Published on : 22/07/2022 – 19:19
Mohamed Tounkara is a computer engineer, former child of the military Prytaneum of Saint-Louis. He has just planted the flag of Senegal at an altitude of almost 4,810 m. This ascent took four days.
RFI: Were you prepared for this expedition? You are very sporty, but the mountain is an environment that you know less?
Mohammad Tounkara: I didn’t really know the mountains, nor really the snow, because I’m Senegalese. I was born in Senegal, I grew up in Senegal. I discovered the mountains with the snowboard. My brother-in-law introduced me to skiing and snowboarding. Afterwards, just going down the mountain slopes was not enough for me, so I told myself that I had to start climbing them.
In the videos, we see that you are talking about the worst day of your life. What was the most challenging for you?
The most trying were the dangers: the crevasses that I had to jump, the falling rocks that I had to avoid, the very steep passages that I had to manage. These dangers were a real challenge for me. There was also the lack of oxygen, because at 4,000 meters there is less oxygen in the air, which was very stressful.
What caused this lack of oxygen?
We perform less well, we take longer to do things, we make less good decisions, we are very tired, we have headaches and we cannot sleep.
You were talking about those insomnias in the shelter?
We can’t sleep because the heart pumps more at altitude. We have headaches, we often feel dizzy. That’s why you have to acclimatize, that is to say stay at least two or three days at altitude to let the body adapt to the lack of oxygen.
What lesson do you draw from this expedition?
The mountain taught me to be humble, because I saw my life pass by several times. I also created another me with whom I discuss, which helps me to understand emotions, to surpass myself, to see life differently, to appreciate it better. When you are in the mountains, you are always exposed to death. It is with suffering that we grow.
What is the biggest challenge you have overcome? Do you want to start over or impose other tests of this type on yourself?
The greater the risk, the greater the satisfaction. The next expedition will be Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.