What to Know about Climbing Kilimanjaro

Only read this post if you plan on climbing Kilimanjaro. This is a practical guide. I don’t think it’s relevant or interesting to anyone not looking to book a trip. I wrote this because I wish I had been given something like this when I was planning my trip. If you'd like to read about my experience climbing click here.

Disclaimer: I don’t claim to have any specialized knowledge of any kind. I’m just a guy who’s climbed the mountain so please verify any and all info I provide because it may be inaccurate.

I’m about to go through a lot of information in a lot of detail but remember climbing the mountain is actually not that big a deal and it’s supposed to be fun so don’t be too serious about it.

How much will it cost?

After considering all peripheral expenses like buying and renting equipment, tipping, and getting there climbing Kilimanjaro for 6 days can easily cost over $2,000 USD. Including my flight from Johannesburg my trip cost me about $2,500 USD.

How tough is it?

Climbing Kilimanjaro requires you to be in decent shape but is not overly difficult. I saw a 65 year old man at the summit. It is much more likely you will fail to reach the top because of altitude sickness than because you’re not in shape. If you’re short of breath climbing a flight of stairs than maybe Kilimanjaro is not for you but as long as you’re in half decent shape you should be fine.

Estimates on success rates seem to vary all over the place. The best estimate I’ve got is 60% success rate for a 6-day trip with your chances of success increasing with each extra day you add to your trip.

Training and Physical Preparation

It is recommended that you go to the gym 3 times a week for 3 months to prepare for the climb and have a workout designed to prepare you for climbing. I personally didn’t do this at all and was just fine. I’d say if you’re under 35 years old and in decent shape you shouldn’t need special training. If you’re a little older or out of shape than you should probably prepare accordingly.

A good idea is to go for a few hikes in the weeks leading up to your climb. Preferably do it with a 10-15 pound pack on your back to simulate what you’ll be doing on the mountain.

You should rest and not do exercise for at least a couple days just before climbing.

How to Book the Trip:

The cheapest way to book is to show up in Moshi and book with a local company. Unless you have a really large group (over 10), there is no need to book in advance. Year round there are more staff available to lead trips than tourists to take them. You can easily book the day before you leave on the trip if you like. Similarly you don’t need to fit into an already scheduled trip. They will create a trip just for you if there doesn’t happen to be other people leaving on the same route on the same day you wish to go.

If you want peace of mind by booking in advance then book with a Tanzania based company. I went with Zara Tours (zaratours.com). I wouldn’t recommend or discourage you from using them. They were good enough. If you book with any third party company such as Gap Adventures you will being paying a premium to a company that is only going to be outsourcing to a local Tanzania based company anyway.

The trip should cost about $1,300 USD for a 6 day trip including rental equipment, hotel stay for one night before and after and transfers to and from Kilimanjaro airport.

- Deals vary by whether they include equipment rental, hotels and airport transfers.

                        - Hotels can be bought separately for $10-$60 per night.

                        - Equipment rental bought separately costs about $80

                        - Transport to the airport costs $20/person or $35 for a taxi each way.

- You should expect to pay about $175 more per day if you want a longer trip.

- You can save $50-$100 per person when you book 2 people at time and maybe another $50-$100 for a third and fourth person.

- Marangu route is a little bit cheaper because you stay in huts already on the mountain so they need fewer porters for carrying tents.

- The absolute cheapest I heard of anyone paying was $1,000 including equipment, no hotel and no airport transfers. They booked last minute with a company called Manjes and negotiated heavily.

 
Bring US Cash to pay for the trip. Otherwise you will incur a 5% fee for paying by credit card or have to go through some tedious money transfer process.

When To Go

March, April, May is there rainy season. Every other time should be alright. There is a decent risk of heavy rain any time you go. So if March, April or May is the only time you can manage to get away I wouldn’t let rainy season dissuade you.

Which Route to Take

There are several different routes to choose from and I’m only familiar with the two most common: Machame and Marangu. I did the 6-day Machame route. If you want to explore all your options you’ll need to do more research. Marangu route has the advantage of staying in huts with beds instead of sleeping in tents. Because of this cushiness it’s known as the Coka cola route. It’s also a bit cheaper because you don’t need porters to carry tents up the mountain. The big drawback to Marangu route is that it doesn’t allow for as much acclimatization. It is a more direct route to the top. As a result it has a much lower success rate than the other routes. Marangu route can be done in 5 days or 6 days. The six day option basically includes a day off or a hike where you go up a bit and then come back down to camp the day before the summit attempt. The extra day helps with acclimatization.

