Step 1 - Check!

So, this week it all became real. Flights to Africa are booked! I've never traveled somewhere so far that there are no possible direct flights from the US. The most direct way to get to Kilimanjaro is to fly KLM from New York (JFK) to Amsterdam (AMS) then on to Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO). Unfortunately booking this late in the game meant that I could only get this direct flight on the way TO Kili, as the daily flights from JRO - AMS were booked for both the Saturday and Sunday that I was considering returning. Therefore, I'll need to return via Nairobi, Kenya before traveling on to Amsterdam and eventually back to New York.

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.

Why Kilimanjaro?

This is the question and I'm not even sure how to attempt to answer it. In part because it is a very personal decision and in part because I'm not even sure that I can answer it. What I can say is, a seed was planted many years ago (I believe in high school) after reading a story about one man's attempt to summit Africa's tallest peak. As time went on, however, this fascination with Kilimanjaro drifted further and further into the recesses of my mind. It was rarely something I considered as a possibility or vocalized as an interest; it seemed so far away, so exotic, so challenging. Certainly there were other fascinating places in the world to see that didn't require such an investment in time, money and preparation. Between high school and present day, I spent a fair amount of time in Europe - living, working, traveling and in the last year was fortunate to visit South America for the first time. But the allure of Africa and the challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro still beckoned.