kilimanjaro, complete with wading through mists of the equatorial jungle to reach the ice, craters, and breath-taking views from the summit, is a must for the adventurous and dedicated climber.
Although Hopkins students are known to study at the "Hut" until 4 a.m. and are praised for mastering the most complex theorems of mathematics, climbing the highest mountain in Africa is quite another story. One look at this monster of a mountain would surely send the D-Level crowd away with their books over their heads. But not Rose Zulliger.
Zulliger, a Hopkins freshman, has always loved the outdoors. She presently works as a guide at a canoeing camp in Northern Ontario, and is looking forward to being a Pre-Orientation leader for next year's incoming freshman class. She is working with the Red Cross to create an outdoor leadership program for high school students in Baltimore.
Zulliger seemingly has rock climbing in her blood. "In 1991, when I was six years old, my dad climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with his two brothers," she said. "Over the next ten years, he climbed a number of mountains, summiting the highest points in South America, Australia, and Europe. When I was 10, I told my dad I was going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro."
Zulliger's father's family consisted of nine children, and as a graduation gift, his parents allowed each child to choose a place in the United States to travel to. He took this tradition a step further and said that each of his children could go anywhere in the world. Naturally, Rose took on the lofty goal of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, and during her senior year of high school, she began planning her graduation trip. She was to travel on safari for nine days in Tanzania with her mother, father and uncle, then split from her mother to climb the mountain with her father and uncle. She and her father trained for four months to prepare for the arduous climb.
Zulliger was part of a group of eight enthusiasts taking the "Machame" or "Whiskey" route up the mountain. The route required five days to ascend the mountain and two days to come down. Zulliger estimates that more than half of those attempting this feat do not reach the summit. Since Kilimanjaro goes through five ecosystems, she started the trip in summer wear, but would end up in dangerously cold conditions.
The climbing was never easy. "It was strenuous hiking for six hours a day," Zulliger said. "I was in a tent by myself. All I brought was Hemmingway, and the second day I realized I hated him. In the end I thought I was going to kill myself for not bringing any other books."
The hike to the summit was the roughest portion of the trip. "We got up from camp at 13,000 feet and climbed for six hours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.," she said. "At 16,000 feet we went to bed for six hours, [woke up] and climbed to the summit from 10 pm-7 am. We summitted at 7 am. It was miserable--I kept wanting to sit down and rest."
Because Zulliger was younger and in better shape, she led her dad and uncle to the summit. "I was counting every 100 steps," she said. "I 'dedicated' every 100 steps to someone I knew." She also learned a Swahili song while she was climbing the mountain. Although it was only a couple of lines long, she notes that it "took forever" to sing because of limited oxygen.
Other medical problems also plagued the group. "There was a risk of [becoming] snow blind," Zulliger noted. "By the end, everything I saw was pink." Snow blindness is a temporarily blindness caused by exposure to light reflected off ofsnow or ice.
Elevated altitudes drastically change the way the body functions. "You're not hungry, [and] you have to force yourself to eat," Zulliger said. "Some effects of the altitude are shallow breathing, dehydration, and poor sleeping -- your body doesn't really sleep, so you end up just laying there for hours." Another risk is a cerebral or pulmonary edema, which can lead to a stroke.
Although she endured rough conditions, Zulliger never thought about giving up. "When we were summiting, it was icy and we got lost," she said. "The last hour was the longest hour of my life; it was like slow motion. We got up to the summit and collapsed. I had all these plans of what I wanted to do [at the summit], but when I got there, I just collapsed."
One of these plans was to take a rock from the summit. "We had been walking down for like an hour and a half and I was like, 'I didn't get a rock from the summit!' So I picked one up from where I was standing." She didn't seem particularly upset. "[It was] close enough," she said.
Her goal finally achieved, reaching the top was somewhat anti-climactic. A sense of accomplishment didn't hit Zulliger until much later. "I was so tired, I couldn't even think," she said. "There is no way you can expect the feeling--if nothing else it was something I had decided I was going to do years before and actually did. I was dreaming about this for years and now I did it. What now?"
After recovering and replenishing her system, Zulliger realized how amazing the experience was, and is currently planning a trip to Mt. Rainier, a more technical climb. She is still the only girl in her family who climbs.
Zulliger's climbing experience, and her entire trip in general has had a lasting impact on her. "I was standing for two hours talking to seven guys from a traditional tribe in Africa about their life....it just gave me a completely different perspective of the world," she said. "We look at them and say they are so sheltered, but they were so happy."
Zulliger always knew she was interested in HIV education in Kenya, and the trip further solidified this idea. "Being there was a very cool experience that so many people will never have," she said. "I was this white girl about to go to a premier school, and here are these guys living in mud huts, whose wealth was based on how big their herd of cattle was." One man even offered her father twelve cows for Zulliger's hand in marriage.
Undoubtedly, Zulliger will never forget her trip. "I learned about 'mind over matter.' [Throughout the climb,] my body hated me. [But I realized] if I decide I want to do something, I can do it," she said. "I have a lot more respect for what I'm able to do."
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