Kilimanjaro

President SR Nathan’s letter to Salihin

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Acting Minister (CYS), MG (NS) Chan Chun Sing’s  congratulatory message to Special Olympics athlete Salihin Bin Sinai and the Mount Kilimanjaro climb team on successful climb of Mt Kilimanjaro

My congratulations to Salihin and the Mount Kilimanjaro climb team!  It takes immense courage, skill, teamwork and perseverance to scale Mount Kilimanjaro.  I hope their achievement will inspire many of us to challenge ourselves and to pursue our dreams in life.

This morning we said our good-byes as Salihin and JC make their way back to Singapore. They land Thursday June 16 at 3.05pm on Qatar Airlines. There should be quite a crowd there to support him. Hope you can join.

Herith returned home to Dar es Saalam yesterday where his successful climb will be the talk of his family and friends. Herith does not know anyone who has climbed the mountain before.

The intellectually disabled deserve our respect and the full opportunity to participate in society. When Singapore signs the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities this will be an important affirmation of their full inclusion into society. In the meantime I hope you will get involved in Special Olympics and the other wonderful organizations supporting those with intellectual disabilities. They need your volunteer and financial support.

Salihin and Herith are quiet heroes and I’ll forever treasure our adventure together.

Three hours to the finish, we were ready to get to the gate, really ready. Going downhill is much harder than often imagined as my legs just didn’t work when I woke up. Despite months of training my calves and thighs were screaming in pain with each step. Age matters and Jon and I were feeling it and we hadn’t even started yet.

But before we left the porters and guides gave us a gift and sang the Kilimanjaro song for us getting everyone to dance and sing with them. It was a blast and for a moment I felt no pain. But only for a moment.

While the other boys flew down the hill like they were on roller skates Jon and I settled into our own pace. Salihin. Herith, Matthew and Christopher were the first down. David (with some whopping blisters) and I were next, and Jon and JC were the clean up crew. The night before Jon had said all he wanted was a Kilimanjaro beer at the finish. As he came down the final hill he was walking backward due to a popped kneecap and he was, in his own understated words, ‘knackered’. When I pulled out two Kilimanjaro beers he could not have been a happier guy.

Our bus ride to Moshi was quiet as we all recovered. We arrived at the MEM Tours office to pay our regards to Mohammed, the owner. Mohammed is a big bear of a man with a smile a mile wide. Without his personal support of Salihin, JC and Herith this climb would not have happened for them and we are eternally grateful to know such a great man with a big heart. Before we left the porters who carried our tents, food, cooking equipment, etc wanted to meet with Herith and Salihin. When they came out the porters and guides broke out in cheers and there were high-fives all around. They knew this was a climb with meaning and they congratulated them with deep respect. One of the guides said he had never seen that before.

Tonight will be our final dinner before we separate tomorrow. Salihin arrives at Changi on Thursday June 16th on Qatar Airline flight number QR638 at 3.05pm. Go on down and show them him your appreciation. It will mean a great deal to him.

Salihin and Herith and the entire team made it to the Summit!

It was a night that froze all our water and tested the ratings on our sleeping bags. No one slept well at 5,700 meters and the almost full moon created a night time glow on the snow a glaciers that one could almost read by. Breakfast was light and we were on the road at sunrise. Expecting extreme cold we had far too many layers on when the sun hit us and much of the 2.5 hour climb was spent shedding layers. The summit weather was perfect with views of the glaciers in all directions. Herith and Salihin had huge beaming smiles of achievement and we took almost every possible combination of photos with Singapore. Tanzanian, US and Special Olympics flags on full display.

It was a special moment seeing these two young men from such different worlds come together to overcome such enormous obstacles to achieve Kilimanjaro’s summit on the, hardest route. Their handshake and hug on Uhuru Peak made the months of planning and preparation all worth it.

Now only one thing remained, getting down. Ever hear that old saying that getting down is harder than going up? It’s true, and Jon and I have the aches and pains to prove it. We came down to 3,000 meters at Mweki Camp for our final night on the mountain. Tonight we recounted our many stories and memories at dinner, most of which have made the blog.

We all agreed a warm shower and a real bed was something we definitely needed and wanted.

Tomorrow is a three hour climb to base camp and a bus to our hotel and hot water, soap and clean clothes.

We woke with only one thing on our minds, how is Salihin and can he continue? He woke with a stomach ache and didn’t get a good nights sleep. However, Salihin felt stronger and had a normal breakfast and wanted to continue. His desire to continue despite not feeling 100% had a great impact on us to ensure he achieved this dream. While we thought he might tire later in the day we were prepared for it in our planning. The guides pronounced him fit to go but anticipated he might become weaker in the day because of the altitude.

It was cold when we left at 6.30am and we remain so as we would spend most of the day in the shade. It is a deceptive climb as one cannot see the very difficult terrain at the top and when you think you are halfway in fact you still have three-quarters to go. It is a 45-60 degree climb with the top involving large steps and scrambles on all fours. The climbing was precarious in spots and we were ever vigilant for loose rocks as one went sailing past me on a rest stop. It was to be at least a seven hour climb where we would ascend to about 5,800 meters. Our plan was to work as a team with our four guides and watch the person in front and behind carefully with guides on either side of Salihin.

