Two Powerful Helpers Behind My Climb of Mount Kilimanjaro (1)

Published on April 4, 2024
A firm handshake with Dr. Tomoya Ikeda (right) upon reaching 5,685-meter-high Gilman’s Point, one of Mount Kilimanjaro’s three summits, to display a “Don’t Forget Leprosy” banner on February 12, 2024. Dr. Ikeda is a surgeon and experienced mountaineer, whose valuable advice made it possible for our party of amateurs to successful climb the highest peak in Africa.
A firm handshake with Dr. Tomoya Ikeda (right) upon reaching 5,685-meter-high Gilman’s Point, one of Mount Kilimanjaro’s three summits, to display a “Don’t Forget Leprosy” banner on February 12, 2024. Dr. Ikeda is a surgeon and experienced mountaineer, whose valuable advice made it possible for our party of amateurs to successful climb the highest peak in Africa.

 

There were two men who supported me immensely when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in February to unfurl a “Don’t Forget Leprosy” banner atop Africa’s highest peak.

One is my third son Kohei Sasakawa. He acted as an advanced party, scaling the mountain a year earlier to assess what was needed to help an 85-year-old senior citizen with a Grade 1 disability－I have a pacemaker implanted in my chest－reach the summit. Kohei had an in-depth discussion with a tour company with highly experienced licensed guides and made careful arrangements for my ascent.

Back in Japan since, he made thorough preparations for my expedition by purchasing proper climbing gear, including footwear, clothes, flashlights and hiking sticks, as well as medication for altitude sickness and advising me to undergo several low-oxygen training sessions. He also joined me on the climb.

The second powerful helper was Dr. Tomoya Ikeda, a surgeon and experienced mountaineer, now based in Okinawa, the southernmost Japanese prefecture, who offered to accompany me when I posted on my Japanese blog asking for a doctor to join the expedition.

Without his help, it would not have been possible for this group of amateurs to climb Kilimanjaro. I highly treasure the fact that Dr. Ikeda, in the midst of his busy work as a surgeon in Okinawa, sensed the resolve of an 85-year-old man to pursue a reckless grand scheme and agreed to take part.

Since 2015, Dr. Ikeda has worked as a member of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in almost ten conflict areas, including those in Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and the Sudan.

He is also a noted climber, having scaled not only many of the so-called “100 Famous Japanese Mountains” but also all of the world’s highest mountains, by continent.

The latter, with the year he climbed them, are as follows:

2012: Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa (5,895 meters)

2014: Mount Elbrus, Russia, Europe (5,642 meters)

2015: Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, South America (6,962 meters)

2015: Vinson Massif in Antarctica (4,892 meters)

2022: Mount Everest on the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, Asia (8,848 meters)

2022: Mount McKinley in the United States, North America (6,190 meters)

2024: Mount Kosciuszko in Australia (2,228 meters)

(To be continued)

 

Dr. Tomoya Ikeda (right), performs a Caesarean section at a hospital in Hamel, Yemen, while working as a member of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in January 2016. He is also a renowned mountaineer, who helped me immensely when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro on February 12, 2024. Photo: MSF.
Dr. Tomoya Ikeda (right), performs a Caesarean section at a hospital in Hamel, Yemen, while working as a member of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in January 2016. He is also a renowned mountaineer, who helped me immensely when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro on February 12, 2024. Photo: MSF.

 

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The moment after Dr. Tomoya Ikeda, who is also a professional boxer, won a bout in 2016. His help was invaluable when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in February. Photo: Tenjotenge Mugamuchu blog. Along with my son Kohei Sasakawa, Dr. Tomoya Ikeda, a surgeon and experienced mountaineer, was of immense help when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to display a “Don’t Forget Leprosy” banner atop Afr