Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, is the world's tallest free-standing mountain, and Uhuru Peak at 19,340 feet (5,895 meters) is the highest point in Africa. The following is some information we're assembling for our July 2000 attempt on the summit.

Background:
http://www.gorp.com/gorp/location/africa/tanzania/home_kil.htm
http://www.ewpnet.com/kili.htm
(The latter is the website of the expedition company we're using)

Maps:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/africa/Tanzania.GIF
http://www.ewpnet.com/kiliarea.htm
http://www.ewpnet.com/kisummap.htm
http://www.ewpnet.com/kilidia1.gif

Routes:
http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Tanzania/Recreation_and_Sports/Outdoors/Parks/Mount_Kilimanjaro/
We are taking the Lemosho Glades route: http://www.ewpnet.com/lemosho.htm
A glacier ascent, or descent, or even a glacier side trip, is a possibility for some.

The safari:
Two nights in the Ngorongoro crater. Ngorongoro is the world's largest unbroken caldera, with walls rising 2000 ft. straight up from the crater floor. Often described as the world's eighth wonder, Ngorongoro offers the opportunity of viewing an amazing variety of wild animal life in a concentrated area.
http://www.kilimanjaro.co.tz/ngorongoro.htm
http://www.wcmc.org.uk:80/protected_areas/data/wh/ngorongo.html

Dates:
July 8-19, 2000.
I figured a good morning to summit is July 17th, 2000.
Moon (full)
Rise 18:37 (July 16th)
Transit 00:54
Set 07:10

Sun
Set 18:35 (July 16th)
Rise 06:39

Our revised route:
 

Date	Destination	Altitude	Remarks
July 8	Arrive Nairobi. Stay night at Fairview B&B in Nairobi
July 9	Bus from Nairobi to Arusha, where meet safari team - drive to Ngorongoro. (See map.) Stay in tents in Ngorongoro	1,500m to 3,648m (4920ft to 11965ft)	The luggage we will not require on safari can go on to Springlands to wait for us there
July 10	Ngorongoro camp	1,500m to 3,648m (4920ft to 11965ft)	Full day of game watching in Ngorongoro crater. We'll be camping high (probably above 10,000 ft) which will help with acclimatization.
July 11	Travel to Moshi - sightsee on way. Stay at Springlands Hotel.		Lin and Anja join us in Moshi.
July 12	Drive from Moshi hotel to Londorossi park gate and Lemosho Glades (3+ hours); then hike to Mti Mkubwa campsite	2750m/9022ft	3 hours hiking from Lemosho which is at 2100m/6890ft
July 13	Shira 1	3500m/11483ft	3 hours' hike up to Shira Ridge at 3600m/11811ft and down to Shira 1 camp
July 14	Shira 2 (or Lava Tower at 4600m?)	3840m/12598ft	1.5 hours to Shira 2, plus acclimitization hikes on the Shira Plateau (or 5.5 hours toLava Tower?)
July 15	Barranco	3860m/12664ft	6 hours, going from 12598ft up to the Arrow Glacier at 15059ft and then down to 12664ft
July 16	Barafu Hut	4600m/15091ft	6 hours
July 17	Summit then down to Mweka Hut	Summit 5895m/19340ft  Mweka 3100m/10171ft	Full moon  6 hours to Kibo Rim, 1 more to Uhuru Peak  3-5 hours down to Mweka Hut
July 18	Hike to Mweka park gate; drive to Moshi Hotel	1828m/5997ft	4 hours
July 19	Return to Nairobi. Depart Nairobi		Bus 11am-6pm

Reading:

http://www.outsidemag.com/travelqa/103097/kilimanjaro.html
Introduction to sources

http://www.outsidemag.com/magazine/1297/9712kili.html
A hilarious personal account

http://www.gorp.com/gorp/location/africa/tanzania/ta_kili.htm
A more sober description

http://www.businessweek.com/1997/22/b3529153.htm
Story of a climb from Newsweek - easy for 30 yr-olds

http://www.picton-castle.com/page97.html
a 64-yr-old superwoman climbs Kili

http://www.idiom.com/~mark/kili1.htm
Mark's trip - in great detail - lots about gear, and altitude sickness and hallucinations

http://www.kilimanjaro.com/safaris/savage/mtkili.htm
http://www.kilimanjaro.com/books.htm

Nature of the arrangements:
Fully supported with porters and a professional guide. Organized by EWP which works with Zara Tours of Moshi, who do all the local arrangments. Stay in hotel before and after hike; in tents on the hike. Porters carry everything except each hiker's daily needs for which a daypack should suffice.

For some, another side trip ("safari") to the Ngorongoro Crater or the Serengeti Plains in Tanzania, or others in Kenya might be of interest. These are easily arranged from the base town of Moshi. For samples, see
http://www.adventureoutfitters.net/safaris.htm

Cost estimates:
Airfare to Nairobi + transfers + safari + Kili hike + Nairobi hotel + medical insurance + incidentals
$1500 (NY-Nairobi-NY) + $90 (Nairobi-Moshi-Nairobi) + $297 (Ngorongoro) + $950 (six nights on Kili & 2 B&B) + $50 + $?
See http://www.ewpnet.com/kprices.htm
From the USA I'm figuring all-in $3000 or so.

