I started by searching the internet and from this I learnt of a book referred to by many as the "Kilimanjaro bible", this book is;
Kilimanjaro, The Trekking Guide To Africa's Highest Mountain.
Written by Henry Stedman
If you are thinking of doing this climb - BUY THE BOOK!
So I now had Henry's advice and the internet to work with, from here I could narrow down my search. At first I had started with something like 12 possible operators who looked good to me. Time to narrow it down somewhat!
Next step was to isolate my priorities now that I knew more about the options out there. I decided to work on the following;
- The operator MUST be a member of the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project. The porters on Kili can be horrendously exploited and KPAP work to provide better working conditions and fair wages for them. This culled some operators from my starting list.
BEWARE FRAUDSTERS - the first operator I choose claimed to be a member of KPAP but when I double checked with KPAP by email, they had never heard of the particular operator. It was disappointing to realise that you can't believe all you are told and you simply have to check everything carefully.
. - The route - at first I looked for the "easiest route" and decided that this could be the Lemosho Route. It is one of the longest routes and therefore, I figured, less climbing hours each day makes it easier. From there I sorted out which operators do the Lemosho Route and this again narrowed down my list.
I then looked at the options each of these operators offered and found my next priority - some comforts!
. - Comforts - there are not a lot of comforts on Kili and one issue of extreme discomfort is the drop toilets - I have read horror stories about these! So my next priority was an operator who took a portable toilet on the climb. Again this narrowed the list down and it was now getting manageable. It got even more manageable when I found a few companies that not only take portable (boat type) toilets, but also a bucket shower ...heaven!
At this point I digressed and went back to the route selection;.
. - The route again - I was getting braver by now and decided to reconsider a variation to the "easy" Lemosho Route. There is a variation to this route via the Western Breach with an overnight stay in the Crater. Of course this changed it from an easier route to probably the most dangerous, or so some operators say ....oh well :0.
Dangerous for two reasons - the Western Breach was closed for several years following a rock slide that killed several people and secondly the Crater is considered by most operators to be too high to camp in and the altitude too dangerous for an overnight stay.
But the temptations of the Crater were too much for me. To have such an amazing opportunity to sleep in the Crater of Mt Kilimanjaro, with the Ash Pit and Furtwangler Glacier nearby was too much to pass up....this will undoubtedly be a highlight of my climb.
So now I was down to operators offering the Western Breach and Crater option, which narrowed my list down dramatically....I wonder why?
To put some perspective on this decision - if you don't stay in the Crater, the final climb (on all routes) starts at around midnight and you climb in the pitch dark over frozen scree on the steepest part of the mountain to reach the summit around sunrise - a 6-7 hour climb and all this done while your brain is telling you that you are supposed to be asleep at this time. From the summit you then turn around and start down for about another 7 hours to the first descent camp.... doesn't sound like something to look forward to!
By comparison, if you stay in the Crater on the night before you summit, you rise at around 5.00am and have a climb of about 1.5-2 hours to reach the summit for sunrise.....sounds so much more doable :)
Of course, to camp in the crater, your operator has to have a portable hyperbaric chamber known as a Gamow Bag,.....and I figured if they have this then they are serious! Which brings me to my next priority...
. - Safety record and summit success rate - these were very important considerations and at this point my list was down to two finalists and they both claimed excellent safety and summit records. So I asked them for referrals, not just the ones on their sites, but actual people I could speak with or email.
Both operators were happy to put me in touch with people who had recently climbed with them and I enjoyed some very lengthy interaction by Skype with one lady in USA and another by email, plus a phone call with a man from my home town.
From here I just had to make a choice, it was neck and neck but my gut feeling was Kiliwarrior Expeditions and so the choice was made.
