Climbing Kilimanjaro: A Journey to the Roof of Africa

by Bill Lorand

Day 0: The Lay of the Land

12:10p.m. -- You Are There
After a jarring dalla-dalla (minibus) ride from Kenya into Tanzania, you arrive in Moshi, one of the gateway access towns that lie at the feet of Mt. Kilimanjaro. You've come hungry for "high adventure and fine trekking to the snowtopped summit", a promise first issued by your Lonely Planet guidebook and now being delivered by your trusty guides, a mandatory part of any trip up "Kili". It's just as well that no independent climbing is allowed, as your guides and porters will be a way for you to support the local economy (trips from $750-$1000), and provide much needed support to truck supplies and six days of food up the mountain.

4:20p.m. -- Charting the Route
Several climbing routes can get you to the summit of the highest peak in Africa, including the classic Marangu Route used by German geologist and climber Hans Meyer on the first ascent in 1889. By now it's been so widely traveled that it's sometimes derided as the "Coca-Cola" or "tourist" route, but is a wide, winding and comparatively easy trail. You may want to skip the Umbwe Route unless you're a hardcore climber used to high altitudes and challenging terrain, as it includes lots of mud and ice on a direct route up the summit. Other less-traveled routes offer access from what is known as "the saddle" (Rongai Route) and around the western end (Shira Plateau Route), but the Machame-Mweka Route seems to offer the most well-rounded experience as it samples the complete range of landscapes and vegetation types on the mountain, and will be our featured choice.

8:18p.m.-- Checking it Twice
Since "Kili" is notable for its extremes and rapidly changing conditions, being prepared means layering with many clothing types, including insulated jackets, pants and boots for what may be summit temperatures hovering around zero degrees (F). While the mountain can be climbed any time of year, in general January, February or September are better options than the March-May and November rainy periods. Though no specialized climbing equipment is required for Kilimanjaro, walking poles are highly recommended to deal with the average of 6-8+ hours of daily hiking time. Finally, it's a great idea to bring your own topographic map, as the only one available in Tanzania is hand-drawn. While it provides a good feel for the mountain routes, it lacks both geographic details and notes on the geologic features.

Day 1: Machawe Gate to Macheme Hut

6:36a.m. -- Hut, Hut, Hike!
The trail system up "Kili" is dotted with huts that will provide primitive but much-needed shelter and represent the goal of each day's hiking exploits. As you leave the village and start hiking, you will journey first thru an unexpectedly dense rainforest. As you try for a glimpse of the colobus monkeys in the trees, your guide may well lay out some rules of the road, including an especially important one in terms of hiking pace: "If you can't talk while you're hiking, you're walking too fast." Never forget that climbing "Kili" is always a marathon, never a sprint.

1:15p.m. -- The Climate Zone
With the context of the village grasslands and now the forest underfoot, it's starting to become clear that the line about climbing Kilimanjaro as the climatic equivalent of a trip from the equator to the Arctic is really true. During the journey you will tour the gamut of climate zones, from farmland and rainforest to alpine meadows and the volcanic domes at the bare and snowy summit. As the afternoon wears on, the forest yields to cypress shrubs and white-flowered heather and the glorious peaks named Kibo and Mawenzi come into view.

Day 2: Machame Hut to Shira Cave

10:10a.m. -- Acclimation and Alcohol
As you ascend from the high meadows and start to see the steep rocky path ahead, realize that to make it to the highest point in Africa takes both fortitude and wisdom. Going too fast or too far at elevation when you've not acclimated properly certainly has ramifications. Your guide may joke that "We'll see people puking the entire trip" (and it is quite common), but it's no laughing matter that acute mountain sickness in the last decade has killed an average of ten climbers annually. You might be tempted to enjoy a beer at the end of a tough hiking day, but you would be smart to refrain, as alcohol is the kiss of death for causing mountain sickness. Of course, this didn't stop the Hemingway character in your backpack copy of "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" story from constantly requesting cocktails, but it better stop you if getting to the summit is a priority.

6:30p.m. -- African Viewpoints
For native Africans, the marvel of icy Kilimanjaro has a unique place in both ancient folklore and current culture. To the ancestors of the Chagga tribe the mountain was guarded by spirits and thought to be crowned with a baffling kind of "silver" that melted in your hand. (ice) For modern inhabitants the precious water from snow-melt combines with rich volcanic soils at the mountain's base to make the foothills ideal for cultivation and agriculture. But because this peak is an anomaly on the African continent, a high-altitude culture never evolved here, and there are no villages or people above 6,000 feet. As you cross the snow-melt streams (which flow much heavier in the rainy season) and settle in to some primitive accommodations at Shira Cave, you can start to feel the spirit of this wondrous place.

Day 3: Side Trip to Shira Plateau Edge

11:19a.m. -- Daytripper
It's not like you need any more hiking after averaging 7 hours and 1000+ feet of elevation gain so far, but in case you have the energy for some side-trip exploration, the edge of the Shira Plateau offers a chance for some rock climbing and amazing views along the Western edge of "Kili". For those staying behind at the daycamp, it's a perfect opportunity for a rest day and more time to acclimate to the elevation. With map and compass in tow, this extra trek features an amazing photo opp at the Shira Cathedral, a series of steep rock spires shooting straight up to the sky, and climbing opportunities on the Shira Needle,which rewards with amazing views and possible sightings of eland, the spiral-horned antelopes that are sometimes spotted here.

