Mt. Kilimanjaro Planning
Tons of information to help you plan your climb up Kilimanjaro. You can find everything from best hotels, routes, and other perspectives on the mountain.
Boots N’all New Years Eve Kilimanjaro Climb
A View of Kilimanjaro from Ambroseli National Park
This year I will personally be leading a New Year’s Eve Summit of Kilimanjaro for which a maximum of twelve places are on offer. New Year’s eve is a special time to make the climb, and if you have had memorable moments of celebrating the turning of the annual clock in the past, this one will be among the most unique, if not the most unique that you will ever experience.
Boots N’all New Year ‘09…
Date: August 16th, 2008 |
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Ten Things You Need To Know About Climbing Kilimanjaro
Kili is a big mountain It soars at its highest point to 19340ft. It is among the seven continental giants, and sits high on the global mountaineering must do list for anyone claiming the status of a mountain enthusiast. It is, however, one of the easiest of the Big Seven. That is not to say it is a walkover, far from it, but it is less a mountaineering experience that an extended trek, and as a consequence it is one of the few big mountains of the world that almost anyone of moderate fitness has a fighting chance of summiting.
Kili is not a cheap mountain to climb Tanzania is home to some of the world’s premier wildlife parks and nature conservancies, and as a poor country it relies more on tourism dollars than government grants to sustain this heritage. Added to this the use of local guides and porters is mandatory. This is part of a general effort by the Tanzanian authorities to insure that local people are not insulated from the benefits accrued by tourism. So as you part with your dollars to make this climb, take comfort from the knowledge that your are contributing directly to the maintenance of the local ecology, and the support of local communities.
First Aid Guides are as a rule trained up to first aid level. This allows them to dress wounds, administer CPR and to dispense non-prescription painkillers while they await the arrival or paramedics. Any pain medication beyond over-the-counter strength analgesics that you feel you might require, and any specific medications you need, are your own responsibility.
It is advisable to carry a small personal medical kit for your own day to day use. In attending to random aches and pains, blisters, stings bites and rashes it always makes sense to be self sufficient, no matter what might be offered by your operator.
Date: July 28th, 2008 |
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The Kilimanjaro Glacier Controversy
Kilimanjaro’s glaciers have tended to be seen in scientific circles as the canary in the coal mine in the study of current climate change, with sides drawn and debates heated in the matter of whether the iconic mountain’s glaciers are diminishing as a result of global warming, because of reduced snowfall or simply as a matter of natural climatic fluctuations.
How Threatened Are The Glaciers
The view of the National Geographic Society is always good acid test on current thinking in matters such as this, and the National Geographic has been nothing if not active in recent years in drawing attention to climate change. But even this august institution cannot seem to make up its mind on this particular issue.
In a 2003 article on the subject National Geographic echoed the common view that Mount Kilimanjaro’s glacier cap would be gone by 2020, if not sooner. More recently, however, an article was published in the May 2007 online issue that predicted the glaciers might in fact be less threatened than previously thought, and that we could see Kilimanjaro’s defining white crown until at least 2050, if not longer.
Date: July 7th, 2008 |
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Kilimanjaro Hakuna Matata: New Book
I stumbled upon a novice Mt Kilimanjaro climbing book today: Kilimanjaro: Hakuna Matata, by Chris Baker. I don’t know anything about this guy and it doesn’t seem like he is a famous writer, but he did take the time to write a book, which is a huge undertaking. I always find it interesting when people publish an entire book about their climbing experiences, as obviously it has changed them in some significant way. Read the book and find out. Please let me know if you do!
My favorite quote on his website, probably sums up what everyone should consider before …
Date: March 19th, 2008 |
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Climb For A Cause - Kilimanjaro
Over the years, I have seen hundreds of people climb Kilimanjaro for certain causes. Whether it’s to raise awareness for “Aids/HIV awareness, homelessness, leukemia, cancer research, blindness, Darfur, exploited children, multiple sclerosis, orphans, etc,” I probably read of a new cause every other week. Don’t get me wrong - it’s a great thing. People raises money for good causes, the community gets involved, the proceeds go to a good cause, and someone travels half way around the world to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. They hold their sign, t-shirt, at the top of Kilimanjaro, and then begin the journey down. They come …
Date: February 22nd, 2008 |
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The Great Search & Rescue Debate
Search & Rescue sits probably among the top three principal concerns that every climber has when they start to ponder an expedition to any of the world’s big mountains, and even many of the smaller ones. This concern becomes particularly acute when planning a trip to somewhere like Kilimanjaro, and this thanks mainly to the inescapable fact that developing world standards can never be wholly relied upon. Even bringing to bear criticism is a bit of a minefield, and the best efforts of any individual operator are bound to some degree to be premised on the permission and facilitation of the local governing authority.
