Editing Mount Kilimanjaro (section)

=== Safety ===
The climb is not technically as challenging as the [[Himalayas]] or [[Andes]], but the high elevation, low temperature, and occasional high winds can make Kilimanjaro a difficult trek. Acclimatization is required, and even experienced and physically fit trekkers may suffer some degree of [[altitude sickness]].<ref name=Acclimatization>{{Cite report | vauthors=Muza, SR, Fulco, CS, Cymerman, A | title=Altitude Acclimatization Guide | journal=US Army Research Inst. Of Environmental Medicine Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division Technical Report | issue=USARIEM-TN-04-05 | year=2004 | url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/7616 | access-date=2015-07-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214202657/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/7616 | archive-date=2016-02-14 | url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.expeditionkilimanjaro.com/preparation.php | title=Prepare yourself for the Kilimanjaro climb | first=R. |last=Stoppelenburg | access-date=2009-02-27 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319002451/http://www.expeditionkilimanjaro.com/preparation.php | archive-date=19 March 2009  }}</ref> A study of people attempting to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro in July and August 2005 found that 61.3 percent succeeded and 77 percent experienced acute mountain sickness (AMS).<ref name="DaviesKalson2009">{{cite journal | url=http://www.nickkalson.com/Papers/Kili_WEM.pdf | last1=Davies | first1=Andrew J. | last2=Kalson | first2=Nicholas S. | last3=Stokes | first3=Suzy | last4=Earl | first4=Mark D. | last5=Whitehead | first5=Adam G. | last6=Frost | first6=Hannah | last7=Tyrell-Marsh | first7=Ian | last8=Naylor | first8=Jon | title=Determinants of Summiting Success and Acute Mountain Sickness on Mt Kilimanjaro (5895 m) | journal=Wilderness & Environmental Medicine | volume=20 | issue=4 | pages=311–7 | year=2009 | issn=1080-6032 | doi=10.1580/1080-6032-020.004.0311 | pmid=20030437 | s2cid=13322264 | access-date=2015-07-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208062905/http://www.nickkalson.com/Papers/Kili_WEM.pdf | archive-date=2015-12-08 | url-status=live }}</ref> A retrospective study of 917 persons who attempted to reach the summit via the Lemosho or Machame routes found that 70.4 percent experienced AMS, defined in this study to be headache, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, or loss of appetite.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.3357/ASEM.4037.2014 |pmid=25329946 |title=A Retrospective Study of Acute Mountain Sickness on Mt. Kilimanjaro Using Trekking Company Data |journal=Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine |volume=85 |issue=11 |pages=1125–1129 |year=2014 |last1=Eigenberger |first1=Paul |last2=Faino |first2=Anna |last3=Maltzahn |first3=Joanne |last4=Lisk |first4=Christina |last5=Frank |first5=Eddie |last6=Frank |first6=Amy |last7=Loomis |first7=Zoe |last8=Schroeder |first8=Thies |last9=Strand |first9=Matthew |last10=Irwin |first10=David }}</ref>

