Anyone who has climbed Kilimanjaro will know what a huge part the porters played in their climb. As a photographer, I can vividly remember standing on top of Kilimanjaro in a sea of clouds watching with intrigue and amusement as the porters who had accompanied us to the top muscled in on summit photos, grabbing cameras to record our happy moment. And from there sprang the idea for the The Porters of Kilimanjaro Photographic Project – a chance to see the mountain through the eyes of a working porter.

The project is currently distributing disposable film cameras to porters who work on Kilimanjaro to collate a unique record of life on the mountain. Many of the published photographs available of porters on Kilimanjaro are taken from a distinctly Western perspective and taken by professionals on specialised equipment. Removing the technology and textbook expertise from photography can create some fantastic and unexpected results – especially when coupled with documenting day-to-day life on the roof of Africa.

The ultimate aim of the project is to create a book and series of exhibitions of the images in order to raise money for Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project, a non-profit organisation based in Moshi, providing support and education to porters as well as educating climbers on the proper working conditions and treatment of porters on the mountain (visit www.kiliporters.org for more information).
To date 40 cameras have successfully gone up and down the mountain but we need your help to keep the momentum going so as to collect a good variety of images:

How can you help?

We need to distribute as many cameras as possible to porters on the mountain.

Distribute: If you are travelling to Kilimanjaro and can help to distribute cameras please contact me.

Donate: One camera costs less than $5 and takes 27 images. If one person can donate one camera to one porter we can build up the number of images very quickly – can you fit one in your backpack?

Spread the word: If you know someone who might be interested in the project or the work of the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project please forward on the links.

Please contact me to help, donate or ask for more information

One of my concerns for the climb up Kilimanjaro was my ability to manage the altitude necessary to make the summit, and equally important, to enjoy the experience. Also, the threat of severe AMS lurked in the background to completely derail my attempt to summit or worse to miss my next birthday.

Past Experience

During previous hikes over 10,000 feet (3000m), I had struggled. Headaches, loss of appetite, and general fatigue were always present during trips to the Sierra Nevada. I recall experiencing shortness of breath just walking around camp at 12,000. When I was younger, better physical conditioning helped me push through the physical problems and get to the top (usually 13,000 to 14,000 feet). But Kilimanjaro is 19,341 feet (5895m)! Plus now that I am, let’s just say more mature (over 50), I was really concerned.

I know that in my earlier mountain trips, I did not drink enough water. Compounding this was usually no time to acclimatize because of the requirement to finish hikes over a weekend. Drinking adequate water (4 to 5 liters per day) will be easy to do this time and our extended trek across the western flank of Kilimanjaro will provide for acclimatization. However, my doubts still lingered.

Diamox: How & Why…

For this trip, I decided to take Diamox (Acetazolamide) to speed up the acclimatization process. Because of the reduced oxygen at altitude, breathing harder and faster allows your body to get more oxygen in the system as it produces more red blood cells. The increase in carbon dioxide exhaled at the same time makes the blood more alkaline. The kidneys get involved to excrete the excess alkaline to balance things out. Diamox helps the kidneys by speeding up the process. My local doctor prescribed 250 mg daily starting 2 days before the hike. I had read a number of articles that recommended anywhere from 125 mg to 500 mg per day, so this seemed reasonable.

Side Effects

The side effects described were numbness or tingling in the fingers and toes plus more frequent urination. There was also a big caution about not taking any sedatives once you started the medication. All of the side effects go away when you stop. This seemed manageable especially compared to not making it to the top.

I started taking the Diamox at the hotel in Moshi the night before we left for Kilimanjaro. I wanted to have a bathroom ready to see just how frequent, frequent is. Three Tuskers that night at dinner added more liquid than normal, but frequent turned out to be every other hour! Manageable in the hotel, but no more Tuskers until the end of the trip.

The first three days of the hike we climbed from 6890 feet (2100m) to 12,600 feet (3840m) over a relatively gradual incline and 22 km. I did not have any difficulty. The tingling side effect in my fingers and toes was no different than if you slept on your arm and felt mild numbness. It lasted for 20 to 30 minutes. I maintained my water intake which created two excursions per night out of the tent. This was not a problem because after midnight the skies cleared and I was able to view the splendor of every star in the sky and the Milky Way stretched across the heavens. A great side benefit even at the expense of a temporary chill from getting out of the sleeping bag.

