Specific Information About Your Kilimanjaro Trek & Tanzania Safari Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro, perhaps more than any other mountain in the world, fires the imagination of active travelers. There are larger mountains but Kilimanjaro excels in beauty, in part because it is located in Africa and rises as a sole sentinel from the plains below, with wild animals on its lower flanks. Mount Kilimanjaro is also more accessible to regular travelers than most mountains its size. It requires no actual climbing or technical skills and most people use an outstanding support staff of guides, cooks, and porters. Given a good pair of lungs and calves, regular people can conquer the mountain and achieve something special. For many, the idea of “having climbed Mount Kilimanjaro” is enough to get them to go. However, the actual climb itself can be just as rewarding. Gazing at the expanses below you during the day, watching the stars at night, and sharing stories around the dinner table are all memorable experiences that make the trip (or at least most of it) fun. In fact, most of the Kilimanjaro trek is made up of pleasant days of moderate trekking you will certainly enjoy. Having said that, one should not underestimate the mountain. At 19,330 feet above sea level the lack of oxygen makes everything more difficult. How well you adjust can easily determine whether you make it to the top or not. In addition, the actual summit day is long and arduous – both up and then back down. Success may depend in part on your will and desire to reach the summit. About the Climb One of the reasons climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is so accessible to regular people is because of the support system provided by our local staff. We have guides, cooks, and porters to make our life much easier. This allows us both to enjoy the actual hiking more during the day and to have a more luxurious camping experience at night. This truly is camping made easy. Our local staff will set up a dining tent each evening, cook our meals, and take care of the dishes. They provide and carry all the gear. You are not required to do anything in camp but can certainly help if you wish. The reactions of previous trip members to the trek’s difficulty are wildly diverse. Some participants find it moderate for two reasons: they carry only a daypack while hiking and cover a reasonable distance most days. On the other end of the spectrum, some participants will find the climb to be the most strenuous thing they have ever done. We gain significant altitude, hike for eight days in a row (with one partial rest day), and sleep in a tent for seven nights, all things that can tax you physically. Our hiking time varies by day from a minimum of four hours to 14 hours on summit day. Most days, however, average six or seven hours of hiking. Obviously, this depends on each individual’s speed, ability and fitness level! Visit our website to download a detailed trip description and day-by-day itinerary for this trip. Our favorite way to think of the trek is this. You have the option to live your life in two ways. One way is to remove all difficulties and keep yourself comfortable. You can achieve a very happy and steady life this way. The other method is to put yourself in new situations that might stretch the boundaries of your comfort level. While you can experience periods of difficulty by living such a life, we feel the higher highs more than compensate you for your efforts. Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro allows you to experience life to the fullest. Page 1 of 6 TANZANIA PRE-DEPARTURE INFORMATION Copyright Zephyr Adventures Specific Information About Your Kilimanjaro Trek & Tanzania Safari Training for the Trip Even if you are already in good shape, you should plan to physically prepare in advance for the trip. For one reason, you will simply enjoy the climb more if you are in better shape. Realistically, you should start getting in shape at least two to three months before the trip. Working out a few times the week before will likely only tire you out! We specifically recommend you have at least two aspects in your Kilimanjaro training program. First, you should include exercise three or more times per week that raises your heart rate. For example, playing tennis or walking is good if you play hard enough or walk briskly enough to get out of breath. Running, hiking, and working out on an exercise machine at the gym are even better. Second, we recommend including some sort of exercise that mimics the act of hiking uphill. Hiking, working out on a stair climbing machine or carrying a daypack with significant weight (add water bottles or phone books) up and down flights of stairs is fantastic preparation. Simply finding a local hill and walking up and down it with a small daypack is a good start. The Altitude & Dehydration The altitude is the wild card factor for how difficult the trip will be for you. Tens of thousands of people reach the top of Kilimanjaro each year but a good 1/3 of those attempting the mountain do not summit. The reason in most cases is altitude sickness. “Altitude sickness” is either High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) or High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). Both can be deadly but generally only if someone continues to ascend when experiencing problems. Mild symptoms of altitude sickness can occur at 10,000 feet and above and, even with proper acclimatization, you will likely experience symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, sleeplessness, headaches, or slight nausea on our Kilimanjaro climb. The single best way to acclimatize is to gradually increase your elevation. We have chosen the Lemosho Route because it has a more gradual ascent over seven days than the popular Marangu route done in five days. We also include a rest day in the middle of the ascent to further your acclimatization process. Our route choice alone increases your chance of summiting and avoiding severe altitude sickness. Your guides will also discuss this frequently en route. If you do experience symptoms of altitude sickness you should let your guide know immediately. Also very important is to hydrate properly (you dehydrate more quickly at altitude). We recommend you drink about four to five liters of fluid each day. Water is best, but fruit juices and soups are a good supplement. The air is very dry above 12,000 feet so avoid panting and try to breathe through your nose. Control sweating by wearing layers and pacing yourself. You should carry your own water bottle at all times and sip fluids frequently. Monitor your urine; output should be at least 1.5 liters per day and the urine should be clear. Trek staff will boil, filter and refill your empty water bottles for you every day on the trek. Kilimanjaro Weather Arusha, the gateway town from which our climbs are organized, is located at approximately 4,600 feet above sea level. Due to its proximity to the equator, Mount Kilimanjaro does not experience wide temperature changes from season to season (see chart below for average temps and rainfall by month for Arusha). Instead, the temperatures on Mount Kilimanjaro are determined more so by the altitude and time of day. However, temperatures will decrease as you gain altitude on Mt. Kilimanjaro; the journey from the gate to the peak is like traveling from the equator to Antarctica in a matter of days. The range begins with the Page 2 of 6 TANZANIA PRE-DEPARTURE INFORMATION Copyright Zephyr Adventures Specific Information About Your Kilimanjaro Trek & Tanzania Safari warm, dry plains, ascends through a wide belt of wet tropical forest, through zones with generally decreasing temperatures and rainfall, to the summit where there is permanent ice and below freezing temperatures. Expect warm days and cool evenings during the initial trek days and be prepared for sub-freezing (and possibly sub-zero) temperatures on the final summit climb. Due to Mt. Kilimanjaro’s great height, the mountain creates its own weather and so even if you are traveling during the dry season, be prepared for rain in addition to strong winds. Arusha Weather (from GoAfrica.com) MONTH PRECIP MAX MIN MONTH PRECIP MAX MIN (inches) (Fahrenheit) Fahrenheit) (inches) (Fahrenheit) Fahrenheit) January 2.7 82 57 July 0.3 72 54 February 3.2 84 57 August 0.3 73 55 March 5.7 82 59 September 0.3 77 54 April 9.1 77 61 October 1 81 57 May 3.4 73 59 November 4.9 81 59 June 0.7 72 55 December 3 81 57 Evacuation It is possible you will suffer an injury on the trail, simply not be fit enough to complete the trek, or suffer altitude problems severe enough to require you to return to a lower elevation. (Symptoms of altitude will normally subside when a person descends to a suitable elevation and so this is almost always our first recourse for more severe symptoms.) We hope none of this happens but always need to be prepared! If you are not able to complete the trek, you will simply have to turn around or (in severe circumstances) be carried out. We will send one or more of the local staff with you back on the trail (or down a different trail depending on where on the mountain we are). The local might or might not speak English, as we need to keep our bilingual guides with the group, but will be qualified to get you to our hotel in Arusha.