r/kilimanjaro

This is my first post on Reddit and it is about time I gave back to this community which really helped me prepare for the Kilimanjaro hike.

There is so much to say and share. Some of it may be useful. Some of it may sound vain. Some of it may sound redundant. But if some of it can positively influence a future climber that would be satisfying.

A bit of a background - 39, not unfit but definitely not fit, Kilimanjaro was my first multi-day hike, and definitely the first anywhere over 1500m (day hikes in Patagonia and German Alps).

Diving deeper into the trek, will talk about the route, the training, the experience, and a couple of things that I would have maybe done differently if I could have.

The route:

As with most beginners, I picked the Lemosho route. Initially chose the 7 day version (forest camp, Shira 1, Moor Hut, Barranco, Barafu, Barafu-Summit-Mweka Camp, Mweka Gate). One week before flying, changed it to 8 days and introduced a stop at Karanga between Barranco and Barafu so that I didn’t have to do a 7-8 hour trekking day and then start again later that night for the summit. The itinerary I finally finished with was quite different and I will get to it in the experience part.

The training:

Sitting at almost 0m altitude and latitude in Singapore, there really wasn’t much exposure or opportunity to mimic the settings I was to enter. For 4-6 weeks prior to the hike, I did weighted backpack stair climbing (75-100 stories, twice a week), some running (5k/10k), and other largely cardio training. Honestly, spent as much time figuring out the things to buy and shopping for them as I did with the training. I also got medical tests done to make sure I was good to go and also secured the most variety of medicines I have ever carried anywhere or even had at home at any point. This included Diamox which I took post extensive consultations with doctors given some personal medical complications. There was no way to A/B test if the Diamox was required but I would put the fact that I went through the trek without any AMS down in some part at least to Diamox.

The experience:

Did I say, I changed to an 8-day itinerary? Yes. Only to then actually finish in 6 days thanks to what was in retrospect the most sensible itinerary possible. This was partly influenced by the fact that two groups with just one hiker in them joined together. The other person was on a 7 day itinerary and I was on 8 and on Day 2 the difference in itineraries showed up when we ended at Shira 2 instead of Shira 1 (17 km walk vs 7 km). This worked in my favor since Shira 1 to 2 is largely flat and covering that much ground in one day felt good.

Where things really changed was on Day 5. It was supposed to be a light day (3 hours - Karanga to Barafu) followed by a midnight start to the summit.

As we got close to Barafu, the guides asked us if we would want to start the summit soon after we reached Barafu instead. That would mean a day time ascent and night time descent. As someone who had been dreading the final ascent coming in cold, dark, and windy conditions I lapped it up. My co-hiker was also a sport and agreed to the change but wanted to ensure we caught the sunset. And so began the longest day of my life.

We got to Barafu at around 11.15 and were tasked with leaving by noon. This meant that we didn’t have time for lunch and instead we were given a snack pack loaded with sugary things. What also happened was miscommunication or a lack of clear communication which meant that I was given the impression that a summit porter will start a bit later and bring lunch with him. This was a big mistake. As we kept climbing, I realized that there was no more food coming. This meant that in a not too delicious twist (pun intended), I had started the summit climb on an almost empty stomach. The next few hours were great and included the most physically and mentally demanding 3-4 hours of my life. We reached Uhuru at just a little after 6, perfectly in time for the sunset. And the best part, we had the whole peak to just the 5 of us (2 climbers and 3 crew members). It was all surreal and then reality hit 30 min into the descent. A combination of low oxygen fatigue and lack of fuel in the body started to weigh me down. First with one crew member supporting my descent and then two members doing the same. This also meant that the descent was as fast as I could have imagined and completed in 3 hours. After some dinner it was fairly light sleep thanks to over exhaustion and lingering excitement from the summit.

All this meant we did the final descent (17 km) from Barafu to Mweka gate on Day 6 thus finishing the trek a whole two days ahead of the initial plan. This was Hakuna Matata in action. :)

I cannot end this section without a word for the army of porters and guides who make this ascent possible for 1000s of people like me. They are marvelous people with an attitude towards life that oozes through the way they support the climbers through the tough moments whilst simultaneously making us wonder if they are made of something other than muscles and bones to be able to so easily traverse the mountains.

Things I would have done differently:

Researched more to understand the different routes, especially across different operators. I am obviously biased by my experience, but I felt that this 6 day itinerary should be far more popular and become a staple offering!
Sunglasses : I wear prescription glasses and have never worn contacts. I wish o had so I could have picked a proper Cat 4 sunglasses for the trek. I used a Decathlon OTG Cat 3. While it largely did its job, there was some discomfort especially if I had to wear any tight caps to protect from the cold. It was also didn’t let me fully look up at the sky when we got close to the summit because of the brightness.
Add a safari: Not really since there was no way I was doing a safari alone without my family. But a safari at the end of the hike feels like the best way to top up the experience and make the most of the long trip over to Tanzania.

This post obviously turned out to be way longer than I had intended. If you are still here, thanks for reading along! And do post any questions you may have or share your experiences, even if contradictory.

So about two months ago, I rolled my ankle while descending a mountain. It healed pretty fast and I jumped into my Kilimanjaro training way too soon that it leaves a dull pain (2/10 pain) after I hit legs. I went to the pt but due to some insurance issue my session ended three weeks before my hike. My pt did clear me for the hike but the bottom of my foot still experience some dull pain here and there. I’m pretty sure my ankle is stable since I can perform single leg exercises on a bosu ball. But does anyone have experience with climbing Kilimanjaro with a semi recent ankle injury. My hike is less than a week away.