The Result

The first test was Day 4 when we hiked from Shira Hut to Barranco Camp via the Lava Tower at 15,230 feet (4642m). We would ultimately sleep that night at 13,000 feet, but 15,000 feet was the highest I had ever hiked. It turned out to be no problem at all. Walking slowly (Swahili – poley poley), plenty of water, a good workout program prior to the trip, and the Diamox combined to make this day’s hike a great experience. I was not winded, no headache, and plenty of energy. The landscape was phenomenal and I was able to fully enjoy and appreciate it.

This was a major confidence booster for me. Over the next two days, we hiked up to Barufu Huts Camp at 15,358 feet (4681m). This was the last camp before our summit attempt that night at midnight. After 6 days and almost 40 kilometers of walking, the excitement and anticipation provided plenty of adrenaline. I was raring to go and felt great.

The Summit

When the last cheers of “Happy New Year” started to subside, we left Barafu Camp for the summit. Pitch black with your headlamp only illuminating the next three feet, we trudged steadily up the next 4,000 feet over the next 7 hours. We pass multiple groups huddled over fallen comrades and we lose one of our own to the altitude (Note – later in the day, she recovered and made it to the top). The ingredients of training, pace, hydration, and modern medicine combined to deliver me to the peak at 6:45AM. An unbelievable feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction wash over me as I get my picture taken at Uhuru Peak 5895m, Africa’s highest point, the world’s tallest freestanding mountain.

Could I have made it without Diamox? I don’t know. I wanted to give myself every advantage possible so I trained hard, took care of my body during the trip, followed directions (poley poley), and used available medicine whether it was Imodium or Diamox to aid my ascent. What I do know is that I made it and that is good enough for me.

Read CNN Story

The thing about this, and the recent story on Mt. Hood in Oregon – my home state – is that all these climbers were NOT novices. They were somewhat experts, or people who had considerable experience on mountains. Boskoff had climbed mountains around the world, including Everest, and the three guys on Mt. Hood had been climbing for more than 20 years and were training for Everest. All of these people, I assume, died because of the power of the mountains. Regardless of how much experience you have as an adventurer, there is always the chance that something could happen to you. And sometimes I think we forget this, even if you are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Well, a number of those climbers, who were less than 2000 ft from the summit, have decided to return to Kilimanjaro and attempt to make the summit.

I admire anyone who confronts their fears, and goes back to conquer the mountain. Of course, they could live those awful memories and feel sad about the terrible accident, but instead, they are coming back and going to take on the mountain. Good job!

Read Story

When I lived on Kilimanjaro, right near the border of the Kilimanjaro National Park, I heard that only monkeys where left on the southside, and people would occasionally hunt them, but I cannot confirm this.

Read Kilimanjaro Fire Story

My only issue with skydiving around Kilimanjaro is that you probably need to be doing your jump either around sunrise or sunset to get the best view of Kilimanjaro. Clouds cover the mountain most of the year during the day. I think I would opt for sunset skydive and afterwards finish off the day with a few Kilimanjaro beers.

Go Granny Go!

On July 2006, the camping and entrance fees to all Tanzania National Parks was raised for Lake Manyara and Tarangire National Park as well the Arusha National Park. It was $20 camp fee, now is $30. On Mount Kilimanjaro was $40, now is $50 and entrance fees for those park was $25 now is $35.

This January 2007, they again raised the entrance fees for Serengetti and Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro Crater fee from $25 to $100 per car.

Now most of you reading this are paying a couple thousands dollars for your adventure in Tanzania, you think, “What does another $10 for this, and another $15 really mean?” Well, first off, most of these costs are PER PERSON PER DAY, so they can really add up. Second, it’s just another tax that really makes the cost of safaris more and more expensive. With fuel prices also high in Tanzania and distances far, I only see the cost of safaris going up and the average family not being able to plan an adventure in this country.

The reason is, like Uganda, Rwanda has great tourism potential, with mountain gorillas as the number one tourist attraction. The problem is, in the past, it was difficult to get to Rwanda, as you had to fly through Nairobi instead of Kilimanjaro.

The Rwanda tourism authority wants to attract the legions of safari people that visit Northern Tanzania.

This is PER PERSON, PER DAY on the mountain.

Daily Charge $60.00
For a six day trip, you would pay $360.00 per person to the Tanzanian government. On a seven day trip, you would pay $420.00 per person.

Night Charge $40.00
For a six day trip, you would pay $200.00 per person to the Tanzanian government. On a seven day trip, you would pay $240.00 per person.

Rescue Insurance $20.00
This is a one time fee.

That means, on a typical trip up Mt. Kilimanjaro, you would pay between $580 to $680 PER PERSON to the Tanzanian government. All tour operators absorb this cost and pay it for the client.