Climbing Africa's tallest mountain is no small feat. The trip to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, takes trekkers through 19,341ft (5,895m) of varied African terrain, including dense jungles and arid desert landscapes. There's also dangerous wildlife to contend with, and the harrowing effects of hiking 4 to 10 miles (6.5 to 16km) a day in rapidly increasing altitude.
On average, between three and 10 people die each year on the mountain, often due to altitude sickness or hiking injuries. However, the dangers aren't enough to stop a team of blind hikers from attempting to make history by climbing the mountain next month.
All 11 trekkers from the Kilimanjaro Blind project are either fully blind or visually impaired and are making their final preparations for the daunting week-long ascent. If successful, they will become the largest group of blind climbers to scale Kilimanjaro.
They will be assisted throughout by guides, who will offer physical support and give crucial information about the underfoot terrain ahead.
Calgary hiker Peter Quaiattini is one of the organizers of the trek, and explained some of the difficulties he expects to encounter to the Calgary Eyeopener.
"The risk with climbing Kilimanjaro, failure rate is altitude sickness, you're going to almost 20,000ft," he said.
"By having a seven-day ascent, it gives your body more time to acclimatize to the higher elevation."
Altitude sickness is caused by rapid exposure to the low oxygen levels at altitude. Common symptoms include headaches, nausea, dizziness, and shortness of breath, but sufferers can sometimes experience more severe effects like hallucinations.
Spending time in the mountains mitigates the risks by saturating the oxygen in your red blood cells and preparing your body for the effects of altitude.
Among those summitting the mountain is retired NASA engineer Michael McCulloch, who has shared his videos of his workouts and preparation on social media.
"Right down the road from me, a few blocks down, there's a fourteen-story professional building," he explains on Instagram.
"Here I am in my Kili training centre doing stairs. This week I'm hitting 75 floors up and down," he jokes from a stairwell.
- The best hiking shoes: capable summit-baggers and fast-paced walkers
- The best trekking poles: take the pressure off when you're out on the trails
