Mt. Kilimanjaro Stories
A collection of stories from climbers who have attempted to climb Kilimanjaro.
Kilimanjaro Traverse - Camps of the Lemosho & Mweka Trails - Part Four
Lava Tower Camp – 14,950 ft., one night
Made famous by the IMAX movie, this iconic stopping point was the first time I really noticed the clouds drifting by below us. Because we were climbing the Western Breach, scrambling to the top of the tower was mandatory…our final test if you will. Had we failed, the suggestion would have been to climb the “normal” route through Barafu Camp. The frightened Cheeseheads from flatland, however, negotiated the pitch with sufficient alacrity to earn the privilege to climb the Breach.
The camp was comfortable, beautiful and relaxing. As with every morning, …
Date: December 19th, 2006 |
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Kilimanjaro Traverse - Camps of the Lemosho & Mweka Trails - Part 2
Shira One Camp – 11,500 ft., two nights
We spent the day climbing up and out of the rain forest through the heather region onto the alpine meadow of the Shira Plateau. I spent most of our noon break finding places to hide the lunch I wasn’t hungry for. After negotiating the last valley ridge we could not only see our next camp but there stood Kibo (the massif of the central volcano that, combined with Shira and Mawenzi, create Kilimanjaro) standing, indifferent, 22 miles away with the, now closed, Western Breach flirting in our direction. …
Date: December 15th, 2006 |
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No Fear on Kilimanjaro - 1 Year Later
As many of your might remember, last January a group of climbers were killed by a freak rock avalanche on the Western Breach of Mount Kilimanjaro. 3 climbers died and a number of people were injured. I was on the mountain just a few days before that with my group and had some idea on how devasting and difficult it must have been.
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 …
Date: December 12th, 2006 |
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Day By Day Tales on Mt. Kilimanjaro
From Moshi to Uhuru Peak
By Lee Abbamonte
Arrival into Tanzania
Jake and I left Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi after spending one night in Kenya’s capital and we left in search of answers. Answers to what it was about Kilimanjaro that had attracted us and attracts 25,000 people annually to attempt to climb its magical landscape. Answers to why we spent a small fortune to try something completely out of our normal realm. Answers to the most underlying question: could we do it?
About twenty minutes before we landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport, I looked out the window and saw something I’ll never forget. I saw the summit of Kilimanjaro peaking up above the clouds, above the altitude of our airplane. It was spectacular. We were so excited that we weren’t sure what to do at first. It was a long journey to get to this point, but it actually hit us that we would be climbing this monstrosity the next day. We took some phenomenal pictures from the plane and that view will always be embedded in my mind.
We finally arrived and were greeted by Babu, our driver that was sent by BootsnAll Travel Network to bring us to the office for our orientation for the following day. After meeting everyone and setting up a time later that afternoon for a gear inspection at the Zebra Hotel, we had lunch at the Sikh Café–home to the Moshi Lions Club meeting on the first of every month and some excellent Indian food.
Date: November 15th, 2006 |
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Kilimanjaro Skydive
One of the tour providers in Tanzania is now offering skydiving around Kilimanjaro. I have to say, it’s a great to see some new options for viewing Kilimanjaro that haven’t been thought up. It’s a great mountain that needs to be utilized in other ways besides climbing. Personally, I think it would be great to see Kilimanjaro, Meru and the Africa plains from the sky, although $399 seems a wee bit expensive.
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. …
Date: October 23rd, 2006 |
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Kilimanjaro traverse - Camps of the Lemosho & Mweka Trails - Part 3
Moir Camp – 13,650 ft., two nights
Moir is one of the least visited camps on the mountain nestled between very black and spherical, volcanic topography. The location treats you to stunning sunsets overlooking the Shira Plateau. The 7 hour ascent from Shira 1 took us to new altitudes (for the Cheeseheads) and through flora right out of a Dr. Seuss book.
Sand and dust begin to dominate albeit; with stunning sunshine…we were still 6 days from the next shower.
There is a pile of elephant bones in camp that reminded us we were certainly not in Wisconsin. About …
Date: December 18th, 2006 |
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Kilimanjaro Traverse - Camps of the Lemosho & Mweka Trails -Part 1
This trail and camp strategy my son and I followed in 04 enabled a nine day acclimatization hike with the summit on the morning of the tenth day after only an hour up the final ridge from the crater. Each of the camps had their own unique qualities. I will have seven parts in all.
Big Tree/Forest Camp - 9170 ft, one night
After three hours of wonderment fueled by adrenaline as we ascended the serpentine trail, ever up, through the dry rain forest, we popped out from the dynamic foliage into our little nylon city. …
Date: December 14th, 2006 |
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Surviving Kilimanjaro - A Story on the Marangu Route
Here is a great story by Erik Trinidad that I published a long time ago - an older version of this Africa blog. Read Surviving Kilimanjaro. Erik only makes it to Gilman’s Point, which is 99.999 the top of Kilimanjaro, but not technically is not all the way there. Needless to say, Erik is good writer and describes the trials and tribulations of climbing Africa’s highest mountain.
Either way, Erik did one of the most bad-ass epic trips before it became popular. If you ever get a few spare days of reading, read The Global Trip, a sixteen …
Date: November 21st, 2006 |
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Kilimanjaro Fire Update
Last August, there was a fire on part of Kilimanjaro that burned a big area. The latest news is that poachers must have set the fire. While I know there are poachers on parts of Kilimanjaro, especially more on the north side and near Shira, I am not sure why they would have set a fire. Perhaps to push some animals out of the forest?
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 …
Date: November 2nd, 2006 |
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Grandma Géraldine Attempts The Wrath of Kilimanjaro
For those of you who think you are hardcore for climbing Kilimanjaro, there is one little old grandma that might be a bit more hardcore than you. According to Le Magazine Grandma Géraldine is climbing Kilimanjaro for the Make A Wish Foundation. Geralinde prefers to be active, traveling to destinations like Kenya, Costa Rica, Europe, Morocco, and next to India.
Go Granny Go!
Date: October 15th, 2006 |
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