# Leaving for Kilimanjaro this week



## Msteelio91 (Feb 7, 2017)

Not my first time doing something like this, but my first time doing Kilimanjaro. It's a 6 day ascent with a 2 day descent, 8 total days on the mountain and then a 4 day safari through the Serengeti/Ngorongoro crater afterwards. 

Bringing the D7k and a couple lenses, several batteries & SD cards, waterproof everything, a medium weight tripod + ball, and some filters. Should be enough without weighing me down too much. My pack will definitely be the heaviest out of the group either way lol.

Pretty stoked, pretty nervous about the weather though. Has anyone else done something like this, or Kilimanjaro specifically?


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## limr (Feb 7, 2017)

Um...a whole world of nope. Well, I _have_ taught Hemingway's _The_ S_nows of Kilimanjaro_ though. Does that count? 

Good luck, though! Sounds like a great adventure!


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## Msteelio91 (Feb 7, 2017)

limr said:


> Um...a whole world of nope. Well, I _have_ taught Hemingway's _The_ S_nows of Kilimanjaro_ though. Does that count?
> 
> Good luck, though! Sounds like a great adventure!



Hahaha it's not as intense as it sounds, or maybe I'm just a little crazy. Either way I'm excited lol


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## KmH (Feb 7, 2017)

At one time in the 1980s I was planning a trip to climb the Western Breach of Kibo but the guy I was going to climb with wasn't able to make the trip at the last minute.
Back then the Breach was an ice climbing challenge.

In the late 1880's the summit of Kilimanjaro (Kibo) was completely covered by an ice cap covering about 8 sq mi (20 square kilometers) with outlet glaciers cascading down the western and southern slopes.
Some 85 percent of the ice cover on Kilimanjaro disappeared between October 1912 and June 2011.
I don't know how much is left these days, if any.

Will you be ascending by the Machame route?
A San Franciso resident was killed by a falling boulder on the Breach route in 2015.

The Machame route isn't technically challenging, but you want to make sure you're properly equipped and physically capable.
 Life-threatening high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) or high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) can occur (and has). Some 77 percent of people attempting to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro experience altitude sickness or AMS.
A daily dose of 250 milligrams of acetazolamide is associated with a 48 percent relative-risk reduction of AMS.
The six-day Machame route usually involves one night of "sleeping low" and that helps may delay the onset of AMS, but usually doesn't prevent its occurrence.


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## smoke665 (Feb 7, 2017)

Nope and color me green with envy!!!


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## astroNikon (Feb 7, 2017)

When you go on these type of trips the guides should be able to give you a good idea of what equipment, clothing changes, footwear, etc that you need.  Many tours also may rent/provide complete backpack kits.

Going through many temperature/weather regions like that you will need a wide variety of equipment to support yourself, excluding any "group" support that a tour may involve.

I haven't research Kilimanjaro but do exploratory hiking and have my own backpack which consists of a vietnam era "Alice" backpack which I can change the rucksack from a medium to a large pack dependent upon the load, and it supports my back and distributes the weight.  With that I can carry multiple support systems dependent upon the environment(s) I've identified in advance.

for example read this page ==> Kilimanjaro Hiking Tours - G Adventures

or here==> Mt Kilimanjaro Trek - Lemosho Route

or you can just go and wing it.


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## Msteelio91 (Feb 8, 2017)

KmH said:


> At one time in the 1980s I was planning a trip to climb the Western Breach of Kibo but the guy I was going to climb with wasn't able to make the trip at the last minute.
> Back then the Breach was an ice climbing challenge.
> 
> In the late 1880's the summit of Kilimanjaro (Kibo) was completely covered by an ice cap covering about 8 sq mi (20 square kilometers) with outlet glaciers cascading down the western and southern slopes.
> ...



Yeah most of the ice loss has been due to sublimation, since it stays so cold up there. There's still some, and plenty of snowfall, but not nearly as much as there was.

