Kilimanjaro Climb August 23-29 2012

Hi everyone, I'm organizing another Kilimanjaro climb this August 23-29. Contact me at the above email address if you're interested in joining our group!

This photo is from Shira Camp, located at the edge of the Shira Plateau. We are looking west over Shira Cathedral and Shira Needle, some of the peaks lining the edge of the caldera. This camp is used commonly as the second camp on the Machame route (there is another camp slightly lower called Machame Cave camp, which is also popular.)

Another year, another Kili climb!

Porters sort gear in preparation for a Kilimanjaro climb.

I'm very excited to write that we're headed back to Kilimanjaro in August/September 2008 with a great group and an exciting itinerary. We will be climbing Mt. Meru before our Kili ascent, which is a great way to get "off the beaten track" a bit as well as see more of Africa. We have ten days of total climbing, so I'm still obsessing over whether we will spend it best with four days on Meru followed by six on Kili or if three plus seven wouldn't be better... such a terrible choice to make!

I'll keep you all posted as Bernie, Doug, Karen, and Marty prepare with me for this trip.

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

Acclimatization

How high is it?

Many people ask this about Kilimanjaro. When I answer “19,341 feet,” they nod their heads knowingly and continue the conversation. But what does climbing to 19,000 feet mean?

At 19,000 feet above sea level, there is less than half as much oxygen for your brain and muscles to utilize. That’s a pretty serious deficit.

If we were dropped off on the summit of Kilimanjaro by a helicopter, with no acclimatization, it would take only minutes to a few hours for us to start feeling the serious effects of altitude. Our lungs would start filling with fluid and our brains would swell until we were unconscious. Unless we immediately started to descend, either condition would eventually kill us.

This blog won’t go into the physiology of acclimatization, but it’s important to understand that there are two major things your body needs to acclimatize successfully: time and fitness.

Please note: Kiliblogjaro is not a doctor. This advice is necessarily general in nature and is not that of a medical professional. Please consult with a physician before undertaking a climb of Kilimanjaro or any high-altitude adventure.

Time is of the essence

Time is the single most important factor for acclimatization. As a guide, I won’t offer a Kilimanjaro climb taking fewer than seven days.

An old rule of thumb in mountaineering is to raise your sleeping elevation no more than 1,000 vertical feet for each day spent above 10,000 feet. Since Kilimanjaro’s high camps are all around 16,000 feet, it would take eight or nine days to follow this rule exactly (note: most trips that take eight or nine days include a “crater camp” at 18,000 feet, which then breaks the rule again!).

Time is money on Kilimanjaro, with park fees now at more than US$100 per climber per day. Thus, a favorite way for cut-rate outfitters to keep their prices low is by trying to book climbers on a five- or six-day climb. It might seem tempting, as spending only five or six days on the mountain leaves you with more time and money to spend on the rest of your vacation. This option might seem especially tempting if you are in good physical condition and the distances seem short.

But beware! The less time you spend climbing up the mountain, the worse you will feel on top.

Slowly but surely

So the key to climbing Kilimanjaro is to climb slowly. Fair enough. There is one other consideration: your fitness going into the climb.

Fitness is important for obvious reasons (you couldn’t climb up a hill without it, right?), but it’s also critical to acclimatization because acclimatization is physically taxing.

As you move to higher elevations, your resting pulse and respiration accelerate. Your body is straining to adjust to the new conditions of elevation and reduced oxygen. This puts a serious strain on your body-so if you are in good condition before you start the climb, this will help your acclimatization.

While you’re climbing, it’s important to help your body along by staying well hydrated and fed. It’s amazing how easy it is to forget a basic thing like drinking plenty of fluids while you’re worried about climbing a mountain!

The drug question

A number of climbers place stock in herbal remedies; ginko biloba appears to have some promise as an herb with measurable effect in acclimatization. There are also some drugs available by prescription, most notably Diamox (generic: acetazolamide).

Like most drugs, there is a tradeoff with acetazolamide. It does help with acclimatization and in the prevention of altitude sickness, but it is also a diuretic. If you take acetazolamide, you’ll have to double your efforts to stay hydrated and will almost certainly have to get up a couple times each night.