Tanzania requires a visa. It costs US$50 in cash or money order. For North Americans, print out the application form at
http://www.tanzaniaembassy-us.org/VISA_FORM/visa_form.html
and take it in or mail it with your passport to
Embassy of Tanzania
205 East 42nd St, Suite 1300
New York, NY 10017
Tel 212-972-9160
US citizens can get passport documentation and forms online at http://travel.state.gov

Equipment:
Andrew of EWP suggests: "Bring a warm, windproof coat or anorak, warm trousers and mittens - all down-filled if  possible, thermal underwear, sweaters, warm socks and lightweight inner socks, watertight and well broken in sturdy boots, gaiters, a hat with a brim, sunglasses, balaclava, walking stick, insulated sleeping bag (three seasons), water bottles, high factor sun protection cream, a small first aid kit, a torch with extra batteries, toilet roll, lightweight rainproof gear and a backpack."
Also check out Gregg Crandall's list. For a more comprehensive list see http://www.climb.co.za/kilicheck.htm

Risks:
"Kilimanjaro may be attempted by any strong mountain walker, however it is easy to gain height too quickly and altitude related illness or considerable discomfort is experienced by many who try to go up too fast."
See http://www.ewpnet.com/oedemas.htm
"Climbers tend to push too hard, allowing themselves only three nights, at most four, to make the mountaintop. That doesn't give the body time to acclimatize. Altitude sickness winds up driving many overly-ambitious souls to their knees. Just 10 percent of Marangu hikers manage to drag themselves up Uhuru. About one-third are content to call it quits at Gillman's Point, 600 vertical feet below the summit. The rest slink home with only unpleasant memories of a first-class, Third-World headache and a somersaulting stomach."

Gregg and Jenny and I have discussed this, and we plan to build fitness by hiking quite a bit before the trip, breaking in hiking boots, etc., and to build in time for altitude acclimatization on the Kili hike itself. That's the main reason for taking a longer, slower route and adding in an extra day. If any of our group has the chance to do some high-altitude hiking (14000ft+) in advance of the trip, so much the better. (Gregg suggested we try to do one as a group, to gauge compatibility. But not realistic with such a scattered bunch.) We accept the possibility that one or more of us will have to forego the summit.

Other potential problems include severe sunburn, hypothermia (we'll be camping in below-freezing conditions near the top) and the usual risks attendant to strenuous rock hiking.

Please check EWP's conditions.

Medical preparation:
EWP says: Please be adequately insured for the trip with mountain rescue and good accident / medical cover. The guides are National Park local guides; they have all had mountain training for Kili. Do not rely on their medical kit/knowledge but they will evacuate any one ill or injured very efficiently.

Gregg Crandall, who has taken an emergency first aid course, writes:
I have an expedition level medical kit, which provides for splints, sutures, eye irrigations and tooth extractions, not to mention the odd burn, cut or scrape. I've actually given sutures in the field before, so though I'm not enamored of the idea, we should be able, barring any extreme medical emergency, to be self-reliant. Another medical thought, "diamox" is used for the treatment of high altitude symptoms, namely head aches, nausea etc. In the past I've used it, and it was effective. It will not prevent hace or hape, but it will prevent some of those low level symptoms. There are some contraindications for use of this drug, so individuals will need to consult with their physician.

The American Alpine Club offers evacuation insurance for expeditions. Gregg will investigate.

Everyone will need inoculations for an African trip. Yellow fever inoculation, with certificate, is required for Tanzania. Also recommended: Hepatitus A, cholera, typhoid, tetanus (only once every 10 years) and polio booster. A course of Larium pills (anti-malaria, taken before, during and after trip). Diamox. Also hepatitus B if you are planning on having sex with the locals.

Participants and experience:
Roger and Jacqui Gush (Bournemouth, UK):
Serious hikers
Mike Connelly (New York):
Hiked Rainier and others; ice climbing course; attempted Cotopaxi or Chimborazo (I forget which) in Ecuador
Irwin Marcus (New York):
Very fit runner and cyclist; technical rock climber; hiked various US mountains
Gregg Crandall (Gary):
1992- Grand Teton-Pownell-Gilkey Route
1992-Longs Peak-Keyhole Route
1992-Orizaba Mexico
1993-Andrews Glacier-Rocky Mountain National Park
1993-Aconcagua-Argentina Ruta Normal
1994-Chicago Basin- various routes San Juans, Colorado
1994-Orizaba-Mexico
1995-Mt Rainier Washington
1995-Longs Peak-Chasm Lake route
1996-Orizaba-Mexico
1996-Mt Washington-winter climb New Hampshire-snowboard descent
1997-Solo traverse of Grand Tetons-Middle, Grand and Owens
1998-Mt Harvard, Yale Colorado
Gregg writes: "Sounds like the trip should be fun and full of excitement. And that's the fun part. It's not the summit, but the journey to that point that I've always found fascinating."
Jenny O'Grady (Vancouver):
1999-Grouse Grind followed by assault on Sushi
Lin Chee (Vancouver)
A lapsed hiker and flora nut, unfairly nicknamed Bot Butt. Once walked down a mountain backwards.
Anja Baeuerle (Markgroningen, Germany)
Experienced trekker and extreme snowboarder tripping round the world - first stop Africa. Can't decide if she wants to take her bike or her board with her.
Ian Giddy (New York):
Once walked up all 9 floors to his apt.

Why 2 K?:
Simply to climb that fabled mountain, and to do it in good company. That's mine; every person's will be different.
 

fool@giddy.org