The One Wheeled Gurney
On the whole TANAPA (Tanzanian National Parks Authority) has a good reputation in matters of high altitude rescue. It could be said that they are guilty of massaging the actual numbers of incidences that occur, but that is not in any way unique, since some spectacular examples of this exist elsewhere on the continent too. Perhaps most notably this is so with the numbers of people annually dispatched on the crazy roller coaster of Zambezi white water rafting, and again on the Zambezi with regards to the extraordinarily close to nature canoe trips down the length of the wild lower section of the river.
If you are on a cheap trip up the mountain, and you are feeling dizzy, or if your head is exploding and your lungs are gradually filling with fluid, then the odds are that you will be escorted back to base by a porter. If you collapse and are incapacitated a cell phone alert will probably bring up the famous one-wheeled gurney with its sole accommodation to comfort being a motorcycle suspension system. Upon this you will ride home, and no doubt feel much better when you get there. If, on the other hand, your problem is of a deeply serious nature, such as a spinal or head injury, then your hope will be that a helicopter is locally available to lift you off the mountain.
Date: August 11th, 2008 |
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The Kilimanjaro Guide and Porter Fraternity: The Facts Behind The Scenes
The term eco-tourism tends to evoke images of enlightened travelers treading lightly and reverently among the surviving cathedrals of nature. Through the particulars of any given ecology they are guided by a local clone of Crocodile Dundee or Steve Irwin, who, with deep local insight, extol the intricacies and reveal the treasures buried far beyond the reach of the naked eye.
So it is, a lot of the time, and the clones take on many forms. Sometimes they are genuine children of the soil who are moved by the need to preserve their environment, and sometimes they are not. Sometimes it is patently clear that your local guide is as ignorant of the environment as you are, and is as indifferent to it’s long term sustainability as an urban capitalist calculating the gross margin on a cubic meter of hardwood. His interest is in the bottom line, in getting back to town as quickly as possible, and in the 25 percent tip that should as a rule accrue at the end of every expedition.
Sometimes this pisses people off. Sometimes they prefer not to acknowledge it, and sometimes they just accept it as a fact of life and get on with having a good time. The fact is, however, that the large number of peripheral bodies who seem to end up on every mountain party, no matter how you might try to keep numbers to a minimum, are an important part of the system, and this is why.
Date: July 14th, 2008 |
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Mazamas Summit Kilimanjaro
A group from the Oregon-based Mazamas recently joined one of my climbs up Mt. Kilimanjaro. They spent eight days hiking up the Lemosho route, which enters Kilimanjaro from the west.
If you live in Washington or Oregon, I highly recommend joining the Mazamas, as they have a true love for the outdoors - and have both recreational and educational adventures to enjoy.
Special thanks to Jamaica, Mohammed, and the rest of the team for making it such a great trip!
Date: March 24th, 2008 |
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Unsolicited Review - Porters and Safety
Here is an unsolicited email from some clients who recently returned from their climb. What makes this letter interesting is that our guide advised my client Ralph not to summit even though he was 1 day away. The point is - he should not jeopardizes the safety of himself, or the team, even though you traveled half way around the world and paid all this money to climb the mountain. Safety is always first!
And you should always go to the mountain with the intention of NOT making it to the summit. Also, it’s great to see he recognizes the …
Date: March 14th, 2008 |
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Kilimanjaro Company Review: Kilimanjaro Tanzanite Safaris
I received this message today from a distraught person who visited Tanzania. His name is Shinko Mondori. Whether or not this is true, I don’t know, but it’s good to hear real reviews of people who have bad experiences. Marketing material and other comments on website and books can create false impressions.
“We used Kilimanjaro Tanzanite Safari for our northern circuit safari in Tanzania. What a disaster! Andrew, the managing director, totally screwed up our trip, promising everything and delivering nothing. We didn’t even have blankets (which we specificially asked whether we should bring our sleeping bags) …
Date: February 6th, 2008 |
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