Day 4: Shira Hut to Barranco Hut

9:23a.m. -- Back in the Saddle
Today you'll climb under the main peak of Kibo and past the start of the North Circuit Path that encircles the upper part of the mountain. As you gaze at the cliffs of towering volcanic rock, look for the Western Breech, a section of main wall of Kibo that has eroded so the gradient is less steep than the sheer cliffs on each side. Once through the breech, the terrain will open up into what is known as the Great Barranco Valley.

3:00p.m. -- History Channel
As the afternoon wears on, your travel guide may provide a sketch of the recorded history of this magical mountain. Though Ptolemy is thought to have left the first written record of a "great snow mountain" at a tropical latitude, it was still a rumor in Europe until 1849, when Christian missionary Johann Rebmann published an eyewitness account testifying to the existence of a snow-covered mountain near the equator. The fact that the prominent figures at the Royal Geographic Society in London scoffed at the notion of mountain ice at the equator demonstrates what an amazing natural wonder it is. Of course, long before this European "discovery", Kili served as a landmark for the traders of Zanzibar and the masters of slave caravans heading for the coast.

Day 5: Barranco Hut to Barafu Hut

12:00 Noon -- Sun-Baked Thirst
An underrated part of climbing at elevation is the danger of sunburn and the extreme heat, and today you may start to feel thirsty and tired. Some trips split this route in two parts and camp along the way at a place called Karanga, but if you go straight through, make sure you fill up at a place called Last Water Spot. You'll need water for tonight and tomorrow so bring large containers and budget on 7 liters per person per day. Once you hit your stride, today's trekking is incredible, with streams flowing in the wet season and the challenge of the Barranco Wall, a huge set of boulders that you must traverse while avoiding the calls of jiwe! ("rock") that signal falling rocks. But your reward is amazing views of the summit that now seems within reach.

4:45p.m. -- A Slice of Geology
Now that the alpine meadows have given way and you're surrounded by volcanic rocks, your thoughts turn to the formation of the mountain. Turning the pages of your trusty guidebook, you find that Kilimanjaro was formed by extrusions of what is called "black rhomb porphyry lava" that erupted from faults and fractures in the Great Rift Valley. A geologic infant at 750,000 years old, "Kili" is not part of a chain or extended mountain range, but is one of the highest free-standing volcanoes in the world. It is considered a dormant (some say "extinct") volcano, though steam and sulpher are occasionally released through its vents. Atop the oval massif that is 40 - 60km in diameter and that rises 5000 meters above the East African plains are two main and contrasting peaks: Kibo is a flat-topped dome while Mawenzi has jagged points and pinnacles. These are separated by a wide region known as "The Saddle" while the 3rd summit (really a collapsed volcanic caldera) of Shira lies to the west. The highest point is Uhuru peak on Kibo, where you will be headed tomorrow.

Day 6: Barafu Hut to Mureka Hut via Uhuru Peak

12:01a.m. -- Freedom Peak or Bust
Just past midnight your guide wakes you from a deep and restful sleep, because if you have any hopes of reaching the summit today, you have to leave within the next 45 minutes. The summit must be both climbed to and descended from while the snow is still frozen; If the sun has been up for more than a few hours the top layers of snow become wet, slippery and harder to hike through. Make sure you have your headlamp and walking poles in working order and then set out, zigzagging across the scree and snow, so as to minimize avalanches. This method is both safer and less strenuous believe it or not, but it will still be a long hard slog to the top. One frozen step at a time...

6:16a.m. -- Sublime Arrival at the Roof of the Continent
After surviving the single-digit cold and a laborious clockwise turn around the crater rim of Kibo, you have made it to the top just in time to see the sun rise and illuminate your world as you sit atop the roof of Africa! You are breathing hard, but yes, still breathing and have a new appreciation for Uhuru, which is Swahili for "freedom", so re-named as Tanzania was finally granted independence in 1961. If you are lucky, you can glimpse Africa unfold below you and not be shrouded by the notorious mists that settle here. After high-fives and pictures at the wooden summit sign ("Highest Point in Africa": 5896m, 19,340ft), it's already time to say goodbye to the sublime snowy peaks and get back down to Stella Point before the days melting.

11th Hour -- Melting Snows and Global Warming
If only the cycle of melting were daily or seasonal. But all indicators show that the storied snows of Kilimanjaro are melting away at unprecedented rates. Some glaciers described in 30-year-old climbing guides are no longer there, and recent NASA images show significant melting away of the snows between photos from 1997 to 2003. So your snowy summit experience might well be on the endangered list heading through the 21st Century. It would be a shame if future generations of Africans and citizens of the world were not able to share in the wonders of this ice at the equator, and experience the thrill of climbing "Kili". Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

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