I’m planning to summit Kilimanjaro in two years, so my workouts are moving towards more and more endurance.
Has anyone here made their way to the top? If so, what helped you out the most?
I highest I have been is 13.5k feet.
should be very ez. i looked into it and what i didnt like was you spend a day at 6k feet, then the next day you hike a few more thousand feet then its another nite… then i think it was the 3rd or 4th day you summit… plus it was $5000.00 16 years ago when i looked into it. i do the 14,000 peaks in colorado… do them in a half day… hammer up, ez down. headache some times…goes away when your down the mountain.
none of that traversing crap. theres the top of the mountain, so lets go this way and get to the top. traversing takes 10-16 hours on most colorado 14ers…theres always the ez way up and a hard way up. i do the hard way up for a workout, and the ez way down…i seen grandmas at the top of 14ers, cause they took 2 days getting up, but if you’re in decent shape, you’ll be fine. your feet are always touching the ground… no rock climbing, or things like that. just a high hike is all it is…that is what kilimanjaro is like too from what i remember reading in my brocheurs…
Hi,
I summitted kiliminjaro last year, and let me tell you it was BRUTAL. absolutely brutal. here is what i learned from my experience that i hope will help you.
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DONT TAKE IT LIGHTLY. i cannot stress this enough. one of my teammates had to descend on day 4 (we summitted on day 5) because of breathing problems. the rest of us continued to the summit. we descend to the base on day 6 and go straight to the hospital to identify her body. she got taken to the hospital too late and couldnt recover from the High altitude pulmonary edema that she was suffering from.
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bring DRUGS! zofran for nausea, diamox for altitude sickness, tylenol, cipro for travelers diarrhea, anything else you can think of. for my next climb i asked my primary for a bunch of decadron just in case i contract High altitude cerebral edema. that shit is not to be fucked with.
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summit day was absolutely brutal. the biggest test of mental and physical fortitude i have ever experienced. and it lasted forever. literally like 14 hours of climbing up and down, running out of supplies (my fault) and being barely able to catch my breath the whole time.
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train your ass of and do NOT under prepare. about 50 people a year die on kili (i know this from talking to local sources after our friends death and not browsing the internet which will not give you an accurate number.) also, dont push yourself too hard, if you have to turn back then do it and dont be afraid to if it doesnt feel right.
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we did the climb to summit and back in 6 days. in my opinion that is too short and you will be much better served, and have an easier, more enjoyable climb if you climb in 8 days or longer.
otherwise, if you are prepared and are smart about it you should have a grand old time and have a great story to tell your kids one day.
good luck and enjoy! its beautiful up there
I would love to do this also. Planning on it eventually.
That being said, found this article a while ago that will make you feel like a total pussy for not doing it… because you’ve got all your limbs.