From Saddle Mountain to Kilimanjaro: Harbin Docs Climb Africa's Highest Peak

“On Monday, June 23, 2024, we summited Uhuru Peak, the highest point of Mount Kilimanjaro. Standing at 19,340 feet above sea level, the journey to the top was a physical challenge and a profound experience of self discovery and personal growth. Here’s what we learned from our adventure.”

So begins a blog entry by Dr. Amar Singh. The blog chronicles the incredibly challenging journey three Rome physicians made recently when they set out to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak.

Located in Tanzania, Kilimanjaro, a snow capped volcano, rises to 19,340 feet.

This journey began more than a year ago when Dr. Billy Chacko, Dr. Poonam Singh and Dr. Amar Singh decided to take on this immense challenge. Admittedly none of them are athletes. They each claim average fitness. None of them had ever really hiked or even camped in a tent before. And here they were preparing to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

“The most I’d ever walked is around my neighborhood on Saddle Mountain,” Chacko said with a laugh. “We started prepping for this adventure but knew it would not be easy. We were starting from scratch.”

They researched and purchased the gear they’d need including the right hiking shoes, poles, jackets, thermals and countless other pieces of equipment and supply. They would be hiking and camping for days up an unforgiving mountain.

Kilimanjaro rises up above the African savannah and takes would-be summiters through seven geothermal zones from base to peak. Chacko and the Singhs hiked and camped in tropical rainforests, tundra deserts, and snowy/icy peaks. They hiked for hours each day and camped in tents each night. They even saw glaciers.

Poonam Singh said even with up to six layers of thermal clothing and jackets, they were still cold at times. Something as simple as going to the bathroom is challenging on a windy mountainside.

And the physical climb wasn’t the only challenge. For three people who had never slept or gotten dressed in a dark tent, it was an entirely new experience. But then there was altitude sickness to contend with as well.

Amar Singh said on the night they were to summit, he was certainly feeling altitude sickness, experiencing double vision, nausea and his legs just wouldn’t work properly.

Poonam Singh said she also experienced nausea and her body simply didn’t want to eat or drink anything for a while.

“Every night we talked about stopping,” she said. “Every night we toyed with the idea of not continuing. It would still have been an accomplishment in our eyes. But we always agreed to press on.”

They trio, along with a guide and porters, hiked around eight to 14 hours each day. Sometimes more, carrying around 15-20 lbs of gear the entire time. They hiked through rain, ice and sleet. They hiked in the dark.

But as they climbed, they tried to take in the spectacular beauty around them as their elevation changed. They saw monkeys, insects, reptiles, native flowers and plants and of course the changing terrain. One day they might see clouds below them. The next they’d be climbing through a blanket of snow.

They hiked and camped for six days to reach the top. On the final day of climbing, they began to hike the last part to the summit at 11 p.m. to be able to summit in time to see the sun rise. They hiked for hours in the dark. It was treacherous but worth it. When they summited at 6:30 a.m., the view was like nothing they had ever experienced. It was mostly snowy at the top. They could see a glacier. They walked around the edge of the massive volcano.

“Sunrise was spectacular at the summit,” Poonam Singh said. “We had made it to the top and it was majestic.”

But they want others to know that the summit wasn’t the only reward for their hard work.

“There is a tendency to think your emotions will be tied up to the destination, in this case the summit, the very top of the mountain,” Chacko said. “But for all of us it was more about the journey. We were rewarded all the way to the top, by knowing we were exceeding what we thought were our limits.”

The trio realized at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro that they hadn’t “done it” when they reached the top.

“We had been doing it all along,” Chacko said.

Amar Singh said though they were totally physically exhausted at the summit, they were emotionally grateful to be able to even attempt such a feat.

“We all had our highs and lows along the way,” he said. “At one point or another we all had to pick eachother up and lift each other’s spirits to keep going.”

He was especially tested during the climbing of the Barranco Wall, a sheer rock face. He’s afraid of heights and was pushed to the limits having to scramble along the rock face. But he did it.

It took them six days to climb to the summit, and two days to climb back down.

“We are just average people,” Amar Singh said. “We wanted to inspire others to think that they too are capable of challenges they might not believe they can do. You don’t have to climb a mountain like we did,” he said. “But you can do more. You can take on whatever obstacles might be in your way.”

Chacko said there’s a verse in the Bible he remembered while climbing that says “we are fearfully and wonderfully made.” He said it made him appreciate how humbling an experience it was to be surrounded by such majesty and then to consider that it would be a waste to not make the most of the bodies we’ve been given.

“By luck and chance we are given these bodies at birth,” he said. “It would be a waste to not take care of them and make the most of them. And you don’t know how much you can do unless you try.”

“On the slopes of Kilimanjaro, we experienced a true sense of freedom,” Singh wrote in his blog. “There were no messages to answer, no meetings to attend, and no distractions from the outside world. It was just us and the mountain. Eight days of no running water and electricity. This simplicity was liberating. We could focus entirely on the task at hand and our inner thoughts. Every step was an opportunity to reflect and connect with our true selves.”

The trio said that as physicians they believe their journey added a bit of time to their lives. They feel stronger and of course there is pride in their accomplishment but their message is one of encouragement to others. It is one encouraging physical activity, healthy habits and the idea that we can all push a little past the limits we believe are holding us back.