Kilimanjaro Pics

[Sudden]

Hi guys

Some people here may remember when some time ago I was asking about information about Kilimanjaro. I went ahead with the trip and finished it a couple of weeks ago. Was unfortunately not able to summit due to passing out and fainting on summit night when I started climbing

In any case, thought i'd share some of the pics I managed to take

This was during the first couple of days.

Pic of kili peak taken on the second day.

The Barranco Wall. Climbed on the 5th day if I recall correctly. Most of kili was just walking but this involved some actual climbing.

Taken on top after climbing the wall. Altitude of roughly 13,000 - 14,000 feet? Going by memory. (yes, that's me)

Panoramic shot at the same location.

5 people in our group. That's all of us in front of kili.

Hard climb on the 6th day heading towards the final camp before summit.

Final camp. Barrafu Hut.

Taken while coming down

 

[Sudden]

Oh that is cool. I am going to climb Mount Meru at the end of October. I can't wait

Nice pictures - makes me all the more eager to go! Was going to climb Kilimanjaro but decided I wanted to see some wildlife too - hence Meru.

So big question: Would you do it again?

Also any tips you may have for me I'd be very grateful for.

Thanks

Daven

Edit: I also notice a Zara tours logo on your jacket - were they any good? I am planning to use them and have read positive reviews but would be good to hear first hand.

Aah nice It's not quite as tall as kili, but our guide was saying that it's actually a tougher climb because of ice and slipperiness etc. But he was probably just trying to make us feel better hehe

I probably would do it again at some point. Not anytime right now because it is by far the hardest physical thing i've done (i'm not exactly an exercise buff ) and need a break But yes, has made me a bit more eager to go on other walking hikes and the like.

Tips wise - Eat food. It becomes harder and harder as you go up because you lose appetite but your guides will tell you as well, just force feed yourself. I got lucky enough to not have a big problem in this way except that I couldn't stand the thought of drinking soup or any liquid type food after the 3rd day but was fine with solid. But another guy in our group just had no appetite at all. Didn't eat except tiny tiny bits for almost 4 days. He did manage to summit (not all the way, but to another summit point called 'Stella Point', but was spitting blood by the time he did!.

Also, water. Drink plenty of water. This is stuff that they'l tell you as well. This was my first time camping/hiking so I kinda took everything in case it was needed. But the best thing I rented, by far, were those hiking poles. I had never used them before in my life but my god did they come in handy. And right from day 1. Apart from that, just remember, 'pole pole'. Which means 'slowly slowly'. Assuming meru is similar to kili in how you climb it, you just walk nice and slow. Don't try going too quickly. At higher altitudes you won't be able to anyway, lol. I was out of breath at 15,000 just from changing my clothes in the tent!

Yea, Zara were brilliant. I probably read the same things as you online but booked through a US company who turned out were using Zara in Tanzania. The hotel they put us in was great, though the food could've been better. During the trip, took care of us really well. Nice food, better than what we expected and hot tea/coffee/hot chocolate with every meal and at the end of each hike. The food was generally porridge in the morning with some eggs and sausages and every meal was usually soup and then a main dish. A toilet tent set up just for our group as well! hehe.

Oh and take diamox with you. Is useful. I've almost never had a headache in my life (yes i've been ill plenty of times. Just no headaches ) and I started having one on the first day on this trip cause of the altitude. Diamox took it away though and then pretty much no issues that way.

Feel free to catch me here or on msn if you have any more questions

Nice, but no shot from the top?

Didn't make it to the top. But was just rifling through my pics and found a few from my cousin who did manage. (we went together.) This is one of hers.

Those pics are fantastic! It looks an intimidating climb - how did you find it?

Hard, but when you finish a hard day's climb, you forget about it soon enough and just remember the good bits But keep in mind i'm not exactly the fittest person around. My cousin didn't find it quite as hard (except for summitting during which she was struggling) but she works out like 1.5 hrs a day.

Still fun though

Gorgeous pictures - thanks for posting. It must be quite surreal standing on the ground looking down at the clouds below you

Thanks

That was an awesome sight and feeling. But then you look up and see that you still have a long way to go and that just becomes worrying, lol. I always thought that something's wrong somewhere if you see a massive sea of clouds below you and are still climbing up ^_^

You own a 24" monitor don't you?

Because even on my 20" monitor they are too big.

I'm very jealous however, would love to do that.

Yea Though they do completely fill up the screen here as well, hehe.


And thanks to everyone for the pics and personal compliments

It was definitely an experience of a lifetime and do recommend it! But given that two of the guys in our group were 57 and 59, you're never too old ^_^ Apparently the oldest guy ever to summit was 82?

 

[Sudden]

Well done mate some nice photos there

How come you didn't manage to get to the top?

Altitude mainly. I got all dressed and started on the summit night climb but was really struggling because of all the weight of the clothes. (You don't wear that much on the other climbing days). After about 15 minutes or so climbed over a bunch of rocks really quickly and then felt a bit dizzy. Sat down on a rock for a bit but ended up fainting there. Woke up to 2 guys holding me up and telling me to breathe. Kinda scared me so I thought it best not to risk it and just go back down. In hindsight, had I just stayed up there for a bit and then carried on at an even slower place, I think I might've been ok. But at that point, the whole fainting thing just scared the hell outta me.

More so later when I found out that one of the more fit guys in our group only got about half way up before his heart stopped. Thankfully he was ok but he had massive trouble breathing (mouth to mouth didn't help) and guide was saying that his eyes rolled back and stuff :s Finally ended up in hospital cause he still had trouble breathing at lower altitude and turned out it was just bronchitis.

Did you pick up any other swahili vocab? Like asante sana?

Only ever flown past Kilimanjaro on my way to Pemba Isand and Zanzaibar Island! Looked beautiful. Tanzania is a great country in general.

Nice pics as well

A lil bit Asante Sana of course. Also - Jambo! Which is a phrase you'l come to know *very* well by the time you're done with the climb. (you basically say each time porters pass you or you go past them)

Then I remember dada which meant sister and kaka which meant brother.

That's all I remember

I was only in the city itself for a day. It seemed nice but tbh, seemed like pretty much any small city in India. Same kind of shops, advertisements etc.

Thanks for posting your experiences and great photos (display here ok on my 24" screen )

I've only recently started taking up hill walking this past year by doing the Mourne Seven Sevens and the 3 peak challenge and your post has definitely given food for thought.

Although along way off for me, would you be able to provide any links to the operators who organise these expeditions?

Cheers

Tbh, you've already done a lot more than I had when I went for it. I did a few day hikes near london but nothing massive. Haven't climbed any mountains ever. This was my first one, lol. How were those two climbs? fun? Kili's made me want to go and do more of this stuff since I quite enjoyed it and it has to be easier! hehe.

As for operators, I booked through a US company. Generally it seems to be cheaper there than here. Company I used was Ultimate Kilimanjaro. Tusker was another one I came across while researching but they were insanley expensive. $5000 per person! As opposed to ultimate kilimanjaros $1850.

Also - most of these companies, from what I understand anyway, basically sub-contract out to local companies in Tanzania. Ultimate kilimanjaro for example used Zara. Another company who seemed nice enough when I was doing research was 'Adventures within Reach' though I didn't see them on the mountain. (I saw Tusker only because they had a massive flag up ).