Kilimanjaro (in style!). QR J, luxury Kili climb and 2 day safari
Nov 11, 2015, 9:16 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Dorset, United Kingdom. Frequently at higher altitudes.
Programs: BAEC Gold and a few others
Posts: 103
Kilimanjaro (in style!). QR J, luxury Kili climb and 2 day safari
This trip report is long overdue, but as the evenings draw in, it was fun to reflect on another great adventure on this wonderful mountain.
Last year I also wrote about our ski-mountaineering trip to Greenland, which can be seen here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...win-otter.html
To respect the privacy of our clients/ team mates, the photos are from several Kili trips, so this is a more general Kili experience rather than stories from this specific expedition. I've kept it brief on words, hopefully you'll enjoy the images! It's a beautiful mountain and we heartily recommend people to give it a try.
Anyway, on to Kilimanjaro…
Last year I also wrote about our ski-mountaineering trip to Greenland, which can be seen here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...win-otter.html
To respect the privacy of our clients/ team mates, the photos are from several Kili trips, so this is a more general Kili experience rather than stories from this specific expedition. I've kept it brief on words, hopefully you'll enjoy the images! It's a beautiful mountain and we heartily recommend people to give it a try.
Anyway, on to Kilimanjaro…
Last edited by MrAndMrsJones; Nov 11, 2015 at 3:15 pm
Nov 11, 2015, 9:17 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Dorset, United Kingdom. Frequently at higher altitudes.
Programs: BAEC Gold and a few others
Posts: 103
My wife and I were living in Dubai when we did this trip, and have been running an adventure company for the past few years. We chose to fly Qatar Airways to Kilimanjaro Airport for a few reasons, mostly swayed because the connection was in Doha (where there are nice lounges) instead of Nairobi. The tier points were also useful, and the fare actually ended up being very reasonable indeed, roughly the same as Emirates Y to Nairobi and then a connecting ticket.
We flew from Dubai World Central, which is a complete ghost town. It’s like having a private airport, and ours was the only flight leaving. The hop to Doha was short and sweet, and we spent a couple of hours in the lounge indulging in some free flow Krug to toast the adventure ahead.
We were slightly disappointed when we boarded the flight to JRO that the A320 seats only had about 30 degrees of recline. It made for a very bad night’s sleep, but luckily we arrived 24hrs before the clients so had plenty of time to catch up.
We use a beautiful lodge on the outskirts of Arusha called Lake Duluti Lodge. Each of our guests had a private chalet, which meant we all had plenty of space to sort gear and get ready for the trek itself.
We were due to climb Kilimanjaro via the Lemosho Route, over 8 days. I’ve climbed this route half a dozen times before, so am very familiar. It’s more remote and prettier than the more popular routes.
It’s a 3hr drive to the Park Gate, where all of the kit is weighed and loaded for our porters. As the climb was one of our top spec trips, we had a small army of 140 crew for our 18 clients. It’s a brilliant source of employment locally, and we’re proud to have the best looked after crew on the mountain.
Once formalities have been taken care of, there’s a short drive to the trail head, where the team gets dropped off. From here on, it’s human power alone for the next 8 days. The first half an hour of the path is very steep, and usually quite slimy mud, which is always a bit of a wake up call! Thankfully, it doesn’t last for long until it starts to become more stepped.
The first camp is in the forest zone, and is usually a pretty damp spot. This trip was no exception as we arrived in the rain, and I had flashbacks to a previous trip where it was wet for the entire climb!
On the plus side, our local team are fantastic, so before we know it, our crew are rushing around erecting the tents, and all the clients are sheltering in the dining tent with tea and biscuits.
There’s a myth that food on the mountain isn’t up to much, but it really couldn’t be further from the truth. We invest a lot of time in training our cooks, and it’s not uncommon to find our teams tucking in to steak and chips at 14,000ft!
