Worth the effort? YES! Bucket list! And go soon because once the glaciers melt there will be no more water which means no more hiking.
When to go: Summer (June-Sep) and Winter (Dec-Feb) are dry season.
Getting there: Local air hub is Nairobi, Kenya. From there fly or bus over the border to Arusha, Tanzania. From there, since you have to have a guide to climb Kili, your guide will pick you up.
Time: Take the longest route you can. The more time you have to acclimatize the better. At least 12 days with international travel is necessary.
Where to stay: It’s all camping on the mountain so choose a guide guide company. Mountain Madness is hands down all time winner.
Transport: Your guides will take care of you
Cost: $$$$ Do NOT cheap it on the guide company! What seem like frivolous luxuries at sea level can be life saving at altitude. Wait an extra year or two and save up for the good guys.
Wisdoms: The path less traveled is absolutely the way to go here. Don’t get stuck in the zombi crowds.
Packing: Serious endeavor for this trip. Refer to our trekking packing list.
For the next time: Don’t think I’m gonna do this one again. On to the next mountain!
“You want to go where?!”
I’m not entirely sure what inspired us to climb Kilimanjaro. As many of the mountaineering books I’ve read over the years often quote, it was there, and so I wanted to stand on top of it. Arthur and I had trekked around Annapurna in Nepal earlier in the year and were thrilled with the experience so when our friends invited us to join them on safari in East Africa, climbing Kili seemed like a must.
After much deliberation I chose Mountain Madness as our guides and it was one of the best travel decisions ever made. The guides and porters were amazing every step of the way but we truly realized how lucky we are was at the top of Kili as we started our descent. We came up the Lomosho approach through the Shira Plateau and the Western Breach and camped INSIDE THE CRATER that is Kili (which was a giant volcano back in it’s day) before our final ascent of the summit in the morning. The other popular routes go up a different side of the mountain like the Marangu (also known as the Coca Cola route due to it’s popularity with inexperienced western muppets) and Mweka (which was the route we took down) are much quicker, climbers don’t have time to acclimatize which results in about a 40% summit rate. Most people turn around a few hundred meters from summit. Some get very sick and a few die on the way down each year. On the Lomosho/Shira route with Mountain Madness the success rate is 90% and, having been there, I can see why. But let’s start at the start.
Popular Routes up Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania, East Africa near the town of Arusha and the easiest way to get there is via Nairobi, Kenya. You can fly or bus it from Nairobi to Arusha (we did both on our trip and the buses are fine). Kili is a fascinating place because it is the biggest freestanding mountain in the world. It formed as a volcano back in the day as opposed to being squished by plate tectonics which is how the tallest mountains in Asia, Europe and the Americas formed. Because of this, it stands alone, with only one other large mountain nearby and when you stand on top, you really do feel like the world is your oyster.
You can’t legally climb Kili yourself so once we arrived in Arusha we were picked up by Cobra, our guide for the next 9 days. The next day, after an acclimatization night at the Itikoni tented camp at 2k meters we met, what can be best described as, our army of porters. We counted a few times and didn’t come close to meeting all of them but our best estimate was that it took about 57 porters, guides, drivers, cooks and other support staff to get our 7 weak american butts up the mountain. It seemed ridiculous at first but we quickly grew to love the relatively luxury of the whole affair.
The Climb
After our night in the crater our final ascent was less than two hours, unlike most people who get up at midnight and hike the whole night for 7 -10 hours in the dark to get to the top. The summit was breathtaking. Sun rising over the horizon, all of Africa in the palm of my hand, a view down into the planes where I could see the shadow of Kili, yes, the shadow of an entire mountain reflected down from the rising sun, the remains of the magnificent glaciers down below… it was all just spectacular.
As I felt the altitude sickness finally worming it’s way to the surface and started my way down, I came face to face those same old poor souls who took the “short easy routes” attempting to trudge their way up. What I saw over the next 2 hours could be best described as the “walk of the living dead.” I watched as literally dozens of people collapsed on the ground. Saw many people being dragged by their careless porters up to a summit they have no chance of enjoying in their zombi state. Saw even more people give up and turn around so close, just minutes from the top. Statistically at least a few these people will suffer serious cerebral and pulmonary issues on the way down and a handful will die as do every year. All because they wanted to save a few bucks on their guides.
A few bits of wisdom for the next guy. First and foremost, TAKE THE DIAMOX! Unless you have been above 4k meters before and are superhuman and know altitude doesn’t affect you, take the damn pills. Those who don’t just make the trip suckier for everyone around them and then end up taking them anyway. You ascend way faster than your body can handle and a few extra trips to the bathroom and some finger tingling won’t kill you.
Secondly pick your route and your guide company with great care. Pick the longest route you can and if at all possible