Kilimanjaro's summit is well above the altitude at which life-threatening [[high altitude pulmonary edema]] (HAPE) or [[high altitude cerebral edema]] (HACE), the most severe forms of AMS, can occur.<ref name=MedicalProblems>{{Cite report | vauthors=Cymerman, A, Rock, PB | title=Medical Problems in High Mountain Environments. A Handbook for Medical Officers | publisher=US Army Research Inst. of Environmental Medicine Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division Technical Report | volume=USARIEM-TN94-2 | url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/7976 | access-date=5 March 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207062927/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/7976 | archive-date=2012-02-07 | url-status=usurped }}</ref> These health risks are increased substantially by excessively fast climbing schedules motivated by high daily national park fees, busy holiday travel schedules, and the lack of permanent shelter on most routes.<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://www.nickkalson.com/Papers/Kili_WEM.pdf | title=Determinants of Summiting Success and Acute Mountain Sickness on Mt Kilimanjaro (5895 m) | first1=Andrew J. |last1=Davies | first2=Nicholas S. |last2=Kalson | first3=Suzy |last3=Stokes | first4=Mark D. |last4=Earl | first5=Adam G. |last5=Whitehead | first6=Hannah |last6=Frost | first7=Ian |last7=Tyrell-Marsh | first8=Jon |last8=Naylor | journal=Wilderness and Environmental Medicine | year=2009 | volume=20 | issue=4 | pages=311–317 | doi=10.1580/1080-6032-020.004.0311 | pmid=20030437 | s2cid=13322264 | access-date=2015-07-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208062905/http://www.nickkalson.com/Papers/Kili_WEM.pdf | archive-date=2015-12-08 | url-status=live }}</ref> The six-day Machame route, which involves one day of "climbing high" to Lava Tower ({{convert|15190|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} and "sleeping low" at Barranco Camp ({{convert|13044|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}}), may delay the onset of AMS but does not ultimately prevent its occurrence.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Twice-Daily Assessment of Trekkers on Kilimanjaro's Machame Route to Evaluate the Incidence and Time-Course of Acute Mountain Sickness | first=Joel |last=Meyer | journal=High Altitude Medicine & Biology | year=2012 | volume=13 | issue=4 | pages=281–284 | doi=10.1089/ham.2012.1024|pmid = 23270446}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-12-17|title=Machame Route|url=https://kopatours.com/kilimanjaro/machame-route|website=Kopa Tours|access-date=9 April 2021|archive-date=25 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625134011/https://kopatours.com/kilimanjaro/machame-route|url-status=live}}</ref>

Falls on steep portions of the mountain and rock slides have killed trekkers. For this reason, the route via the [[Arrow Glacier]] was closed for several years, reopening in December 2007. Now again it officially closed as of January 20, 2024. Due to strong El Niño, the Western Breach has washed down the mountain.&nbsp;This huge runoff has carved new ravines on the slopes and seems to be dislodging the sediment that cements the rock together, disrupting the rock stability.&nbsp; At the route's base, rain water has opened new drainages and there is an active, flowing river through the Arrow Glacier Camp where there has been no water at all for decades.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Western Breach Route |url=https://www.climbing-kilimanjaro.com/western-breach-route/ |access-date=26 October 2019 |website=Western Breach Route Kilimanjaro |publisher=Climbing Kilimanjaro |archive-date=25 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625134059/https://www.climbing-kilimanjaro.com/western-breach-route/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://goafrica.about.com/od/tanzania/ig/Climbing-Mount-Kilimanjaro/Barranco-Route--Kilimanjaro.htm | title=Lava Tower en route to Barranco Camp | access-date=23 March 2011 | work=Africa Travel | publisher=About.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927172254/http://goafrica.about.com/od/tanzania/ig/Climbing-Mount-Kilimanjaro/Barranco-Route--Kilimanjaro.htm | archive-date=27 September 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref> The improper disposal of human waste on the mountain environment has created a health hazard, necessitating the boiling of all water.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Apollo | first1 = M | year = 2017 | title = The good, the bad and the ugly–three approaches to the management of human waste in a high-mountain environment | journal = International Journal of Environmental Studies | volume = 74 | issue = 1| pages = 129–158 | doi=10.1080/00207233.2016.1227225| bibcode = 2017IJEnS..74..129A | s2cid = 113843846 }}</ref>

According to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, 25 people died from January 1996 to October 2003 while climbing the mountain. Seventeen were female and eight were male, ranging in age from 29 to 74. Fourteen died from advanced high altitude illness, including one with [[HACE]], five with [[HAPE]], and six with both HACE and HAPE. The remaining eleven deaths resulted from "trauma (3), [[myocardial infarction]] (4), [[pneumonia]] (2), cardio-pulmonary failure of other underlying cause (1), and acute [[appendicitis]] (1). The overall mortality rate was 13.6 per 100,000 climbers."<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://wodocs.com/docum/1474-international_society_for_mountain_medicine-viwcmm_abstracts-32.html | title=Deaths Due to High Altitude Illness Among Tourists Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro |author=Markus Hauser |author2=Andreas Mueller |author3=Britta Swai |author4=Sendui Ole Nguyaine | journal=Proceedings of the 2004 South African Travel Medicine Society | year=2004 | access-date=2015-11-08 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117025449/http://wodocs.com/docum/1474-international_society_for_mountain_medicine-viwcmm_abstracts-32.html | archive-date=2015-11-17 | url-status=live }}</ref>