Africa Extreme 2015
"Africa Extreme 2015" is the incredible adventure that once again saw Danilo Callegari, the Friulian mountaineer-explorer, challenge the limits of the impossible in what is the third stage of the "7 Summits Solo Project".
Started in 2011 with the South America Extreme, the "7 Summits Solo Project" is the ambitious project with which Danilo Callegari aims to reach the seven highest peaks of the 7 Continents by combining the real mountaineering feat with as many extreme outdoor challenges.
After South America Extreme in 2011 and Europa Extreme in 2012, it is therefore the turn of Africa Extreme 2015, and never before has it been so extreme as in this case, one can truly speak of extreme sport, made even more extreme by the context in which Callegari has measured himself: the African continent.
In Africa, he pushed himself beyond any kind of human mental and physical endurance, measuring himself against himself in one of the wildest continents on the entire planet.
The adventure:
50 km of continuous ocean swimming, starting in Zanzibar Town and finishing in Bagamoyo.
1,150 km of endurance running from Bagamoyo to Kilimanjaro Base Camp, covering one marathon per day. Danilo ran along dirt roads through the arid and inhospitable hinterland of Tanzania and climbed up and down high plateaus crossing immense areas of savannah.
Ascent of Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) without intermediate camps, starting from the base and finishing directly at the summit.
FIRST ROUTE: 50 km of continuous swimming in the middle of the Indian Ocean
- 23 hours non-stop
- 25,364 total number of strokes
- 2.4 km per hour average
- 7 support team members + 3 boat crew
- 26°C average water temperature
- 20:30 entry time into the water
- 19:30 closing time of the crossing
Danilo's report:
"At 6 p.m. on 5 October, a van carrying the entire team, all the materials and the two kayaks, left us on the beach in front of a placid ocean with apparently no big waves. I immediately isolated myself, away from everyone, in search of the concentration I would need to face a test as difficult as it was dangerous.
At 18:30 the sun went down in a few minutes, leaving room for the dark and windy night.
At 20:00, a barge unhooked from the support boat moored more than a kilometre from the shore (due to the dangers of the seabed - reef), came in several passes to retrieve us and all our equipment.
I was the last to leave the beach after a strong and sincere embrace with Pandu, our contact on Zanzibar, who was moved by my dangerous swim.
At 8:30 p.m., having reached the support boat and after consulting the map and nautical GPS with the captain, the big moment: the dive into the blue under a sky filled with bright stars.
The tension I felt at that moment was high and gradually subsided after the first few strokes.
Escorted by the two kayaks guided with great professionalism by Claudio Massarutto and Davide Gardini, my long crossing thus began.
The sun rose quickly at 06:00, bringing a decrease in wind and wave motion, but up to that point it had been challenging for me and the whole team. High waves breaking even though we were in the middle of the ocean, the darkness that prevented us from seeing anything, the constant worry of a shark attack, the absolute blackness of an invisible seabed.
The most difficult part came the last five kilometres swum in the dark again, but with a very rough, aggressive sea, with waves several metres high crashing down on me, taking my breath away, making it impossible for the kayak brought by Claudio to stay close to me to guarantee me the minimum safety with the anti-shark antenna.
As soon as I came out of the water after so many hours in the horizontal position, I experienced moments of serious difficulty: a pre-syncopal episode, hyperventilation in an attempt to compensate for the acidosis, vomiting, a shaking chill from thermal shock... but thanks to the promptness of Andrea Gigante and Nicole Chinellato, I was soon back on track..."
Team:
Lorenzo Franco Santin - Photographer
Andrea Cossu - Cameraman
Claudio Massarutto - Kayaker 1
Davide Gardini - Kayaker 2
Andrea Gigante - Resuscitation Doctor
Nicole Chinellato - Nurse
Marco Lorenzo Bellino - Swimming coach
SECOND ROUND: 27 marathons
Kilometres run per day: 42.195
Total kilometres run: 1,139.265
Maximum altitude reached: 2,100
Total total ascent in metres: 13,652
Danilo's report:
"Starting to run on foot after swimming 50km non-stop was not easy.
At the end of the first marathon, I had so much lactic acid that I struggled to make even the smallest movement. This problem stemmed to a large extent from the acidosis that broke out as soon as I got into the boat at the end of the crossing. For the next two marathons I lived with muscle problems that just wouldn't go away. Running for many kilometres with widespread cramps inevitably forces the body to move in a 'non-natural' way, thereby triggering other problems.
As the muscles began to get used to the movement and exertion, widespread inflammation and tendinitis appeared in several parts.
