Although strenuous and requiring physical fitness , none of the conventional routes require specialist mountaineering skills or technical rock climbing . The main dangers of the mountain are those common to all high mountains , particularly altitude sickness . This can affect anyone , even those who are acclimatized . In serious cases , it can lead to high @-@ altitude pulmonary edema and cerebral edema , which can lead to difficulties with breathing , paralysis , and death . Climbers are advised to begin their ascent at or before 6 a.m. and to summit and descend before early afternoon to minimize exposure to possible afternoon thunderstorms while at high altitudes . Although the most conventional form of ascent is by hiking , Anna Elizabeth Dickinson , the orator , ascended the mountain on a mule borrowed from the U.S. government .