Martin Foot and Ankle's own Dr. Bronwyn Wilke has recently taken a trip with her husband, Eric, to Africa, where they hiked to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and a goal for many to achieve climbing during their life time. African Travel Resource states, "The trek to the summit is a magnificent and spectacular 5 to 9 night undertaking, to rank amongst the greatest outdoor challenges on the planet." 

Dr. Wilke recently read a Blog article (see link below) about a group who also climbed Kilimanjaro.  But they did it barefoot.  Below are her reflections and comments about her wonderful adventure and what her feet experienced,  as well as her thoughts on climbing barefoot.

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/32592/climbing+expedition+a%20ttains+summit+of+mt+kilimanjaro--barefooted/

Dr. Wilke writes:

Several months of shopping and then breaking in my boots.  Four and a half days up where the terrain included mud (in the rainforest), sand, rocks, shale and snow and ice up on the glacier.  Summit night -  I vividly remember the stinging, burning pain of the ice cold wind as it snuck into every crevice it could find.  I was extremely thankful for my waterproof north face boots, sock liners and smartwool socks.  Although it was as the sun was rising, I was very aware when the warmers in my boots and gloves cooled after reaching their 8 hour limit. A day and a half down initially sliding down the scree or loose gravel for four hours then again climbing over rocks and into the sand and mud of the rainforest. 

This is how my feet experienced 30 miles of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro last month.  On the last day of the descent I can imagine going barefoot would have felt great, relieving the jamming of toes into the front end of my boots, sinking into the soft warm mud of the rainforest. Aside from those final hours, my boots were one of the most important pieces of equipment I had on the mountain (second only to my husband). Reading about barefoot climbers is amazing and risky. As a climber I am thoroughly impressed by their achievement. Clearly the Old Mutual Barefoot Kilimanjaro Team did their due diligence in preparing and toughening their feet.  As a physician I could not recommend this to anyone due to the associated risks of injury. A simple cut or scrape could prematurely end the climb - a devastating end to months of preparation and investment.  The risk of cold injury and frost bite in the extreme environment of the summit is significant and could result in loss of a digit or chronic pain.