Ever thought of looking up and seeing someone walking effortlessly across the African sky? Stephan Siegrist, a Swiss professional alpinist has done that while on the Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. He sets a world record by walking a highline at 5,700 meters above sea level.
This record of his beat the previous highline record set by Bence Kerekesat 5,322 metres on his Kilimanjaro Climb. Bence was from Hungary and set the highline record at Ladakh, India.
Struggling At Altitude
Stephan Siegrist, set up a 21-meter line on the Arrow Glacier Camp at 150 meters off the ground. Siegrist was later noted saying, “The problem was not the Kilimanjaro Height, but the altitude. Low levels of oxygen make reactions slower, breathing harder and thinking clearly more difficult Kilimanjaro Trails.” Highline on Kilimanjaro requires incredible amounts of balance. Even though he was well acclimatized, the altitude still affected Siegrist’s ability to react to wind changes considerably. The athlete struggled and made very slow progress before eventually crossing the 21 meter line.
The daredevil stunt by the athlete was the highest Highline on Kilimanjaro ever to have been completed. Siegrist is no stranger to this having completed highlines on mountains such as the Matterhorn and Dufourspitze.
Siegrist was quoted saying, “The low oxygen not only makes breathing difficult, but it also makes you dizzy more quickly. Placing one foot on the Kilimanjaro Trails highline to begin the crossing was extremely difficult. He said, “It was interesting to see how the highline responded to the slightest tension during Kilimanjaro Activities. When I wasn’t completely relaxed, the webbing immediately trembled a bit.”
Securely anchoring the Highline on Kilimanjaro was a real challenge for him. It required a sure eye for stable rock formations and the right preparation for the highline attempt. Even the most single little mistake would have spelled the end of the Kilimanjaro Outdoor Adventure for Siegrist. The pressure was also increased by the weather and a tight schedule.
As an experienced alpinist, Siegrist was familiar with the challenges of height. But he couldn’t predict how difficult it was gonna be to keep his balance at 5,700 m above sea level. Step by step, Siegrist walked across the African sky. He became the first person to perform a highline balancing act on such altitude ever. It opened a new chapter in the book of adventurism!
And he achieved this with the help of the competent team of Kilimanjaro experts at Jerry Tanzania Tours. We have helped many other adventurous souls like Siegrist to achieve their Kilimanjaro dreams. Want to fulfill your own dreams of climbing Kilimanjaro? Contact us now!
