December 28, 2014 - January 4, 2015 my friend Katie and I climbed to Uhuru Peak, the Summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, tallest mountain in Africa, fourth-tallest prominence of any mountain in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site (and Tanzanian National Park). We trekked via the 8 day Lemosho Route, with Zara Tours, a Tanzanian outfitter. For those who are considering a Kili climb, the Lemosho Route meets the Machame Route just before the Lava Tower - everything you see in this video from Lava Tower to the finish is the same. Almost all climbers descend via the Mweka Route, which is shown here too. As you can see in the video, the climb is an incredible experience, but it is inherently risky too. I am a Marathon runner, which certainly helped from an endurance standpoint. I would strongly recommend taking Diamox, or any other anti-altitude sickness medication. Even if you've summited a 14,000 peak in the US, that does not mean you will not feel altitude sickness on Kili, especially on Summit Day. In our 8 days on the mountain, we later found out that somebody passed away while climbing, and we saw another emergency rescue of a woman from Base Camp to Moshi (she survived, but would not have if not for the porters who rescued her). The hiking we did was not too strenuous, for the most part. We hiked 3 to 6 hours each day, with the exception of Summit Day. The most challenging section pre-Summit was the Barranco Wall, which is in a few clips here. To climb the wall, you don't use ropes or any technical gear, nor do you need technical experience, but it is more 'scrambling' and using your hands, as opposed to the vast majority of the trek, where you take small steps and rely on hiking poles. Summit Day began at 1030pm, when our porters woke us up. We had dinner, put on our final layers, and took our first steps out of Base Camp at exactly Midnight. We climbed using headlamps, very slowly, and as you hear in the video, all of our water froze around 430am (at about 18,000 feet). From there, we moved even slower, but with each step felt the altitude even more, and the onset of dehydration. At 6am, dawn broke, which lifted our spirits immensely, and we reached Stella Point, along the summit crater rim. From there, we could actually see the true summit, and even without water knew we would make it. Sunrise was 6:21am, and we made it to Uhuru 'Freedom' Peak at 6:57am - 19,341 feet. After 30 minutes at the summit, we began our descent, which took about 3 hours back to Base Camp - we arrived around 1030pm, 12 hours after we woke up. At Base Camp we shed some layers, had a full lunch, and rested for an hour or so, but then continued descending to Mweka Camp, at about 10,000 feet - another four hours. All told, we hiked about 14-15 hours on Summit Day, from 15,300 feet to 19,341, and down to 10,000. In total, we covered between 45 and 50 miles hiking over the 8 days, from Lemosho Gate (7,800 feet) to Uhuru Peak (19,341), and down to Mweka Gate (5,400). I would strongly recommend Zara Tours - I never once felt unsafe, the guides were professional, friendly, experienced, and spoke excellent English. Our cook was fantastic - we ate pretty much everything they made us, which is very important - one of the first signs of altitude sickness is loss of appetite. Eat as much as you can, and you'll still lose weight on this trip. Our porters did a great job as well - for the two of us climbing, we had a team of 10 to support us, and most trekking companies will use a similar ratio. If anybody has any questions about this and if you would like more specifics, leave a comment and I am happy to give advice on packing lists, budget, weather, whatever you want to know! The biggest advice I would give, if you want to summit? Train before you arrive (I live in Chicago, with no mountains, but made sure I was in excellent endurance shape), take anti-altitude sickness meds (Diamox, 125mg twice/day, or whatever your doctor recommends), drink plenty of water (drink for your head, not necessarily because of thirst), and take your time. 'Pole pole' is the most common Swahili phrase you will hear in Tanzania - if you go slow, you have a far greater chance of success (which is why 8 and 9 day treks have a far higher success rate than 5, 6, or 7 days - if you are flying all the way to Tanzania to do this, may as well take your time and give yourself the best chance for success). Happy climbing, and asante sana to the entire team from Zara and other climbers who helped us along the way! Brandon Source data on Kilimanjaro glaciers: 1) http://www.the-cryosphere.net/7/419/2013/tc-7-419-2013.pdf 2) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2232195/Kilimanjaros-glaciers-shrink-crack-scientists-warn-Africas-highest-mountain-soon-ice-free.html 3) http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/11/02/kilimanjaro.glaciers/index.html?iref=24hours All music from various Angels & Airwaves albums.

• published: 29 Jan 2015
• views: 5854