Hydration, AMS signals, and when to tell your Kilimanjaro guide the truth

Hydration is bookkeeping, not machismo

We joke about pee charts until someone stops urinating midday at 4,300 m. Wide-mouth bottles slip inside jackets; bladders frost; tea counts—but only if caffeine does not sabotage sleep that night.

Ascend cooks log litres during meals; guides ask for honest answers when sipping feels boring. Chronic under-hydration is the quiet predecessor to headaches everyone blames purely on altitude.

Signals we watch between oximetry checks

Resting tachypnea, clumsy mitt zips, loss of appetite, irritability masquerading as personality—these precede unmistakable AMS for hours. Whisper early; we shorten walks, thicken broth, darken tents.

Dexamethasone is not summit candy—it is pharmacy with contraindications. We defer to clinicians; guides carry contingency plans authorised by protocols, not TikTok reels.

Why transparency protects the entire rope team

Hiding dizziness to avoid “disappointing” family back home exports risk to assistant guides carrying your pack. Ethical pacing requires emotional honesty—even when pride pinches.

Descending beats hero narratives. Uhuru plaques age; intact cognition on the flight home does not.