Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Anyone interested - Mt Kilimanjaro?

I am arranging a trip to Mt Kilimanjaro this September. Am looking for anyone interested. Have a total of 4 in the party so far.

FYI - Mt Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa, and stands 19,344 ft above sea level.

Email me if interested in additional details.

Praveen (p.bhatia@comcast.net)

which route? who is managing the trip? Local African guides or from US/EU or a combination?

I am interested, but how much does the plane ticket cost? when i checked , it was like $3000 or more to fly to Kili airport .
any more info about the guiding ?
where are the other 4 from?

http://www.basecamptanzania.com/np_info/NP_Kilimanjaro.htm has details on the route and operator.

Unless you are both in very good shape and already acclimitized to altitude, the route they describe is very hard to make the summit (last time I checked, less than 50% make it on this route). The climb itself is fairly easy, but the altitude gain from 4000 feet to almost 20,000 feet in three days (with the bulk of it, 12,000 to 20,000, in ~24 hours), is very hard to acclimatize to. Think of how many people get sick on Whitney, just going from 11,000 to the summit at 14,500, for perspective.

I did that route. A high % didn't make the top. People were dropping out daily. I think on the final push to the top, 50 people started out and only about 15 made it.
I drank 3-4 liters of water a day and took diamox. I walked slowly and always was one of last to reach camp at the end of the day. Lot's of water and slow movement are tricks I've learned in the Eastern Sierra.
On that last nights Midnight departure, I was the first one to the top. Other then a splitting headache, I was feeling pretty good. I think I was prepared for far worse, so the summit pain wasn't that bad.
I highly recommend this trip. Africa is the most expensive place I've traveled but it was a great time.

My boyfriend and I just got back from Kilimanjaro and we had a great time. I have a few suggestions/tips for you if you are interested. The Marangu route is very similar to the main trail of Mt Whitney. It is a long maintained trail to the top and therefore is the easiest way up. Like the Whitney main trail it is also likely to be a lot more crowded than the other routes and also have more inexperienced hikers (hence the lower success rate).

We took the Western Breach route which is very similar to the Mountaineer's route on Mt Whitney. The last night's climb up the western breach is very much like climbing up the gully and chute from Iceberg lake-a little more difficult but a whole lot more fun than slogging up a trail. I think this route has several advantages over the Maragu route 1) Once you split off to the Lava tower there are a lot less people 2) you have the option to camp in the crater (we didn't-it's COOOOLD up there) and also visit the inner crater 3) the climb the last night up the Western Breach is VERY exciting (especially if it snows like it did for us).

I also highly recommend Good Earth Tours (www.goodearthtours.com). They have Narry working out the office here in the US (Austin,TX) so you have a contact in the US and Ndashy in Tanzania keeps everything running like clockwork.

Also as far as airfare we travelled LAX to London on British Airways for $200 round trip and the flight from London to Kilimanjaro on KLM was about $900 round trip (yes the round trip flight from LAX to Kili on KLM is about $3000 unless you can find a deal). I highly recommend flying right into Kili-it is so hassle free.

Hope you have a great trip-let us all know how you did.

Stay positive!

Kilimanjaro does sound hard; and awareness of the challenges that lay ahead is a good thing. However, consider another perspective: only about 50% of people who attempt Mt. Shasta make it. I don't know what the failure rate...(yeah - I know: not making the summit doesn't necessarily spell "failure")... I don't know what the failure rate on Whitney is, but I suspect it's at least 30%...

My point is this: Kilimanjaro will be very difficult, but, relatively speaking, probably quite similar to California forteeners in terms of who's gonna make it and who's not.

Of the people I've known that attempted Kilimanjaro, the majority of them did it as members of some kind of corporate outing – meaning that many of them were in over their heads from the get-go. I suspect that, as on Shasta and Whitney, out-of-shape, inexperienced, pampered, and ill-prepared adventurers constitute the bulk of the 50% that don’t make the summit.

So, if you know what you're getting into and you know how to prepare, don't let a high failure rate among the unwashed masses discourage your attempt.

By the way, does anyone know what the "failure rate" on Whitney is?

My error about the route. The plan is to take the Machame route, not the Marangu route as stated earlier. Also, we are planning an extra acclimatization day.

I hike Machame - Shira - Barranco - Barafu - Mweka and loved it. This was in July 1998, and there was lots of snow on the western breach. We originally planned to do the western breach, but had mixed information on whether we needed ice axes, crampons, and ropes. When we arrived it was clear we would want those. Machame was the obvious alternative. It was a fabulous trip. The extra day gives you the opportunity to climb high and sleep low. My favorite spot was near Barranco, climbing the "breakfast wall" and looking down on cascades.

I recently saw photos of Kili and there was no snow. I don't know if that's a difference because of the time of year, or because the glaciers are receding. It may make a big difference in the character and difficulty of the route.

If you do go all that distance, take time for a safari and a trip to Zanzibar. I loved my trip to
east Africa and would do it again in a heartbeat if I had the funds.

The Machame route is the way to go up (come back down the direct route). You really won't need the extra day to acclimate if you take that route, though you may want it to get over jet lag a bit. There isn't much to do around Kili on the extra day. I would save it for after the climb and go to Ungororo crater to see the wildlife.

> There isn't much to do around Kili on the extra
> day.

On the contrary, there is a lot to do on Kili. It's huge and has a lot of terrain to explore. You could easily spend 10-12 days on the mountain and not be bored. The problem is that it is very expensive and the cost is directly proportional to the time you spend up there.

ep: I said that there wasn't much to do AROUND Kili, meaning in the little nearby towns. That said, I didn't find much to do on the mountain above ~12,000 feet (which you reach on day 2), it was pretty barren. Yes, you could do some day hikes here and there, but nothing that I found very interesting and certainly much less interesting than the extra days in wildlife preserves. The only exception that I found was to do the ice climbing routes, which are very technical and difficult. However, I understand they are completely gone now.

the LA Times magazine has a story on climbing Kilimanjaro (yesterday, march 22). i have not read it, just scanned, but seems to be on point with some of the comments on this thread. you might be interested.

Sam, I guess it's a matter of opinion. I found the area around Kilimanjaro (Moshi, Marangu, Arusha) to be interesting enough to spend several days. And while it is true that Kilimanjaro is largely devoid of vegetation above 12K, it still has interesting geological features. One could easily fill days exploring the Shira Plateau, the Arrow Glacier area, the northern side of the hill, the summit crater, or the area around Mwenza (nevermind actually climbing Mwenza). Another possibility for acclimitizing and having fun would be to spend several days climbing Mt. Meru, the volcano just outside of Arusha.

On the other hand, I personally found the standard Serengetti/Ngorongoro animal viewing safari a bit of a bore. Lots of animals to see, but mostly just a big jeep rally.

ep- I think you're right. I found the animals more interesting than the rocks, but to each his own.