We progressed rather easily for the first third yet we then noticed Salihin had slowed down as the altitude began to affect us all. At this point we decided to have one of the guides take Salihin’s backpack and this did help for a while. However later in the second third of the climb Salihin became more tired and we focused on his hydration and nutrition. He was still mostly climbing on his own yet at a slower pace. At this stage we had two guides, JC and myself watching after him closely. The final third was by far the most difficult and here Salihin began to struggle. It was through this period the one has to dig down deep for the drive to continue and where courage is the most important element of success.

We all provided support, encouragement and guidance to Salihin to get him to the crater rim, the only person who could get it done was Salihin himself. In the end we all. witnessed a clinic on bravery, tenacity and courage as Salihin navigated some very difficult terrain. While he admitted he was very tired he did waiver in his desire to succeed.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t note the concern and attention of Salihin’s buddy, JC, who as a Special Olympics volunteer was totally dedicated to Salihin when he really needed it. Also Patrick, Deus and Abbu were exceptional as guides and fully committed.

In the end it took us some extra time and more rest breaks than expected. To see an exhausted young man who had given everything he had he made it to the top of the Kibo Crater was a deeply emotional moment. Walking the 300 meters to camp from the rim of the crater Herith and Salihin arms over each others shoulder supporting each as they disappeared in a blanket of clouds was a perfect moment.

It was a special day that exemplified all the Special Olympics hopes for its athletes. It was an exceptional display which Salihin’s family and friends, all of Singapore and the Special Olympics community should be proud of. It was a exceptional experience and one that none of us will never forget.

Looming over today’s achievement however is that the summit still awaits.

p.s. I also want to thank my three sons (Matthew, Christopher and David) who each showed personal strength which allowed us to focus on Salihin and their help was greatly appreciated.

Today was a long hike of about seven hours to the foot of the Great Western Breach. We had the GWB in our sights the whole time as if constantly grew is size and intimidation. We picked up about another thousand meters to 4,800 meters.

We went through the cloud layer and had lunch at Lava Tower in the clouds. For about 5 minutes the clouds broke affording a tantalizing view of this intimidating mountain. We spent most of the day in moorland which is largely low bushes. In the evening we had a wonderful sunset as we looked down on the clouds below before dinner.

But the drama of the day was that Salihin progressively was feeling the effects of the altitude and was very weak when we arrived Arrow Glacier. This led to a discussion with the lead guide, the final authority, as to whether he was strong enough for the Western Breach the next day. Safety is our first priority. He drank a lot of water and juice and ate what he could and had a very early bedtime. While we are hopeful for him to continue he did look very tired and the Western Breach is another one kilometer of altitude in a colder harsher terrain. It will be the hardest day.

Tomorrow we will see how he is and the guides will make a decision in the morning. It was a cold night with an amazing night sky and while he wish him to continue, his safety is our top concern.

I may have left you hanging on a few issues.

First, Jon is back. After a bad bout of altitude sickness he is recovered and back on the trail to all our relief. Jon has a wonderful sense of humor and is very entertaining at mealtime. He is now known as Mr Rebound.

Second, JC does in fact now have a pulse.

Today was an easy day with about 3 hours hiking to the Shiria II camp. We had a hot lunch and took the day to relax before the push in the days ahead.
The view of Kilimanjaro is spectacular. Everyone is in good shape physically and in high spirits. Cell coverage is spotty so please be patient with us. Salihin and Herith look very strong and are doing very well.

We will gain about 1,000 meters in each of the next two days so we are vigilant for further signs of altitude sickness. But our pace is giving us time to acclimatize. While cold at night when the sun comes out it warms up quickly.

Everyone is sleeping well and hopefully tonight will be no exception.

We came over a ridge and had our first full view of Kilimanjaro…Awesome!

Our wake up call at 630am brought us some hot tea as the temperature begins to drop. David found the magic mixture of porridge, Milo and sugar, then a scrambled egg sandwich with sausage. Seconds and thirds for everyone. Comparing sleep Chris, Salihin and Jon seemed to not sleep as well as the rest of us.

Our hike today saw the transition from forest to moorland where in about the space of 10 meters the large trees of the forest disappeared. But that brought into play a hive of bees who seemed to find us intensely interesting.

While hiking and during our call in to 938 Live we met the most incredible person. He is from Turkey and is circum-navigating with world using only human power over six years. He rowed a boat across the Pacific over 300 days, bike across Australia, walked across Papua New Guinea, and to date has covered over 40,000 kilometers. To his credit when he heard of Herith and Saihin he wanted to meet them and was extremely gracious and supportive.

The mountain came into view today as we rounded a corner. Stunning. Everyone said “It’s so BIG, and so Steep”. Kilimanjaro is intimidating but everyone is up for the challenges to come. Being above the clouds creates some amazing views but we have to watch every step.

Altitude sickness had its first victim today, our friend Jon. Terrible headaches and nausea have him confined to his tent as he left lunch on the canyon floor.. We hope he will recover with a good sleep, a lot of water and then some food. Tomorrow is our easiest day so plenty of time to be on the mend. Everyone else in high spirits and good form. The hard part starts in 36 hours.