Day 8--the way home

We had a fantastic time heading down the newly regraded Mweka route today. The route was little more than a slipperly root-covered mudslide before improvements were undertaken in 2003.

The new Park building at the Mweka camp, Kilimanjaro in the background


Hiking through the rainforest

It's about a 2-1/2 hour descent, if your knees and quadriceps allow for it, to the gate at Mweka town. Our van was waiting for us and we hit the road after signing out and getting our summit certificates proudly showing that we had reached 19,341 feet.

We were back at the hotel around noon for a shower and a brief bit of relaxing before we headed for town and a beer with the crew...which turned into quite a few beers and a good number of laughs. It's great when you have a good group that gels together on the climb, and E expressed her sincere appreciation for all the help the crew gave her in her accomplishment.

Day 7-to the summit

The night started clear and not too cold--we had to stop almost right away to take off some layers!

The climb from Barafu is long and slow. It's not so much the physical distance, which is moderate by some mountain standards, but the lack of oxygen. As one climbs higher and higher, the pace slows more and more. E found that she could proceed effectively by taking two breaths for each step.

After leaving around 1 AM, we reached Stella Point on the summit crest just after sunrise. From there it took us another hour and some to reach the true summit, Uhuru Peak.


Sunrise behind Mawenzi


The last few hundred feet before Stella Point


It looks close, but the summit (the highest point in the distance) is an hour away...


Finally there

All grins on the roof of Africa


Congratulations to E and many thanks to Goodluck and the other three assistant guides/porters who accompanied us to the summit (for their first time to the top!)

The way down is much easier--you don't need nearly as much oxygen to descend--but also very hard on your legs. We stopped at Barafu for a quick lunch, then kept going down until we reached Mweka camp at 3,100 meters. For those of you who are counting, that's around 9,000 feet of descent! E was glad to see the camp when we finally arrived.

Day 6

It was another very short day today as we moved camp to Barafu, which is Kiswahili for 'ice' and should give an idea of the temperature. It took about 2-1/2 hours to make the trek, but there was little free time as we hurried off to bed--tonight is our summit night and we'll be getting up at midnight to climb!

It clouded up and hailed on us a bit today but by evening everything was clear.

Day 5

We started our day with "breakfast," which is what the wagumu (literally, 'strong men'--porters) like to call the Barranco Wall. Many trekkers make a huge deal about how hard/steep/scary the Barranco Wall is, but it's really just a steep trail with a few sections of easy (class 3-) rock scrambling with very low consequences (the porters mostly climb up it with one hand on their loads). E climbed up like a mountain goat and we were on our way across to the Karanga Valley.

The mountain was in clouds, so we missed the scenery of the southern glaciers, but it was a pretty day nonetheless.

Karanga Camp is a bit desolate, as the camp is located above the valley itself; however, the mountain was out for dinner and it was a beautiful sight.

Day 4

Today we left the Moir Hut campsite (the hut is in total disrepair; no-one sleeps there) for Barranco camp, via the Lava Tower.

E poses in front of the Lava Tower.

This was a great acclimatization day, as the Lava Tower is at 4,600 meters (about 15,000 feet) and we descend to just under 4,000 meters to sleep at Barranco camp.

Day 3

The route travels upward from the Shira 2 camp, which is perched at the edge of the Shira Plateau. We climbed up for a couple of hours to the Moir Hut at an elevation of 4,200 meters (13,900 feet), where we can start feeling the lack of air a bit.

We spent the afternoon taking photos of the entire group, which I'll print out for them on our return. The men are happy to sit for portraits, though very serious about having their photos taken.

E shares a moment with the crew

Goodluck, our lead Tanzanian guide

A little time for R and R

Moir Hut camp with the Lent Group and Kilimanjaro in the background

While E took a nap, Goodluck and I explored the nearby Lent Group, a series of volcanic towers. We got up to about 4,500 meters or so and stood on top of some interesting cliffs before heading back to camp for dinner.

Day 2

Today we had a short hike from Shira 1 camp to Shira 2 camp. E wants the best chance to acclimatize so we are doing an eight-day itinerary, which means that we have relatively short hiking days and lots of time in camp.


Shira 1 camp at sunrise

Hiking across the Shira plateau

To make our trip a little longer, we took a side trip to Fischer Camp, established by the late Scott Fischer, who died on Everest in the infamous "Into Thin Air" storm. There are a couple memorials to Scott placed on rocks near the camp.

The view from Shira 2, of Shira Cathedral (Goodluck and I scrambled up it this afternoon).

Day 1 - Shira route

Today we started our climb. We met our African guide, Goodluck, and many of the climb staff at our hotel. We then drove to Londorossi Gate, which is one of the more remote starting points for a Kilimanjaro climb.

We registered at Londorossi, then drove a short distance up the 4X4 track to start our climb. The first part of the hike goes along the rough road through alpine moorland.

Porters sort their loads by weight.

When we reach Moram Barrier Gate, we start traversing the Shira Plateau to Shira 1 camp. The Shira Plateau is quite beautiful.

Today hasn't been too much of a hike, perhaps three hours.

E is excited to be on the mountain and is looking forward to the adventure!

In Arusha

I'm in Arusha, Tanzania--and wow is it easier to travel in Africa than India! My luggage beat me through the airport and within half an hour I had hired a cab to catch the last shuttle (it had left already) at a gas station, where I was on my merry way to Tanzania.