The aches and pains were undoubtedly many and accompanied me throughout these past 27 days but, there is more, so much more...
When I think back on how varied the territory explored has been, I am amazed. Every two or three marathons, the environment changed, from the humid and chaotic coastal area to the vast and rainy plains, from the region of the vast and hot plateaus to the inaccessible mountainous areas... and again savannah, forests, large lakes... wind, rain, heat, cold, thunderstorms... I went from an altitude of 0 metres above sea level to a maximum altitude of 2,100 metres above sea level and in between a continuous alternation of long climbs and steep descents.
Up to four marathons from the end I had arrived in fair physical condition and with an increasingly strong psychological charge. I could see my goal getting closer and closer and almost easily reachable until that fateful 36th kilometre of the 23rd marathon when a movement, probably too abrupt, caused a muscular injury to my left quadriceps, 'breaking' all the physical balances that I had built up to that point with great sacrifice. This imbalance inevitably forced me to lengthen my journey times, making the last few days nerve-wracking and very demanding, triggering further tendinitis, blisters and severe pain in my feet.
We arrived today, 6 November, at 3:07pm on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, under a grey and gloomy sky. The big mountain didn't even show up, it is waiting, but that's OK, there is time. In the meantime, I am enjoying this (for me) great result that I have just achieved, and for the next eight days I will try to get back to my best in order to tackle, in the best physical and mental condition, the long and demanding ascent to the roof of Africa, number three of my 7SUMMITS".
THIRD ROUTE: the continuous non-stop ascent and descent of Kilimanjaro.
Maximum altitude reached in metres - (summit): 5,895
Total difference in altitude in metres: 8,300
Total difference in altitude in ascent in metres: 4,000
Total vertical drop in metres (descent): 4,300
Time taken for the entire traverse: 20h56m45s
Time of reaching the summit: 17.26 (Tanzania time)
Time of arrival at the gate and closure of Africa Extreme: 02:30s (Tanzania time)
Danilo's account:
"At the crack of dawn on 15 November, after signing a series of special permits, my third and final attempt began: the full traverse of Kilimanjaro, ascending from the north-east face, descending from the south-west face, and passing the summit.
Physically I felt fit, mentally charged, and I began to grind out kilometres and metres of altitude gain without any particular problems.
I thus passed camp 1, camp 2 and camp 3, arriving in excellent condition at camp 4, perched at an altitude of 4,800 metres.
After about 700 metres from when I left camp 4, I began to perceive the first signs of the rapid rise in altitude associated with a certain physical tiredness. So I recalibrated my rhythm by increasing my concentration. When you are up there it is often easy to fall into the error of 'overdoing it' in order to reach the summit as quickly as possible, an error that could have cost me dearly. Experience, preparation and instinct certainly helped me to avoid potential problems.
....... shortly thereafter, my eyes began to moisten, filling up, step by step, with tears of pure joy and strong emotion at the sight of 'that' signpost which, at an altitude of 5,895 metres, marks the highest point in the whole of Africa.
Moments spent kneeling, touching that signpost, which for me did not represent a simple arrival at the summit, for me it meant the crowning of a dream that had begun almost two years earlier. On that sign I saw myself passing all the sacrifices I had made, the countless sacrifices, the hardships, the ruined relationships, the pain, the broken dreams... the tears were the natural outlet for all the emotional charge carried up to that moment. In a flash I went back to the warm and treacherous waters of the Indian Ocean, to the tiring marathons, to the bruises on my body, to the blisters, to the tendinitis, to the endless times I repeated to myself: "Danilo fuckin' don't give up!", to the will to prove first of all to myself that dreams really can be realised. And then again a strong thought went to my two dear parents without whom I would certainly never have got there.
A few minutes later I started my descent, long, interminable, in the dark and in torrential rain that would not leave me again until I arrived at the gate (end point of the descent). Like me, the other guys were in the same condition as me.
I remember well the last 1,500 metres of altitude difference, which for three hours saw me immersed in the heart of a dense jungle, with countless nocturnal butterflies which, attracted by the frontal light, were crawling everywhere, in my eyes, nose, ears, down my neck... the rain that had turned the muddy path into a torrent and, to top it all off, the tendinitis in my right knee, turning this last part of the descent into an ordeal.
At 02:30 local time, I reached the gate marking the end of the route at the base of the mountain and after a few ritual photos, a vehicle took all three of us back to the hotel. After a well-deserved hot shower, at 04:00 hours I laid my body on the bed, falling into the deepest sleep.
In this way it magically ended: AFRICA EXTREME 2015."