9/1-9/11 Tanzania, Safari, Mt Kilimanjaro

[Boozeman]

That looks like a truly amazing and life changing experience.

Thanks so much for posting all of those fantastic pictures. I would LOVE to do that some day, but for now I'll freeze my butt off vicariously through you.

[TheOtherBob]

Nice report and pictures. Thanks for sharing. How long were you able to stay in the summit area? I heard from a friend whose friend did this summit, but wasn't allowed to stay for more than 5 minutes. Not sure if it was due to weather or health, but wondered if there is any sort of restriction.

We were up there longer than that, but we were one of the first groups up during our morning. Out of our 3 cameras, only my DSLR was working once we put batteries in, so we descended once my fingers got too cold through the mittens to bear any longer.

What an amazing report! Love the frosty sunrise pictures from the mountain.
Trip of a lifetime!

enjoyed the write up

Thanks!

That looks like a truly amazing and life changing experience.
Thanks so much for posting all of those fantastic pictures. I would LOVE to do that some day, but for now I'll freeze my butt off vicariously through you.

Freeze is right! It's cold up there.

It is advisable to get to Uhuru Peak early to avoid the crowds.

Amazing crowd!
What a cool TR and what lovely pictures. I am a little surprised that you can acclimatize to 5,900 meters in so few days. Were the days above 3,000 m (10,000') on Kilimanjaro an issue? "Conditioning" hikes around Portland barely help your acclimatization, as everything here is at low altitudes.

For the curious, the climbing routes are described here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kili ... ing_routes
Apparently, the success rate is ~40%.
The following quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kilimanjaro addresses your concern by suggesting that an optimal route is 7-8 days.

High-altitude climbing clubs—citing safe ascent rate suggestions offered by organisations such as the Royal Geographical Society—have criticized the Tanzanian authorities for charging fees for each day spent on the mountain. It was once argued that this fee structure encouraged trekkers to climb rapidly to save time and money, while proper acclimatization demands that delays are built into any high climb. However, in response to this accusation, the Tanzania National Parks Authority several years ago mandated minimum climb durations for each route. These regulations prohibit climbs of fewer than five days on the Marangu Route, and ensure a minimum of six days for the other five sanctioned routes. These minimums — particularly in the case of Marangu, which ostensibly allows that Uhuru Peak can be reached from a starting elevation at 1,860m within 72 hours of beginning the ascent — are reckoned by most alpinists to allow an ascent rate that will usually result in the climber failing to acclimatize adequately, by the time that Kibo Huts are reached; the launch base from which the summit is assaulted. Consequently, the incidence of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is widely deemed to be unacceptably high on Kilimanjaro, with high volumes of fit young people succumbing to the condition, having opted for a relatively rapid ascent. As a general rule, it is far safer (and more enjoyable) to avoid altitude sickness by planning a sensible itinerary that allows for gradual acclimatisation to high elevation as one ascends. Operations that typically see in excess of a thousand climbers summitting annually and are best placed to identify such patterns, usually posit that an optimal climb length should last around seven to eight days.

Tanzanian Medical Services around the mountain have expressed concern recently[when?] over the current influx of tourists that apparently perceive Kilimanjaro as an easy walk. However this is not the case. Many individuals require significant attention during their attempts, and many are forced to abandon the trek. An investigation into the matter concluded that tourists visiting Tanzania were often encouraged to join groups heading up the mountain without being made aware of the significant physical demands of the climb, although many outfitters and tour operators flaunt high success rates for reaching the summit. The Kilimanjaro National Park shows that only 41% of trekkers actually reach the Uhuru summit with the majority turning around at Gilman’s Point, 300 metres (980 feet) short of Uhuru, or Stella Point, 200 (660 feet) meters short of Uhuru. Kilimanjaro is often underestimated because it can be walked and is not a technical climb. However, many mountaineers consider Kilimanjaro very physically demanding.[citation needed]

Some estimate that more people have died to date trekking up Kilimanjaro than Mount Everest but Everest is attempted by significantly fewer climbers.[citation needed] In August 2007 four trekkers died within a week underscoring the point that trekking to the summit should not be taken casually. Multiple people (such as trekkers, porters, and guides) die on the mountain each year. The majority of these deaths are porters due to hypothermia.

[TheOtherBob]

The ratio of success/fail we saw was >40%. Out of one group of 20 up there on the same day as us, only 3 failed to summit.

The days above 10,000' were not an issue for us. We did feel it the first time we were up at 15,000', but when we camped at that height two days later, it was fine. Howewver, we all felt some sluggishness on summit day--though not as bad as we were expecting. Two of us had started taking diamox 48 h before our projected summit time, 250 mg morning and night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamox).

[drm]

Right. Good acclimatization does not make high altitude feel like low altitude, it just hopefully keeps you from getting sick. You're always going to be sluggish at high altitude. My personal altitude best - in the Pakistan Karakorum (this was 2 decades ago) - is about the same as Kilimanjaro but we took even longer to get there, generally gaining a thousand feet per day, because the valleys were pretty flat. I had no altitude health issues, though others had headaches at the pass. It sounds like some of your days had you hiking higher than you camped at, and that helps a lot as well.

Glad it worked out so well for you and that you had the summit to yourself for a bit before the crowds arrived.

You keep saying how cold it was but haven't told us the actual temperature.

[roadtripmom]

Your report and photos are really incredible. You are so lucky to have had this opportunity. Thank you for sharing !!

[Limey]

Great report about an amazing trip. I have a friend who summited in May 1985. He received an accomplishment certificate signed by the National Park director. Did you get a certificate?

[the hiking nurse]

Jambo!....Amazing report and photos. I went to Kenya 15 years ago for a couple weeks and saw Kili from about 70 miles away...You can't really comprehend how big it is until you actually see it in person. It's been on my bucket list since. Congratulations on an incredible achievement.