Oxygen on Kilimanjaro - Do You Need it? (Emergency & Supplemental Oxygen)

At all altitudes, the percentage of oxygen in the air is constant at 21%.
However, the number of oxygen molecules changes due to air pressure. At sea level, air is compressed, squeezing oxygen molecules together, making it denser. But at higher altitude, air pressure is lower and oxygen molecules spread apart, making air thinner.
The low oxygen at high altitude is what causes altitude sickness, or acute mountain sickness (AMS).
Symptoms of altitude sickness begin to arise starting at around 8,000 feet and continue to become more pronounced the higher you go. The precise mechanism is not well understood but it’s clearly related to hypoxia and some other factors such as effort and innate susceptibility.
Altitude sickness is the main cause of fatalities while climbing Kilimanjaro. High altitude pulmonary oedema and high altitude cerebral oedema are two fatal forms of serious AMS that can strike on the mountain. Therefore, many Kilimanjaro operators bring oxygen as a precaution in order to treat climbers who have developed moderate or severe altitude sickness.
Ultimate Kilimanjaro® carries oxygen for emergency purposes on every climb. This oxygen is only used to treat a stricken climber in conjunction with immediate descent. In other words, it is administered only in a rescue scenario and as a part of evacuation off the mountain.
Now there are some operators who advertise the use of a “personal oxygen system” to assist climbers on Mount Kilimanjaro. This is not standard practice.
Supplementary oxygen is normally only used at extreme altitudes above 23,000 feet. Heights greater than 26,000 feet are inhospitable for sustained human life. These elevations are sometimes referred to as the ‘Death Zone.’ The top of Kilimanjaro is 19,340 feet tall. Therefore, supplemental oxygen is not needed to climb Kilimanjaro. In fact, supplementary oxygen is rarely used on the peak.
Read more: www.ultimatekilimanjaro.com/s...
Join our Kilimanjaro facebook discussion group: / ultimatekilimanjaro
VIDEO CONTENTS
0:00 - Intro
0:29 - Altitude sickness
1:15 - Emergency oxygen
1:34 - Supplemental oxygen
2:12 - Why we don't use supplemental oxygen
4:07 - Bottom line
ABOUT ULTIMATE KILIMANJARO
Ultimate Kilimanjaro® is, quite simply, the #1 guide service on Mount Kilimanjaro.
With more than 15 years of experience, Ultimate Kilimanjaro® has a proven expertise on Mount Kilimanjaro. We lead over 150 climbs per year, with more than 1,000 adventurers climbing with us annually. Literally thousands of climbers have stood on the top of Kilimanjaro with us. Our clients have included celebrities, film makers, senators, ambassadors, authors, journalists, and even the world record holder for the oldest person to summit.
All agree, you won’t find a better Kilimanjaro outfitter.
Our expert guides, high quality standards, and focus on safety have made us the top choice for thousands of customers from all over the world. In short, we know what it takes to get you to the summit - in an safe, fun, and affordable way.
Thousands of people have stood on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with us.
Won’t you join us on the Roof of Africa?
Email us at: [e-mail]
www.ultimatekilimanjaro.com
/ ultimatekilimanjaro
/ ultimatekilimanjaro
/ @ultimate-kilimanjaro

[@Ultimate-Kilimanjaro]

For everything you need to know about climbing Kilimanjaro, visit 👉www.ultimatekilimanjaro.com

[@LinusWilson]

Hey, great presentation. I don’t plan to use O2, but I think you criticized a straw man. The only one operator that I know that offers O2 will only offer it on summit night. You cannot ascend if you need it for AMS. Finally, Kili is a no “style” climb because of government regulation. It is always heavily supported. Thus, the channel Mediocre Ameture’s Kili video was more a hostage video. He specializes in stylish unsupported ascents of common peaks. I think O2 has been too much discussed in the context of high altitude style while other forms of labor intensive support, fixed ropes et cetra, are ignored.