Two Sri Lankans, Ranga Madupathma and Sudam Gamage, who climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, returned to the island yesterday morning.
Mount Kilimanjaro, located in Tanzania, is the highest free-standing volcanic mass in the world. Mount Kilimanjaro National Park spreads over an area of 756km and it is listed under the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Ranga Madupathma (33) and Sudam Gamage (36) are both residing overseas in Australia and United Kingdom respectively. They are both past students of Ananda College in Colombo.
Speaking about their experience, the duo said they had set off on their climb on the 16th of August. “A person cannot stay at the mountain peak for more than 10 minutes. There is no adequate oxygen to breathe,” Ranga Madupathma said.
He also said that on way to the top, they met other foreign climbers including Germans and Americans. He was told that four climbers had died during this arduous journey recently. He expressed gratitude to the Tanzanian guides who had rendered their assistance to the duo during their venture.
Mount Kilimanjaro, with its summit about 5,895 metres above sea level, is a dormant volcano. It last showed signs of eruption some 200 years ago. The mountain range is a large stratovolcano composed of three distinct volcanic cones named Kibo, Shira and Mawenzi.
The two Sri Lankan youths had reached the Uhuru Peak, the highest summit on Kibo’s crater rim following an arduous climb.
Sri Lanka’s sole Mount Everest summiteers Jayanthi Kuru-Uthumpala and Johann Peiris had also earlier climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro as a practice climb prior to their attempt on the world’s highest peak.
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