Our sleeping tents are also quite extraordinary compared to most on the mountain. The airline equivalent would probably be The Residence by Etihad! We have big tents, hot showers and full size cot beds with pillows.
All this means we get a good night's sleep, which is exactly what you need after a long day on the trail!
We flew from Dubai World Central, which is a complete ghost town. It’s like having a private airport, and ours was the only flight leaving. The hop to Doha was short and sweet, and we spent a couple of hours in the lounge indulging in some free flow Krug to toast the adventure ahead.
We were slightly disappointed when we boarded the flight to JRO that the A320 seats only had about 30 degrees of recline. It made for a very bad night’s sleep, but luckily we arrived 24hrs before the clients so had plenty of time to catch up.
We use a beautiful lodge on the outskirts of Arusha called Lake Duluti Lodge. Each of our guests had a private chalet, which meant we all had plenty of space to sort gear and get ready for the trek itself.
We were due to climb Kilimanjaro via the Lemosho Route, over 8 days. I’ve climbed this route half a dozen times before, so am very familiar. It’s more remote and prettier than the more popular routes.
It’s a 3hr drive to the Park Gate, where all of the kit is weighed and loaded for our porters. As the climb was one of our top spec trips, we had a small army of 140 crew for our 18 clients. It’s a brilliant source of employment locally, and we’re proud to have the best looked after crew on the mountain.
Once formalities have been taken care of, there’s a short drive to the trail head, where the team gets dropped off. From here on, it’s human power alone for the next 8 days. The first half an hour of the path is very steep, and usually quite slimy mud, which is always a bit of a wake up call! Thankfully, it doesn’t last for long until it starts to become more stepped.
The first camp is in the forest zone, and is usually a pretty damp spot. This trip was no exception as we arrived in the rain, and I had flashbacks to a previous trip where it was wet for the entire climb!
On the plus side, our local team are fantastic, so before we know it, our crew are rushing around erecting the tents, and all the clients are sheltering in the dining tent with tea and biscuits.
There’s a myth that food on the mountain isn’t up to much, but it really couldn’t be further from the truth. We invest a lot of time in training our cooks, and it’s not uncommon to find our teams tucking in to steak and chips at 14,000ft!
Our sleeping tents are also quite extraordinary compared to most on the mountain. The airline equivalent would probably be The Residence by Etihad! We have big tents, hot showers and full size cot beds with pillows.
All this means we get a good night's sleep, which is exactly what you need after a long day on the trail!
Last edited by MrAndMrsJones; Nov 11, 2015 at 1:24 pm
Nov 11, 2015, 9:17 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Dorset, United Kingdom. Frequently at higher altitudes.
Programs: BAEC Gold and a few others
Posts: 103
The next day, the route gains height and we punch above the tree line for the first time. Once above the dense canopy, it can be searing heat, or unsheltered rain. On this particular trip, it was just a bit grey as we ambled along at cloud level for a few hours before rolling in to camp.
This is where we get the first sight of the bulk of the mountain too, which can be intimidating!
The third day is where we leave almost all other teams behind, as we use a very quiet camp called Moir. It’s in a stunning spot, past ancient caves where the imagination runs riot.
The fourth day is always a show stopper, as the team has to climb to 4,600m at the Lava Tower. It’s always the toughest day (except summit day), but is a huge help for our acclimatisation, as it's at the same altitude as the High Camp.
Luckily our crew run ahead to put up our dining tent so we can have a cracking lunch before the long descent to Barranco Camp.
The valley to Barranco has some weird and wonderful plants, and the camp itself is situated at the foot of the imposing wall, which must the climbed the following morning.
Although it can be intimidating for those who aren’t fans of heights, it’s actually a lot of fun scrambling up the wall. It’s not nearly as bad as it looks from below, and is my favourite part of the climb.
On top of the wall, there’s brilliant views across to Mount Meru, which is a lovely climb in it’s own right and highly recommended for those who may not have the time or inclination to do Kili.