Route: Lemosho / Wester Breach / Crater Camp
Operator: Kiliwarrior Expeditions
Kiliwarriors have put together the following animated map that shows day by day our climbing route with the distance between each camp shown in miles. For those of us - me included - who work in kilometres, the conversions are listed below;
- Check it out on the following link;
• Day 1: Trail Head, Londrossi Gate to Forest Camp
Hike: 4.02 km or 2.5 mi
From: 2,286 mt or 7,500 ft
To: 2,810 mt or 9,222 ft
Gain: 524 mt or 1,722 ft
Hike: 4.02 km or 2.5 mi
From: 2,286 mt or 7,500 ft
To: 2,810 mt or 9,222 ft
Gain: 524 mt or 1,722 ft
• Day 2: Forest Camp to Shira 1 Camp
Hike: 7.8 km or 4.9 mi
From: 2,810 mt or 9,222 ft
To: 3,511 mt or 11,520 ft
Gain: 701 mt or 2,298 ft
Hike: 7.8 km or 4.9 mi
From: 2,810 mt or 9,222 ft
To: 3,511 mt or 11,520 ft
Gain: 701 mt or 2,298 ft
• Day 3: Shira 1 Camp to Moir Camp
Hike: 10.6 km or 6.62 mi
From: 3,511 mt or 11,520 ft
To: 4,175 mt or 13,700 ft
Gain: 664 mt or 2,180 ft
Hike: 10.6 km or 6.62 mi
From: 3,511 mt or 11,520 ft
To: 4,175 mt or 13,700 ft
Gain: 664 mt or 2,180 ft
• Day 4: Moir Camp to Sheffield Camp
Hike: 4.02 km or 2.5 mi
From: 4,175 mt or 13,700 ft
To: 4,553 mt or 14,940 ft
Gain: 378 mt or 1,240 ft
Hike: 4.02 km or 2.5 mi
From: 4,175 mt or 13,700 ft
To: 4,553 mt or 14,940 ft
Gain: 378 mt or 1,240 ft
• Day 5: Rest Day with Acclimatisation Walk
• Day 6: Sheffield Camp to Arrow Glacier Camp
Hike: 2.4 km or 1.5 mi
From: 4,553 mt or 14,940 ft
To: 4,870 mt or 15,978 ft
Gain: 317 mt or 1,038 ft
Hike: 2.4 km or 1.5 mi
From: 4,553 mt or 14,940 ft
To: 4,870 mt or 15,978 ft
Gain: 317 mt or 1,038 ft
• Day 7: Arrow Glacier Camp to Crater Camp via the Western Breach
Hike: 2.3 km or 1.4 mi
From: 4,870 mt or 15,978 ft
To: 5,638 mt or 18,500 ft
Gain: 768 mt or 2,522 ft
Hike: 2.3 km or 1.4 mi
From: 4,870 mt or 15,978 ft
To: 5,638 mt or 18,500 ft
Gain: 768 mt or 2,522 ft
• Day 8: Crater Camp to Uhuru Peak "The SUMMIT"
and down to Mweka Camp
Hike: 13.23 km or 8.22 mi
From: 5,638 mt or 18,500 ft
To: 5,895 mt or 19,340 ft at the Summit
Gain: 257 mt or 840 ft
Down To: 3,092 mt or 10,145 ft
and down to Mweka Camp
Hike: 13.23 km or 8.22 mi
From: 5,638 mt or 18,500 ft
To: 5,895 mt or 19,340 ft at the Summit
Gain: 257 mt or 840 ft
Down To: 3,092 mt or 10,145 ft
• Day 9: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
Hike: 8.9 km or 5.5 mi
From: 3,092 mt or 10,145 ft
To: 1,653 mt or 5,425 ft
TOTAL HIKE: 53.27 km (33.10 mi)
Distance wise - this is not a challenge. The challenge will be the altitude and gradient!
Hike: 8.9 km or 5.5 mi
From: 3,092 mt or 10,145 ft
To: 1,653 mt or 5,425 ft
TOTAL HIKE: 53.27 km (33.10 mi)
Distance wise - this is not a challenge. The challenge will be the altitude and gradient!
As I said in the last post, Altitude Sickness can get the fit or the unfit, the strong
and the weak. For example, in 2010 Martina Navratilova, the world famous tennis player, led a charity climb up Kilimanjaro. Sadly she did not summit. She was carried down the mountain in the middle of the night suffering from Altitude Sickness. She spent three days in a Kenyan hospital. Martina climbed to within 4540 ft of the summit.
I suppose I'm telling this story so I won't feel so bad if I don't make it to the top.