It's strange being back in Arusha, as I have many memories of this town from the last seven years. The town has grown enormously in the last few years, bringing bad traffic (which would have seemed unbelievable a few years ago) but it is also much cleaner.

We start up the mountain tomorrow morning--the skies were cloudy this moring but now we are back to brilliant blue African skies.

Where do I fly?

Kilimanjaro climbers often ask me which airport they should fly into for a climb of Kilimanjaro.

The answer, like so many things in life, is that it depends. Here is some information to help you in your decision process.

There are three international airports within striking distance of Kilimanjaro: Jomo Kenyatta International, in Nairobi, Kenya (code: NBO); Mwalimu J.K. Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (code: DAR); and Kilimanjaro International Airport, near Arusha, Tanzania (code: JRO). I'll give you three guesses to figure out which one is closest to the mountain...

The preferred airport in terms of time and convenience is Kilimanjaro International. It's less than an hour from Moshi or Arusha (it's about halfway in between the two towns) and you can be at your hotel with a short transfer and ready to start the next day. The disadvantages: flights can cost more and there is only one international carrier, KLM, that flies to this airport. KLM is a US codeshare with Northwest, so it's possible to book a continuous flight with NWA all the way to Kilimanjaro International.

Nairobi frequently offers a lower price thanks to the competition of several international carriers and higher volume. The disadvantages are:

• It's a 5 to 6 hour transfer by minibus to Arusha or Moshi. The idea of traveling by bus might sound fun, but the landscape is monotonous and there can be tedious delays at the border into Tanzania.
• You'll need two visas, one for Kenya and one for Tanzania. Kenya offered a "transit visa" which offered a bit of a savings, but some travels have been required to buy the full visa (about $50) or buy TWO $20 transit visas, one coming, one going. The airport also features a departure tax, so you should make sure you're really getting a good deal on your ticket before you go this route!

Dar es Salaam offers some of the inconvenience of Nairobi (about 5 to 6 hours by bus to Kilimanjaro) but without the visa hassle. However, if you want to see the beach, Dar es Salaam is close to many Tanzanian beach resorts.

If you can't find a reasonably priced ticket to JRO but don't want to take the two days in transit, don't despair. Several regional airlines provide service to JRO from both NBO and DAR.

Here are some maps of the airports in relation to the mountain, the Google Maps view can be toggled to the "map" view to show the major roads and towns:
View in Google Earth View in Google Maps

Photo: another Lemosho Glades

Here's another photo of the hike through Lemosho Glades. The trees are quite beautiful: they are massive and draped with lichens. It would be nice to hang out in this biological zone for a while, as the glades feature a great variety of bird life and interesting vegetation. Unfortunately, as climbers we're terribly goal-oriented and can't wait to get above the glades to the next camp!

View in Google Earth View in Google Maps (you'll need to zoom out)

Photo: Shira 1 Camp

Above: Shira 1 Camp, in the middle of the Shira Plateau. Night 2, Lemosho Glades Route.

Shira is one of the of the three peaks of Kilimanjaro. It is an ancient caldera, like Crater Lake, but the depression of the caldera was filled with new flows from the eruption of Kibo, the highest peak in the Kilimanjaro massif. Thus, the Shira Plateau is a gently sloped plane surrounded by a low ring of mountains.

View this location in Google Earth

Final Push to the Summit

Above: climbers hike up the final section of scree on the Western Breach route (now closed). The Furtwangler Glacier is behind them.

View this location in Google Earth

Lemosho Glades/"Big Tree" Camp

Above: Trekking through Lemosho Glades on the start of Day 2, Kilimanjaro Climb.

View this location in Google Earth


Above: Lemosho Glades Camp

These are a few images from Lemosho Glades camp, one of the approaches to the Shira Plateau on the western side of Kilimanjaro. The camp is beautiful although people sometimes complain about the dusty ground (muddy when wet). However, on Kilimanjaro if it's not dusty, it's rocky, so you have to pick your poison!

Above: Dinner in Lemosho Glades

Dinners are hearty, frequently feature large portions of starch (pasta or potatoes), and are nothing special until you consider that everything you're eating and eating with was carried here by porters. Then you start to appreciate this dining atmosphere!

Photo: Porters

The most undersung staff of Kilimanjaro climbs (compared with the guides and the cooks), the porters are essential to climbers' success on the mountain. Porters work extremely hard carrying all of your things up the mountain and work for incredibly low wages by Western standards. It's a comment on how poor much of Tanzania is that these men work as hard as they do for such low wages--about $8 per day.

Above: porters are dividing the group's gear, including the climbers' overnight bags, for the hike to the first night's camp. The porters carry around 10 to 20 pounds on their backs and another 50 pounds balanced on their heads or sometimes over their neck and shoulders.

On one trip, I advised clients to bring bags that had shoulder straps so the porters could carry the bags more easily on their backs. Instead, porters tied the bags to other items and put the entire load on their heads!


Above: A porter heads up through the forest to the Lemosho Glades camp. The porter's personal items are in the small pack on his back--the remainder is group gear.

Photo: Colobus Monkey

This is a black and white colobus monkey. They live in trees on Kilimanjaro's lower slopes and can occasionally be spotted, especially making spectacular leaps from tree to tree.

The colobus can be hard to spot because of heavy traffic by porters and trekkers. They are very shy and will move away from the trail if they hear anyone coming.

We spotted this one on a late afternoon hike out of Lemosho Glades. No one was using the trail, which made it a great time to observe some of the plants, birds, and wildlife.

For more information on the colobus, check out:
http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/colobusmonkey