I’ve been wanting to climb Kilimanjaro for so long but recently it came back to surface and I become obsessed with booking but due to personal reasons it needed to be booked asap. I wanted to do it before September. Booked onto a climb that I need to fly for tomorrow and have bailed out due to fear of going alone, not being able to speak to loved ones due to signal and uncertainty whether I’m fit enough. I’ve been driving myself crazy- I don’t think I’m mentally prepared but will I ever be!?. I’m doing the three peaks second week of September and I’m wondering whether I should do that first to know whether I feel comfortable on the mountain. I’ve done it before but 7 years ago. I’ve been doing training but not mountain training just gym - stair master, runs, incline walks on treadmill. Has anyone else got this close to booking and bailed out due to fear? I’m worried if I don’t just get on and do it I’ll never do it.

We (team of 3 ppl, ages 45-46) summited Monday morning, August 3. Wanted to provide a few notes that I think are not repeated everywhere on this forum.

- We used African Scenic Safaris and they were beyond excellent. We summited during high season, but Joel and Hiari timed it such that we never had any lines.

- Was very surprised by relative fitness on the trail. I certainly prepared, but was surprised that we were the first or second team to camp each night based on sign-in. We were also the first team to Stella Point and second to Uhuru Peak on Monday. We are reasonably fit but middle-aged and by no means athletes. My theory is that the group climbs are large and thus move slowly, and we were relatively fit compared to the other private climbs (which skewed older).

- The dust is no joke, and I was underprepared for it. I did not practice with a buff (not needed in SoCal), and wasn't used to breathing through one at high altitude. So my nasal passages were completely overloaded on the descent from the summit. I still have a mild cough. Practice with a buff.

- The sun is also quite strong. We did a Lemosho 8-day, which I have read is the most scenic. That may be, but we were primarily hiking East in the mornings, and once I noticed a burn beginning, I was mostly looking down. I wonder if Rongai (during southern winter) or Machame (during southern summer) would be prettier simply because the sun will be behind you and you can look around the whole time.

- We got lucky on altitude sickness. I had some mild nausea on summit night (could still eat and drink), one team member had an asthma attack between Stella Point and Uhuru Peak (but had inhaler and it was fine), and the third had no issues. Made for a relatively smooth climb but I have spoken to people who had HAPE issues despite Diamox so seems a crapshoot.

- Strongly recommend African Scenic Safaris - they seem to know their stuff.

So these boots are category AB for low level walking. Are these suitable to wear on Kilimanjaro? Do I really need something much more suitable?

They're fully waterproof. Comfortable but I do get slightly sore toes after long hikes downhill.

Hi -I’m asking in reference to my upcoming trip to Africa.( mt Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and Zanzibar) I have about $250-$300 budget and want a camera for Kilimanjaro summit-Lemosho 8 day, safari and Zanzibar in the month of September.
I don’t want to just depend on my iPhone for pics and videos. I am guessing I’ll have to go with a camera for Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. I need it to be small, lightweight and water resistant at the least.
Any ideas 💡? Tia

I want to buy an Arc'teryx jacket, but struggle choosing between the Beta AR and heta SL. Does anyone have experience with the beta SL and would it be fit for the kilimanjaro?

Or is there any other good jackets out there you'd really recommend?

We submitted last Wednesday 7/29 (via Rongai) and all our group can think about is how much we miss it and when we could go back!

Here’s some things we keep joking about:

-How nice it is for someone to cook you 3 meals a day
-How we slept better on the mountain than at home
-Perhaps we should just go sleep outside in the cold to mimic it
-That sleeping in the quiet at home seems weird and we need some white noise of men speaking in Swahili to put us to sleep
-that we keep waking up and immediately needing to do some kind of physical task. I’ve suddenly gotten quite good at morning laundry

AND we’ve been eyeballing future peaks. Perhaps Mount Wilhelm in PNG, or Pico Orizaba in MX, or Aconcagua. Anyone else get home and just have an intense longing to get back?

Hi everyone!

I’m planning to hike the Machame Route in mid-September, and I’m definitely not an experienced hiker! I’m buying pretty much all my gear specifically for Kilimanjaro, and I’m starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, especially when it comes to jackets/layers!

Here’s what I already have:

• 1 short-sleeve merino wool T-shirt
• 1 long-sleeve merino wool T-shirt
• A few synthetic T-shirts
• A fleece

For jackets, I already have an Adidas TERREX waterproof jacket, a JOTT down jacket, and a rain poncho.

What kind of jacket should I add? Any brand recommendations? I’m trying to buy as much as possible second-hand, and ideally I’d like to stay under €150 for the jacket, since I probably won’t get much use out of it afterwards.

For bottoms, I already have:

• Merino wool leggings
• TERREX convertible hiking pants
• Decathlon rain pants

I’ve also seen softshell hiking pants from brands like Cimalp or Columbia. Would those be enough?

And finally, for socks: I’m planning to take a pair of hiking socks and a pair of merino wool socks. Is that enough?

You read so many different things online that it’s honestly starting to make me a little nervous! I’d be really disappointed to miss the summit just because I didn’t have the right gear.

Thanks so much for any advice!