The camp that night is called Karanga, and some teams walk through without stopping. We always stop here, as it provides great acclimatisation for the summit push. There are also some of the best sunsets and moonrises.
The next morning, the summit bid is getting closer and nerves are starting to kick in. The walk to the highest camps takes 3hrs, and the whole afternoon is spent eating, drinking, and trying to grab a few hours sleep.
This is where we get the first sight of the bulk of the mountain too, which can be intimidating!
The third day is where we leave almost all other teams behind, as we use a very quiet camp called Moir. It’s in a stunning spot, past ancient caves where the imagination runs riot.
The fourth day is always a show stopper, as the team has to climb to 4,600m at the Lava Tower. It’s always the toughest day (except summit day), but is a huge help for our acclimatisation, as it's at the same altitude as the High Camp.
Luckily our crew run ahead to put up our dining tent so we can have a cracking lunch before the long descent to Barranco Camp.
The valley to Barranco has some weird and wonderful plants, and the camp itself is situated at the foot of the imposing wall, which must the climbed the following morning.
Although it can be intimidating for those who aren’t fans of heights, it’s actually a lot of fun scrambling up the wall. It’s not nearly as bad as it looks from below, and is my favourite part of the climb.
On top of the wall, there’s brilliant views across to Mount Meru, which is a lovely climb in it’s own right and highly recommended for those who may not have the time or inclination to do Kili.
The camp that night is called Karanga, and some teams walk through without stopping. We always stop here, as it provides great acclimatisation for the summit push. There are also some of the best sunsets and moonrises.
The next morning, the summit bid is getting closer and nerves are starting to kick in. The walk to the highest camps takes 3hrs, and the whole afternoon is spent eating, drinking, and trying to grab a few hours sleep.
Last edited by MrAndMrsJones; Nov 11, 2015 at 1:18 pm
Nov 11, 2015, 9:18 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Dorset, United Kingdom. Frequently at higher altitudes.
Programs: BAEC Gold and a few others
Posts: 103
At 11pm, there’s a knock on the tent and it’s time to get ready. At midnight, the procession of headlamps heads in to the darkness.
It’s a long, long (loooooooong) night, and seems to take forever for the sun to rise. We have a 1:1 ratio of Guides:Clients here, so that team members have to simply focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
Finally, dawn breaks and the sun starts to rise behind the jagged peaks of Mawenzi.
Then you hit a real milestone, Stella Point. This marks the crater rim, and from here it’s an easy angled 45min walk to the summit, Uhuru Peak.
We’re lucky to have a 100% success rate on Kili, and reach the peak anywhere between 5am and 8am. On this trip, it was 7am.
Summit! My 8th ascent of Kili, Laura’s first. She has some catching up to do!
Then it’s time for the very long walk down, all the way to 3,100m. It’s a massive day, starting the climb at Midnight and usually arriving at Mweka Camp around 6pm.
Then it’s a short walk to the park gate the next day, for champagne, beers and the drive back to the lodge. That first shower is always epic!
We decided to stay for a couple of days after the trip, so after waving the clients back to England, we headed out to the Ngorongoro Crater. There are certainly more wild places to safari, but the Crater has (almost) guaranteed wildlife sightings, and isn’t too far from Arusha.
We stayed in the beautiful The Manor Ngorongoro, and were frankly a bit blown away after 8 days in a tent.
The food was wonderful, and it was a perfect place to wind down.
The next day we drove around the crater and saw the usual suspects, including a very lazy lion(!), before the drive back to Arusha and our last night in Africa before flying home.
Couldn’t resist this photo of the delicious spread in the lounge at JRO!
It was another brilliant trip and the first time Laura and I had climbed Kili together. We had a very special team who did an outstanding job and all reached the peak within ten minutes of each other, and also raised hundreds of thousand of pounds for a very noble cause.
We'll be updating the blog on our website www.monixadventures.com , and we'll post a report from a short adventure trip to Morocco soon.. Thanks for reading!
