James Kagambi, popularly known as KG, has opened up about how he dealt with illness in his historic climb of Mt Everest in mid-May.
In an interview with Outside Magazine, a media outlet focused on outdoor activities, Kagambi noted that he had to deal with weak knees during the climb.
He also explained that he developed a cough due to the cold. Known as the Khumbu cough, the illness often occurs among mountain climbers as a result of cold temperatures and low humidity.
The mountaineer, who was the oldest at 62 years among the 11 climbers, noted that he gritted his teeth and carried on with the climb while calculating his every step not to trigger the injury.
"My knees have been a weak point, so I was very careful and conscious of where I was stepping. In general, it wasn’t an issue, but I did fall twice on crampons and hit the same spot on my left knee twice.
"I felt the most pain in my knees in the past two weeks, when I stopped exercising. I was supposed to have knee replacement surgery last year, which I put off for Full Circle. But now I’m undecided about whether I’ll have it next year or at all—we’ll just see how things go," Kagambi told the magazine.
He further noted that he summoned his background in mountaineering to pull his weight within the group whose goal was to walk for 18 hours each cycle.
"Everest is about having stamina—can you walk for 18 hours, stop, and then keep going?
"But having a technical background does help with success on Everest, and lends a feeling of accomplishment. Otherwise, it can feel like it’s just other people doing things for you," he added.
Kagambi, a retired teacher, made world history by summitting the world's highest mountain, Mt Everest, in a 40-day expedition.
The retired teacher, who is the founder and owner of KG Mountain Expeditions, became the first Kenyan native to reach the peak of Mt Everest on Thursday, May 12.
After his experience, Kagame wishes to improve the mountaineering conditions in Kenya and seeks to have the activity recognised as a sport.
"The Ministry of Tourism still hasn’t recognized mountaineering or rock climbing as a sport in Kenya. In the talks I have lined up, I’ll be sure to bring this up—you never know who will hear it.
"You don’t have to look at it from a cost perspective; you can go for a hike for free," he explained.
Kagambi embarked on the expedition together with Phil Henderson, Manoah Ainuu, Fred Campbell, Abby Dione, Thomas Moore, Desmond “Dom” Mullins, Rosemary Saal, and Eddie Taylor.
