By profession he is a doctor, but by passion he is a mountaineer. Goutham Meher, M.D., D.M. (Endocrinology) is the first resident of Vijayawada city to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing (not part of a range) mountain in the world.
The elevation of the mountain is 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level. It ranks fourth in topographical prominence (minimum height of climb from any nearby peak) after Mount Everest, Aconcaqua (South America) and McKinley (Alaska). Though not planned, Dr Meher summited on August 18, his birthday, along with two close friends. Dr Meher’s love for running has over the years gradually turned into a passion for mountaineering. Before conquering Kilimanjaro, he climbed Kala Pattar, one of Mount Everest’s several base camps, which is 5,545 metres above sea level. The mountaineering bug apparently bit him when he trekked across the Grand Canyon, South rim to the North rim.
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The climb to Kala Pattar taught him a lot about how to deal with altitude sickness. Speaking like a doctor, he said, “As the altitude increases people develop headache, nausea and loss in appetite. But these symptoms are not a source of worry. When coughing and vomiting starts one needs to get alarmed. Such people should be put on oxygen and sent to lower altitude quickly.”
Dr Meher and his friends Sashi and Venu, a doctor and software engineer from Louisville, Kentucky, USA, “finished strong” because of some precautions they took. While the average time allowed at the summit was a maximum of 10 minutes, the trio spent between 45 minutes and one hour without any problem.
It is essential to keep drinking water, a minimum of three litres a day, to keep altitude sickness at bay. Though there is no sweating, climbers lose water through their breath. Dr Meher also recommended climbers to take one full day (24 hours) rest at the Barafu Base Camp before attempting the Uhuru peak, the highest point on the mountain.
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