Kili 101

Having now told friends, family and colleagues about this great adventure, there are several different questions that I get asked rather frequently about the trip. I'll try to answer some of those questions here and provide some facts about Kili.

How tall is it?
Kili is 19,341 ft (5895 m) above sea level and is Africa's highest mountain (one of the 7 Summits and the only one that is scalable without real mountaineering experience).


How long does it take to get up the mountain?
This depends on the individual and the route taken. There are at least 6 main routes up the mountain, each with their own advantages and disadvantages (more on this later!). Depending on the route (and how many days your group may want to add on for acclimatization), treks traditionally take between 5 and 9 days. For the route we'll be taking (Rongai), we are planning a 7 day / 6 night hike.



Do you need oxygen?
Technically, no. Though some groups will bring oxygen if you want to pay for porters to carry the stuff up the mountain. For most people, oxygen is not necessary though. Altitude sickness is an extremely common problem though. So, I can likely look forward to some headaches, nausea, shortness of breath and perhaps even barfing my brains out as we make our way up the mountain. Although there isn't a way to prepare / train for altitude and how my body will react, I will likely take Diamox which is a medication to help your body more rapidly adjust to altitude.

Is there a chance you won't make it?
Yes! It seems like a commonly reported statistic is that about 30% of people will not summit. Of course, there are many different drivers for determining how difficult it will be for any one individual, but the most important factor again relates to your ability to acclimatize. So, the longer you spend on the mountain, the better (as your body has more time to acclimate). There's no real way to prepare for altitude and it's anyone's guess who will succumb to altitude sickness (physical fitness has an extremely minimal role, if any, in who will suffer from altitude sickness or acute mountain sickness (AMS)).

Will you have sherpas to carry you up the mountain when you want to give up?
Sort of. Apparently on Kili they are called porters. But I don't think they are willing or able to carry you up, like sherpas have been known to do for those climbing Everest. The porters will carry all the camping equipment, cooking equipment, and our bags with our gear for the week. We will only be responsible for carrying our daypacks with needs for the day of hiking (layers of clothing, water, snacks, etc...).

Do you need to get shots?
Sadly, yes. And anyone who knows me, likely understands that this just may be the most difficult part of the trip for me! The vaccinations I'll need include Hepatitis A (2 shots!), Hepatitis B (3 shots!), Tetanus (just one shot, thank God!), Influenza, Typhoid (luckily this one is an oral vaccine!). In addition to the vaccinations, I'll also need to take diamox (for altitude) and anti-malarial medication (which can have some nasty side effects) and there is some debate over whether travelers to Tanzania need yellow fever, rabies and polio vaccinations. And ok, true fact, I almost passed out for my first round of shots, but for round 2 I barely flinched.