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Comment by justinator | Hacker News Reader

Looks like a few hours walk and $250 for a guide:

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/110735330/standard-rou...

From the description I see on net this is indeed true, with big IF - you already have prior acclimatization to 5000m+. Without it, its almost impossible to make it to the top and back at that altitude, unless you have some super genes. And descriptions mention still 10 hours of hiking and altitude difference of some 1300m.

Even though the air around equator is thicker, you would most probably already feel very bad at the carpark at 4800m, if you would come up straight from the capital. I'd say some 5-7day acclimatization prior to this should be enough for most fit people.

Right. It's not "hard" in the grand scheme of things of climbing 8000m peaks in the Himalayas, highly technical climbs, or even a peak like Denali. However, it's also a far way from pull up to a parking lot and get a little exercise for the vast majority of people. Altitude makes a big difference for most. As you say, there's acclimatization. And also there's a world of difference climbing at 5000m+ relative to climbing relatively near sea level for almost everyone.

I can confirm it is difficult. Not in terms of climbing, but in terms of breathing. The higher, the smaller your steps. Above 6.000m do you 3 steps and 10 seconds of gasping for air or more. But the view on the summit, that was the most beautiful one I have every seen. You could see the shadow of the mountain, see below. In my case there where some clouds, which made it even more beautiful. https://80d2853cc4def76b377d-54344bc01a8b066c84096a8e7a3499a...

That is beautiful! And thanks for the feedback.

I'm in shape, and there's a 4,000+ meter mountain less than 30 miles away (as the crows flies) to acclimatize with, so I'd feel pretty good about it. I'm faster than most when hiking mountains. Doable :)

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