We'll be taking the Lemosho route, I don't think they do Breach anymore. The majority of the climbs to the summit are not technical at all until summit night itself. It's really just the altitude that makes it difficult. There are a few extreme runners who have done the entire route in less than 8 hours. I believe the record stands at 5-something. 





astroNikon said:


> When you go on these type of trips the guides should be able to give you a good idea of what equipment, clothing changes, footwear, etc that you need.  Many tours also may rent/provide complete backpack kits.
> 
> Going through many temperature/weather regions like that you will need a wide variety of equipment to support yourself, excluding any "group" support that a tour may involve.
> 
> ...



Oh I'm far from winging it, we booked this over a year ago after doing a ton of research and have been training for the duration of that time. We have all the gear we could ever need, and then some. I was mostly curious if anyone had any input on personal experiences.


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## table1349 (Feb 8, 2017)

9 things no one ever tells you about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

Take #3 very seriously.


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## astroNikon (Feb 8, 2017)

gryphonslair99 said:


> 9 things no one ever tells you about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro
> 
> Take #3 very seriously.


Yup, #9 is key too as people just are not used to altitude.  I know my altitude limit is about 14k.  I just plain shut down at that height (like the flip of a switch), and that is when I was more in my prime and a much better athlete.


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## table1349 (Feb 8, 2017)

astroNikon said:


> gryphonslair99 said:
> 
> 
> > 9 things no one ever tells you about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro
> ...


Interestingly altitude sickness only bothers me if I drive to a higher elevation in a short time.  Hiking up slowly I don't have that problem.


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## astroNikon (Feb 8, 2017)

gryphonslair99 said:


> astroNikon said:
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> 
> > gryphonslair99 said:
> ...


I found that out during Mountain Bike touring (with racers).  So ... was pushing quite hard until my body shut right down.  I did have an altimeter with me.  As soon as I started descending from 14k my body turned right back on and I took off again.  I tend to keep a faster pace even when hiking.  You know, I'm in a hurry to get there.  LOL


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## table1349 (Feb 8, 2017)

I'm curious, which route are you taking.  With the length you listed I would assume it would be the Marangu or the Machame.


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## astroNikon (Feb 8, 2017)

gryphonslair99 said:


> I'm curious, which route are you taking.  With the length you listed I would assume it would be the Marangu or the Machame.





Msteelio91 said:


> ... We'll be taking the Lemosho route, I don't think they do Breach anymore. The majority of the climbs to the summit are not technical at all until summit night itself. It's really just the altitude that makes it difficult. ..


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## table1349 (Feb 8, 2017)

astroNikon said:


> gryphonslair99 said:
> 
> 
> > I'm curious, which route are you taking.  With the length you listed I would assume it would be the Marangu or the Machame.
> ...


Ahh, missed that in the post.  That surprises me, that is a longer route, usually around 8 days or so on the mountain if I remember correctly.


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## Msteelio91 (Feb 9, 2017)

gryphonslair99 said:


> astroNikon said:
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> > gryphonslair99 said:
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Yes it's a 6 day ascent and a 2 day descent.

As for #3, our tour company is providing TP, but we have backup as well. And for #9 we opted for the longer route exactly for this reason. This trip is costing roughly $14,000 so I was not about to accept failure, we're doing everything we can to mitigate risk and ensure we make it to the top.


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## table1349 (Feb 9, 2017)

Msteelio91 said:


> gryphonslair99 said:
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> 
> > astroNikon said:
> ...


Don't trust them on #3.  Bring your own.  What they call toilet paper can pass as sand paper in other parts of the world.


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## Krell0 (Feb 10, 2017)

Best of luck to you. I personally think you are a lottle crazy climbing a giant mountain with "kill" in the name. But the shots should be very interesting. This kind of thing always makes me want to ascend some mountain somewhere, but I will definitely start small

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk


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## Msteelio91 (Feb 27, 2017)

Update: Just got back. Was an unforgettable journey and by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Lots of pics of the climb and following safari to come.


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## Msteelio91 (Mar 13, 2017)

Thread posted with pictures as promised!

Climbed Kilimanjaro [Pic heavy :) ]


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## table1349 (Mar 13, 2017)

So did you follow rule #3 or trust them???


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