Here’s RailRiders friend and fan, Jonathan Schechter, and fellow trekker Kelly on the slopes of Kilimanjaro with Mt. Meru in the background. Schechter says, “I've been buying your products for several years. Great stuff. Two items made the summit with me: an Eco-mesh Shirt (now the proud property of one of my favorite porters) and a pair of X-Treme Adventure Pants. The pants were worn every day on the nine-day western approach and preformed superbly." We asked him for his reaction to Navratilova's high-altitude scary plight.

Associated Press newsflash headline for December 12, 2010 read, “Navratilova ‘Just Couldn’t Breathe’ on Kilimanjaro.” The short article went on to say that the 54-year-old tennis great had to be carried down from Africa’s highest mountain on a stretcher after her fluid-filled lungs forced her to abandon her attempt to climb 19,340-foot Mount Kilimanjaro. She was treated at a Nairobi hospital for high-altitude pulmonary edema, and was released after several days. The climb was to raise money and awareness for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

RailRiders asked long-time customer and outdoorsman Jonathon Schecter, a paramedic and naturalist living in Michigan and who had recently summitted Kilimanjaro, for his personal reaction to the Navratilova story. Schecter also writes a hiking column for The Oakland Press and outdoor safety and first-aid features for Woods N’ Water News. He can be reached at oaknature@aol.com.

Schecter emailed us the following:

Martina Navratilova followed  the best possible course of action when she became symptomatic of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) near the 14,000-foot mark of 19,341 foot Mt Kilimanjaro, the tallest free standing volcano in the world.  She followed the golden rule for treatment: IMMEDIATE DESCENT!   Her emergency descent was facilitated by porters that carried her down on a stretcher with a big wheel, ending her attempt to reach the summit.   Continue reading →