Summit & Survival on Kilimanjaro: A Medical Student’s First Taste of Altitude Medicine
Description
What happens when your first major expedition is one of the world’s Seven Summits?
In this episode of the World Extreme Medicine Podcast, emergency medicine doctor Ffyon Smith is joined by Kacylia Roy Proulx, a medical student at McGill University and President of her university’s Wilderness Medicine Society.
Together, they explore Kacylia’s experience of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, from early trail excitement to summit-day exhaustion, team dynamics, and the real-time challenge of acute mountain sickness.
This is an honest, insightful conversation about why we climb, how we build mental resilience, and what expedition medicine means to someone just starting out.
You’ll hear about:
The reality of altitude acclimatisation and AMS symptoms
Navigating ethical dilemmas on the trail
How expedition teamwork makes or breaks the journey
Finding identity, purpose, and introspection at high altitude
Advice for medical students looking to break into expedition medicine
📝 Please note: Due to internet connection issues during recording, there’s a slight delay or glitch in Kacylia’s audio and video at times. Thanks for bearing with us, the conversation is well worth it.
Please note that this session was recorded in January 2025.
United States