Machame route has a very high success rate because of an acclimatization day built into the route.  On day 3 of the Machame route you go from 3840 M up to 4 590M and then back down to your next camp at 3900 M. This is excellent for helping your body adjust to the altitude. You can do the Machame route in 6 or 7 days. The difference between the two is that on the 6-day route on day 4 you hike for 4 hours in the morning, eat lunch and then hike for another 3 hours in the afternoon. You get to camp at 4PM before beginning your summit attempt at Midnight. On the 7-day route you split day 4 into 2 days. You camp where you have lunch on day 4 then the next day you hike the remaining 3 hours and get into camp for noon before beginning your summit attempt at midnight. There are three advantages to doing the 7-day. One, you have an extra day to acclimatize. Two, you have a lighter day (only 3 hours) the day before the difficult summit attempt. Three, you get into camp earlier before the summit attempt so you have more time to rest up. I personally found 6 days to be just fine but if you’re nervous about altitude sickness or your stamina the 7-day route makes it easier.

5 days is the shortest you can do it in and 9 days is generally the longest. Your chances of success increase the longer you make your trip. If you’re relatively young and in good shape I think 6 days should be adequate.

Supplies and Equipment Needed

            Available for Rent in Moshi

- Walking Poles: some people go without them I strongly recommend them

- Sleeping bag: Spend the extra money to get a sleeping bag that is good to -25 degrees. It’s really cold on the mountain (-5 to -10 degrees) most nights. It sucks being cold when you are trying to sleep. Don’t settle for a mediocre sleeping bag.

- Rain pants and rain jacket: You need some waterproof stuff. If you get the pants and jacket, you don’t need the poncho.

- Down or Gortex jacket: It’s -20 degrees at the top of the mountain.

- Fleece pants and Fleece sweater: Anything not cotton will suffice. It’s important that it doesn’t retain your sweat because you go from hot to cold and back very quickly while climbing.

- Duffle bag: When you get to Moshi you will need to split your stuff into 3 bags:

- One bag that porters will carry up the mountain for you. This bag must be under 15 kilos.

- A day pack that you will carry with you. This bag will generally carry water, rain gear, snacks, and a camera.

- A bag to leave in storage at the hotel for while you are doing your climb.

Renting the duffle bag made it easier for me because it had more space than my backpack and that way I could use my backpack for storage at the hotel rather than putting things like my laptop into a garbage bag.

Stuff to bring or buy before getting to Moshi

Almost everything you need, if you don’t have it already can be bought at an outdoor equipment shop and grocery store.

- Hiking boots: These are available for rent as well but I would strongly recommend bringing your own and working them in before you get to Moshi. Your feet tend to blister with unfamiliar boots and that will make your climb a lot more difficult. Boots are your most important piece of equipment. Spend the money, get a good pair of waterproof boots and use them ahead of time. Mine cost $125 in Cape Union in South Africa.

- Normal gym socks and one pair of bad ass thermal socks: Gym socks will serve you just fine until the summit night. On the night when you go to the top it gets as cold as -20. You want socks that are warmer, handle sweat and are generally designed for this kind of shit.

- Wick able T-shirt: This is a shirt designed to take sweat off your body. For the first couple days regular cotton t-shirts are fine. After that, it changes between hot and cold regularly so a shirt against your skin that prevents your sweat from getting cold is very helpful. You can get one of these for $20-$30

            - I’m gross and just wore this one shirt 3 days in row. I changed out of it in the evenings.

- Regular shorts and pants and t-shirts and underwear.

- Comfortable clothes for the campsite and sleeping. I like jeans and a hoodie. Whatever works for you. Also bring a pair of shoes for walking around the campsite. It’s nice to get out of the hiking boots.

- Water purification tablets: They supposedly boil or filter the water they give you but it seemed sketchy to me. For $5 you can take an extra precaution against getting the runs.

- Sports drink powder: Gatorade, Powerade, or Game, it’s all the same shit. It gets rid of the bad taste of the purification tablets. It replaces electrolytes you are losing through the heavy sweating. It is much better than drinking plain water for this activity.

- A book: Everyone turns in really early on the mountain, in case you are still awake, it’s good to have a book.

- Wet naps and sanitation gel: Very useful stuff. If you take a shit in the middle of the night and discover there is no water for you to wash your hands you’ll be very happy you have the wetnaps.

- Medication: IB-Profin (Advil), Imodium (diarrhea medication), Diamox (altitude sickness medication), malaria medication. (you need a prescription for both Diamox and malaria medication)

- Snacks: It is definitely helpful to have food you can eat between meals while you climb. Energy bars are good. They don’t need to be fancy ones. Ones that focus on carbs rather than protein are better for this purpose. Also oat based rather than toffee based is better so it doesn’t freeze. Nuts and dried fruit are also good to have.

Altitude Sickness

Altitude sickness is generally caused by your body failing to adjust properly to the lower oxygen concentration in the air at higher altitudes. Very few people fail to summit the mountain due to poor fitness. It is almost always altitude sickness that causes failure. Unfortunately, there aren’t risk factors for altitude sickness. Some people have real problems with it and others are just fine. It seems to be somewhat arbitrary.

The symptoms of altitude sickness include: headaches, nausea, lost appetite, dizziness, shortness of breath that doesn’t go away even at rest, and speaking nonsense.

