The bright sun crept slowly over the cloud cover flashing the sky in reds, oranges and deep blues that fade into black. It was cold… very cold. The temperature hovered somewhere around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. One foot in front of the other, again and again. Looking down to avoid stumbling, its easy to lose your concentration in the cold at 19,000 feet. ‘It can’t be much farther, we have been at this for hours’ I kept thinking.  It wasn’t: only 300 feet more of elevation gain. One foot in front of the other. My mind struggling to comprehend the magnitude of the climb as the sun began to shine directly into my eyes. At least the rising sun brings prospects of warmer temperatures. I suddenly noticed that with the rise of the sun, came the ability to see the false summit… The gate way to Uhuru Peak… The highest point in Africa atop Mt Kilimanjaro.

I was recently afforded the opportunity to push my limits once again by climbing the tallest free standing volcano/mountain in the world. Standing just over 19,300 feet, it looms imposingly over the Serengeti planes in northern Tanzania. You can see the massive land mass from a great distance and as you get closer to it, the view becomes very intimidating. This spectacular view brings the realization that you’re plan to ascend to the top will require great stamina as well as mental capacity. The success rate of this climb is somewhere around 50%-60%. That means in a group of 10 its likely only 5 or 6 will reach the summit! In this article I’ll try to help YOU prepare so you won’t fall victim to the failure statistic.

Sunrise at 19000 feet.

1. Training

If you think you’re ready physically then think again. Its going to be more challenging than you think it will be. There are a lot of guides out there on how to train for this climb but I decided to take a simple approach. I looked at the stats for the climb itself, picked the most difficult day and trained my body to that day. Start off slow and give yourself at least 3 months to train. The most difficut day is summit day. You’ll be waking up and leaving camp around midnight in order to summit early before the weather sets in. The altitude gain of that day is close to 4,000 feet and the distance is around 4 miles up. That is a steep climb for anyone so train for that. Use the pack you plan to carry during your training and plan on having at least 20 pounds of gear in it. Chances are that you’ll carry something more like 10-15 pounds that day but you need to prepare your body. Training to more than the requirements will help you deal with the high altitude. Don’t forget that you need to train almost every day in order to be truly ready.

Our group approaches the Barranco Wall.

2. Packing

Of course packing is always going to be a personal preference thing. As an overview here is a short list of things you need to have (follow the link here and at the end of this section to see a more detailed list including EXACTLY what I brought with me):

In the Tent: sleeping bag and pad (often supplied or rented from the company), pillow

Clothing: trekking socks x3 (with one thick pair for summit night), Mid/Heavy weight high ankle hiking boots, camp shoes, 3x pants, 3x shirts, 1x warm shirt, 6x underwear, 1x thermal underwear for summit night, light weight gloves, outer shell golves, light weight fleece hat, fleece pants for summit night and sleeping in, mid layer jacket (down or synthetic), outer shell waterproof/windproof jacket and pants, full height gators,

Other Items: 100l water proof bag, headlamp with 2 sets of lithium batteries, high quality sunglasses, 33l backpack with 3l bladder, 1 18-40oz vacuum steel bottle, personal hygiene items (toothbrush, toothpaste, sunscreen, biodegradable TP, hand sanatizer, wet wipes, deodorant).

These are the things I needed to have with me, in addition to those things I had personal items such as my camera, headphones with music, charger for battery powered items and a few other things.

This may seem like a lot of things and appear to get heavy very quickly but the 100l waterproof bag is to give to the porters who will carry 40lbs of your equipment. So keep your backpack as light as possible and give the maximum to your porter. If you need to know some weights buy an inexpensive luggage scale to get things just right.

This is exactly what i took.

Getting to know the guides makes the trip SO much more fun!

3. Chose your route and company.

There are several popular routes to the top. You need to chose the one that will allow you to succeed. Keep in mind when choosing the route you take that you will need time for your body to get used to altitude as you go. There are 5, 7 or 9 day treks. The 5 day (Machame) has the worst success rate due to the overwhelming effects of altitude. Many people we met on the trail spoke about how difficult this assent was for them, and the stastic held true for their groups. Only 40%-50% were completing the route. Another option is the 7 day (Lemosho) route which has a much better success rate and begins farther away. It allows you an ungelating trail designed to help your body acclimate to altitude as you trek. I chose this route and we had an 80% success rate. The Lemosho route starts 2 days earlier before joining the Machame route for the last 5. A 9 day route is also available (Marangu) who’s success rate is also high. This route allows people to acclimate to altitude at a slow rate. 9 days just seemed too long for me.

Once you’ve chosen a route, you need to find a company to go with. Prices vary widely from cheap to wildly expensive. I used the Clymb to book my trip. I bought early and paid just under $2,000 for a 7 day climb and 9 day trip. The company they use is called Altezza. You can book directly with them if you like but it costs more for the same service. Do some research and you can find one in your price range. I would just caution you to make sure the company you pick is: locally owned, locally employed, has reasonable cost, uses current equipment, has plenty of experience, and is insured. If you’re a bargain hunter just remember this: sometimes you get what you pay for.

Camping at base camp (Barafu Camp) 15239ft

4. Best practice on the Mountain

There are a lot of things you should do on the trek, but here are a few you may not know. First: take your time. It isn’t a race to the top. The goal is to finish and help others finish as well. Its a team sport. Secondly: start taking diamox early. Once altitude sickness begins to set in it is much more difficult to get rid of it. Third: drink lots of water, before you leave as well as during the trek. Staying WELL hydrated helps your body deal with the high altitude and low humidity. Fourth: Embrace the suck. You need to realize that not every step is going to be fun. At times you’re going to be cold and tired. Getting up at midnight to begin the final assent is one of those times. Accepting that this is happening and that it is only temporary will make it much more tolerable. I found that listening to music during the longer sections made them much more fun.  Fifth: Get the personal toilet.  If your company offers a personal toilet you should do it.  With the amount of water you’re drinking you’re going to be getting up in the night.  walking the 100-200 yards… YES YARDS to the closest bathroom isn’t going to be fun in the negative temperatures.  You will be VERY happy you paid for it.  Finally: Remember the Environment.  I’m not an environmentalist but it is becoming obvious that the trail has a lot of people on it.  Use bio degradable things (soap, toilet paper, ect)  And try not to littler.  If you must use TP on the trail bring a bag to put it in and dispose of it at the camp site.  I mean really…. its getting kinda gross.

PLEASE DON’T LITTER!

Traversing Barranco Wall

One foot in front of the other… again and again…. over rocks… through sand…. around obstacles… beside friends… one foot in front of the other… Finally picking my head up… I can see clearly now, the sun is up. we are almost at the top!! There is a collection of people standing in front of me and they are only yards away! They’re taking pictures with the sign at the peak! I made it! The burst of energy that realizing this fact gave me was almost euphoric. I quickly moved towards the line to wait for my opportunity to get a picture with the sign. Amazing! Its beautiful here; glaciers, clouds, people from all nations… This one moment, this final second, this amazing point in my history realized through perseverance, training, and friends….  Incredible.

Soon it will be your moment too. Something very few of us have in common. See you soon!

The long and quick descent!