Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Kilimanjaro photos

My photos of Kilimanjaro are at the link below:

http://s1075.photobucket.com/albums/w431/snowmanrn/

Snow, great pictures. Did you do this trip by yourself, and where did you do your altitude training?

THE SILENT HIKER

Very cool. I want to go someday. Thanks for posting the link to your pics. When did you go and who did you use as an outfitter?
Did the Watermelon taste good at altitude. Sure looks good .

Very cool pics, Snowman. Looks like you had an epic time. Thanks for sharing!

Silent Hiker,

I did go by myself. Just me and my Tanzanian guide Sylvester. Perfect for me. Last time I went with a huge American group and it wasn't my style at all. I have been picking off California 14ers for the last couple of years, but I was not acclimatized at all before going on this trip. I did all the acclimatizing on the mountain on the Shira Route.

casey

Thanks Hikergirl 76!

Jim,

The food was awesome (watermelon included)! I just got back. My summit day was March 10th. I ended up having Kurt Wedberg at SMI hook me up because he knows the people at ZARA, but I could not go on his trip, so I went by myself with one ZARA guide (the whole team was 5 people). I highly recommend this trip. It was my second time over there and the ZARA people are great. They run like a well-oiled machine. Thanks for checking out my photos.

Casey

I thought that looked like a Zara trip. The picture of the camp table with popcorn and a can of Milo brought back fond memories.

You're welcome, Snowman. I felt like I was reading a picture book with some narration. You must be a writer. If not, then you should be.

Hikergirl76,

I'm not a writer, but thanks for the compliment. Maybe that's my ticket out of nursing!

Casey

Big time congrats, Casey!!! I, also, climbed Kili with just my guide. LOVED it! Did the Lemosho/Machame route. Saw many Colobus monkeys starting out in the rain forest. I was able to arrange staying at Kosovo Camp on summit night (above Barafu Camp); just my guide, cook and porters. I summited during a full moon on my 50th b-day. My guide lit a candle and sang happy birthday to me on the summit. The two of us enjoyed being on top of Africa for 40 minutes... had the place to ourselves! An adventure I will treasure forever. Thanks for sharing your grand adventure!

Pix

Casey, nursing is a great career. I'm a writer and I also like to tell stories with my photos, so that's why I thought you were a writer as well. Perhaps you have that gift and haven't discovered it yet.

MC, you are such an inspiration. All of these pictures are making me seriously consider removing Kilimanjaro from my ”Do Not Climb” list.

Hike on!

Joyce

Kilimanjaro is a great mountain to take off your "Do Not Climb" list...

Hike & Climb On!
MC

Joyce,

I'm surprised to hear Kili is on your do not climb list. Why so?

Casey

Kili has to be the cadillac of all climbs. You have a guide, porters to carry the bulk of your gear,set up camp, cooks to do all the cooking and cleanup while you do the hiking with a lightweight daypack. I think I carried all of a couple of water bottles, a lightweight jacket and a snack or two. Maybe 5-7 lbs. I do not carry camera gear. The climb itself is not difficult if you are acclimated as you normally hike a modest number of hrs and miles a day. I highly recommend you change your list and include Kili on a "to do" list in your future.

CMC

I thought I was on a cruise...

MC

Casey,

I used to think Kilimanjaro was too big and strenuous for me. I have scoliosis, so I try not to carry a lot of weight in my pack. That's why I won't do a backpacking trip unless I can have my own personal sherpa or a mule.

I once thought Mt. Baldy and Mt. Whitney were too much for me, but I did both of those last year, multiple times. I considered Mt. Whitney my "Mt. Everest" and thought that was as high as I would ever go. I was also freaked out from hearing stories about people climbing Kili and succumbing to altitude sickness, barfing their lungs out, etc. However, I've been desiring to push the envelope a little bit. You guys' pictures pulled me in and made me feel like I was there on the mountain with you. Now I'm intrigued and want to try it. This is also how I became interested in Mt. Whitney. Up until a year ago, I didn't even know Mt. Whitney existed. (Forgive me, I'm from Texas.)

I passed up an opportunity to climb Kili next year with a hiking meetup group. I decided I'd rather go hike Italy's volcano route instead. That's my dream hike.

CMC,
Since Kili is considered the "Cadillac" of hikes, it must be an absolute MUST climb. It's good to know that I won't have to carry much of anything. I'll put Kili on my "To Do" list for 2014!

MC, thanks for the vote of confidence. You rock!

Joyce

Joyce,

If you really want to do Kilimanjaro, it is possible. Lots of people every year with NO high altitude experience make it to the top. Just having done Whitney, YOU are at an advantage. It is high, though, and you can never be sure you won't succumb to altitude sickness. However, there are a few things you can do to improve your chance of making it to the top relatively pain free. My strategy involved drinking lots of water, getting good sleep, and planning for the possibility of a respiratory infetion.

At altitude, I drink 6 liters of water per day. I don't know anybody else that drinks that much, but it works well for me and I rarely get headaches. I also do whatever it takes to sleep well on mountains to stay strong, healthy, and focused. It is difficult to sleep at altitude, so in addition to pitching my tent far away from the crowds, I take medications to help. This can be dangerous, but I take the same medication on the mountain that I take at home (except for summit night) and so far haven't had any problems. Many people on Kili take Ambien but I'm not sure if it helps or hinders their success. Finally, you cannot make it to the top of Kili with a respiratory infection unless you are super acclimated like the guides. I saw a few people on Kili that were trying for the summit with respiratory infections (thick mucous in chest), that did not make it. It is common to get infections flying over there or on the mountain. I planned for this possibility by allowing a few extra days on my itinerary so that if I did get sick I could go to a lower altitude and recover for a few days before going back up. Fortunately I did not get sick this time though.

Kili is luxorious because they carry all of your gear. You won't be carrying more than 10 pounds in your day pack unless you choose to haul a huge camera up there. Your back should be fine. The pace is also very very slow to avoid exertion and altitude sickness.

These are just my opinions, but I hope this information is helpful.

Casey

Much more snow than I've seen in pix of recent years and low down too....

Casey,

Thanks for the helpful info. I was all ready to start planning my trip until you mentioned the possibility of a respiratory infection. I'm concerned about what would happen if I suddenly got sick. Would I be able to turn around and descend immediately, or would the guides allow that? I'm glad to know that they hike at a slow pace. That was my other concern. But what some people consider slow is still too fast for me.

The second time I climbed Whitney, I had a pretty bad cold and made it to the top and back down with no complications. I had been sick all week and thought about canceling the trip, but I was determined to do the climb on my birthday and have a party at the summit, so I pressed through it. The first time, I was completely healthy and didn't reach the summit (I made it to Trail Crest), and I was overcome by either AMS or extreme exhaustion on the way down. Perhaps a little bit of both. On the last three miles, I felt like I was having an out of body experience and couldn't eat anything, though I was super hungry.

I guess I'll just continue living vicariously through you and others who post pics of their adventures to big, exotic and mysterious mountains until I build up enough courage to do those climbs myself.

Cheers!

Joyce