Some users report other unpleasant side effects with acetazolamide, specifically tingling and numbness in the hands and feet.

Another drug, dexamethasone, is a prescription-only drug for cerebral edema. Unlike acetazolamide, it cannot be taken prophylactically (as a preventative).

Getting started: Fitness

Am I in good enough shape to climb Kilimanjaro?

People curious about climbing Kilimanjaro ask me a lot of questions about the trip: how high is the mountain? Is travel in East Africa safe? What about malaria? Is there a lot of snow? How much does it cost?

Photo: Climbers approach the Lava Tower camp after a rainstorm

These are all great questions, many of which I’ll answer in this blog. But one of the most important questions is not asked often, or early, enough: What kind of fitness do I need to be in to climb the mountain?

Once you’ve made the commitment to climb the mountain, it’s easy to imagine the epic experience you’ll have traveling through the various vegetation zones of the mountain, the views from high on the peak, and the bragging rights you’ll earn. Indeed, you see yourself having a cocktail back in the US,

“Well, darling, I just returned from a perfectly delightful climb of Mount Kilimanjaro. What have YOU been up to?”

Ah, the sweet taste of success.

Hold on a second. We’re presupposing that you can make it to the top, and while there are not reliable statistics kept on the percentage of climbers who summit, MANY do not. While many events can conspire to keep you from reaching the summit, it would be a shame to travel all the way to Tanzania and not be physically ready for the climb.

In this entry, we’ll concentrate on the physical demands of the climb and how to train for them. Please note: consult a physician before training for a climb or undertaking any exercise program.

Major Effort

To climb Kilimanjaro, you’ll be hiking between 1,000 and 2,000 vertical feet per day with a pack of about 15 to 20 pounds. Porters carry the rest of your equipment, so this doesn’t seem like a lot.

Keep in mind, though, that the last day is a real burner. Any of the common trekking routes on Kilimanjaro involve over 3,000 vertical feet of elevation gain to the 19,341-foot summit—a major effort to say the least.

Your success on this last day will depend in part on how well you’ve acclimatized. You won’t acclimatize very well if each of the previous days represented an all-out effort. This means you need to be in good shape!

Find a hill

The key to excellence in any sport is specificity. That means to do well on Kilimanjaro, you need to train by going uphill. Find a trail and put a15-20 pound pack on your back and start hiking!

Ideally your hike will be convenient enough that you can find time for it once or twice per week.

When you’re hiking, take it nice and easy. Kilimanjaro is more a marathon than a sprint and you’ll want to start slow to avoid injury or burning out in your training.

Work yourself up to 1,000 to 2,000 vertical feet in your hike. It’s tough for some people to estimate vertical change (and most people overestimate), so check the Internet or a hiking guide for an accurate estimate of your trail.

Start a habit

It’s equally important to start training early and then to keep at it. Establish a regular schedule and stick to it, rain or shine.

Set realistic goals. You should make a training schedule that fits into your already busy life. If your schedule gets really hectic, don’t just throw your training out the window-instead, do what training you can.

Get creative

What if you don’t have a hill? Don’t despair. You can work out in a gym, on a bike, run, or swim, and still accomplish a lot. Work with a trainer with the goal of long slow distance training (LSD)—your goal is to prepare your heart and lungs for a very long hike, not for a sprint, so sprinting in training won’t help much.

You should still look for opportunities to strengthen the specific sets of muscles used in climbing. Long flights of stairs or “step mills” and “stair climbers” in the gym are also reasonable substitutes.

Questions? Email Kiliblogjaro@gmail.com

Welcome to Kiliblogjaro

Photo: Kilimanjaro under a nearly full moon from the Shira Plateau

Hi everyone,

I'm a part-time mountain guide. I've created this blog to provide information and answer questions about Kilimanjaro and/or East Africa. I'm planning to return to Kilimanjaro in September of 2007--I'm looking forward to making some posts about the mountain until then!

Tim