Crowning The Summit

Four dentists from the city embarked on a dream journey and reached the top. Jaya Siva Murty brings the story.

The difficult terrain of Africa’s highest peak, the looming Mt. Kilimanjaro, beckoned four dentists from the city. Dr. Varaprasad Vella, Dr. Sreedhar Bitra, Dr. Sudhakar Korukonda and Dr. Suresh Gorantla shared that the idea of going on a physically intensive trek had been on their mind for over eight years. While this mountain did come up during discussions, they zoomed in on the idea, when an acquaintance shared the details. Each was excited and soon a distant dream started getting real.

The preparation

‘A book on Michael Crichton’s travels inspired me. This physician- author had talked of Kilimanjaro in his travelogue, not as a how-to guide, but about its impact on people’s minds.’ So when Dr. Varaprasad committed to the idea he knew that it wouldn’t be some thrill ride. It would infact be physically and mentally intensive, needing not just body strength but mental fitness as well. Going to a doctor to assess his physical fitness was the first thing he did. For others, the enthusiasm of the idea itself was the adrenaline and they prepared by hiking up Kailasagiri. Before the ascent on Mt. Kilimanjaro, they would run up the steps of Kailasagiri, they share. ‘You need to be able to trek continuously for 10kms to be able to do the Kilimanjaro trek, as this is geographically a walking mountain’, they share. So for 3-4 months, before their trek, they worked on their physical fitness and also purchased the necessary gear.

Starting the journey