If you experience symptoms the way you make them go away is to descend to a lower altitude. You can try to ascend again once symptoms have subsided. The general rule of thumb is to persevere through mild symptoms and absolutely descend to the last altitude where you were symptom free when confronted with more severe symptoms. Altitude sickness can kill you if you don’t respond to it. It’s very serious stuff. Be honest with your guide about how you feel and trust his judgement. I read that on average 9 people die each year climbing Kilimanjaro. Almost all of the incidents could have been avoided. Don’t push with yourself when confronted with serious symptoms, it’s not worth risking your health.

There are a few things you can do to help reduce the risk of altitude sickness:

One, walk very slowly. This gives your body more time to adjust to the changing altitude. Your cardio ability and stamina will allow you to walk much faster than is advisable. Make a conscious point of walking at an unnaturally slow pace, especially during your summit attempt. Your guide will try to slow you down and set the pace. Let him, don’t push to go faster. If you walk quickly you likely won’t experience immediate problems but there is a decent risk that altitude sickness will catch-up with you later.

Two, drink a ton of water. Water mixed with sports drink is better. Dehydration is a big contributor to altitude sickness.

Three, do acclimatization hikes. When you get to your camp site at the end of the day instead of reaching for a cup of tea and taking it easy, spend 40 minutes to climb an extra 100 meters higher and then return to your camp site. It takes a lot of discipline because you’ll be tired and the last thing you’ll want to do once you’ve reached camp is keep hiking but it makes a big difference. Your guide will likely not feel like leading you on such a hike but force him.

Four, take Diamox.

Five, stay away from alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine. I’ve heard different things about caffeine some people have told me coffee and tea are fine while others have said it’s best avoided.
Check with a doctor.

Diamox (Altitude sickness medication)

Diamox reduces altitude sickness symptoms and makes you pee an awful lot. Reducing altitude sickness problems is obviously very helpful. Peeing constantly causes a few problems: One, You need to drink a lot and therefor carry more water to replace the fluids you’re losing. Two, it can disrupt your sleep if you need to get up regularly to pee in the middle of the night in the freezing cold. Beyond peeing regularly, Diamox can make your fingers or toes tingle briefly. This side effect is of little consequence. It can also cause you to feel sick. If you choose to take Diamox I recommend starting to take it one day before your climb so you can see if you react badly to it and stop taking it. I think it’s rare that it makes you feel sick. You don’t need to take Diamox anymore once you begin coming back down the mountain.

You have a few options for what to do: One, don’t take the drug. Two, take it. Three, take a half dose. Four, only take it if and when you feel altitude sickness. (I think it takes a day until it kicks in though.)

Personally I took a half dose. I generally stayed clear of altitude sickness problems. I peed about every 40 minutes during the day and generally had to wake up once each night to pee. There is no right or wrong answer. Choose what’s right for you. I was happy with my decision.

Also of note: People often worry about taking Diamox or IB Profin because they fear that it will mask altitude sickness symptoms, causing them to fail to descend leading to serious health problems. Based on my reading this fear is unjustified. If you have serious altitude sickness, Diamox and IB Profin won’t make the symptoms go away so you will still get the warning signs you need. I encourage you to check with a doctor to verify this.

Emergency oxygen tanks and hyperbaric bags

Oxygen tanks and a hyperbaric bag are useful emergency devices if you need to be treated for altitude sickness but are unable to descend down the mountain right away. This would happen if you’re too ill to walk yourself and others aren’t able to readily carry you. The companies charge you if you want to have these supplies on hand. My guide said that in 6 years of leading groups he has only twice used oxygen tanks and only once used a hyperbaric bag. He also told me that all the guides share supplies so if you did need oxygen or the hyperbaric bag as long as one group nearby on the mountain had one you would have it available.

In short it’s probably a worthwhile risk to not spend the money on these supplies. It’s highly unlikely you’ll need it and it’s probably available anyway if you do. That being said, of course the safer option is to spend the money and know that these supplies are there if you need them.

Things to Know while on the Mountain

- Go really slow.

- Drink lots of water.

- Do acclimatization hikes.

- Eat snacks when you’re feeling a little bit weak even when you’re not feeling hungry.

- Do not spend too much time on top of the mountain. Ten minutes is plenty. Take a couple pictures and get down. Staying at that altitude for too long will make you sick.

- Throwing a bottle of hot water into your sleeping bag can help if you’re cold at night.

- For the summit night take hot water and insulate your bottles inside a sock so the water doesn’t freeze before you get to drink it. 

Tipping Guides and Porters

You will likely have a team of 4 or 5 people supporting each tourist. The general guideline is to tip each member of your team around $5/day/person and give a little more to your guide and assistant guide. That’s just a guideline though, do what feels right to you.

Final Thoughts

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is not that big a deal. What I wrote is helpful but don't let all the details make you build this up into something more than it is. You can really do this last minute and be just fine if you use common sense. Best of luck and I hope you have a great experience.

Read about my experience