It’s a long, long (loooooooong) night, and seems to take forever for the sun to rise. We have a 1:1 ratio of Guides:Clients here, so that team members have to simply focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
Finally, dawn breaks and the sun starts to rise behind the jagged peaks of Mawenzi.
Then you hit a real milestone, Stella Point. This marks the crater rim, and from here it’s an easy angled 45min walk to the summit, Uhuru Peak.
We’re lucky to have a 100% success rate on Kili, and reach the peak anywhere between 5am and 8am. On this trip, it was 7am.
Summit! My 8th ascent of Kili, Laura’s first. She has some catching up to do!
Then it’s time for the very long walk down, all the way to 3,100m. It’s a massive day, starting the climb at Midnight and usually arriving at Mweka Camp around 6pm.
Then it’s a short walk to the park gate the next day, for champagne, beers and the drive back to the lodge. That first shower is always epic!
We decided to stay for a couple of days after the trip, so after waving the clients back to England, we headed out to the Ngorongoro Crater. There are certainly more wild places to safari, but the Crater has (almost) guaranteed wildlife sightings, and isn’t too far from Arusha.
We stayed in the beautiful The Manor Ngorongoro, and were frankly a bit blown away after 8 days in a tent.
The food was wonderful, and it was a perfect place to wind down.
The next day we drove around the crater and saw the usual suspects, including a very lazy lion(!), before the drive back to Arusha and our last night in Africa before flying home.
Couldn’t resist this photo of the delicious spread in the lounge at JRO!
It was another brilliant trip and the first time Laura and I had climbed Kili together. We had a very special team who did an outstanding job and all reached the peak within ten minutes of each other, and also raised hundreds of thousand of pounds for a very noble cause.
We'll be updating the blog on our website www.monixadventures.com , and we'll post a report from a short adventure trip to Morocco soon.. Thanks for reading!
Last edited by MrAndMrsJones; Nov 11, 2015 at 1:27 pm
Nov 11, 2015, 12:30 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Dorset, United Kingdom. Frequently at higher altitudes.
Programs: BAEC Gold and a few others
Posts: 103
Nov 11, 2015, 4:28 pm
#12
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: North of Carlisle
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 1,534
Good question, would love to add it to my bucket list but that's what worries me. Looks like a great deal of effort and stamina required but will wait for the official response tho. Great report, some fabulous pics too ^
Nov 11, 2015, 4:39 pm
#13
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: KCH
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, KFEG
Posts: 113
Nov 12, 2015, 3:50 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Dorset, United Kingdom. Frequently at higher altitudes.
Programs: BAEC Gold and a few others
Posts: 103
Thanks very much to all for your replies and questions. Delighted it's on so many bucket lists! It really is a wonderful experience.
In terms of fitness, you should be able to walk comfortably for around 6hrs in hilly terrain. There are two tough days on Kili; the hike to Lava Tower, and summit day. Lava Tower hike is around a 7hr day, and summit day is a massive 18hrs all together (Midnight-7am summit climb, 8am-12pm descent, 12pm- 2pm rest/ pack/ lunch, 2pm-6pm descent to Mweka Camp). It's more a case of staying awake on that one, rather than brute strength and fitness!
The most important aspect though, much more than fitness, is that you're well acclimatised. Many people rush their climb, and it's a totally false economy. The vast majority of our trips are the 8 day ascent, and that's one of the key factors to our success rate. It is well worth investing the extra 24hrs and a little extra money to spread the climb over the longer period.
As to whether or not you'll acclimatise well, that's pot luck! We have had heavy set 60yr olds finding it much less difficult than "Ironman" 20 year olds. Staying hydrated, having good food, staying healthy and sleeping well all help immensely.
If you do decide to take the plunge, please please please ask your tour operator about their porter welfare standards. The abuse of porters is shockingly widespread. I wrote a short article/ guide on our website here: http://www.monixadventures.com/kilimanjaro-luxury-trips Scroll to the porter welfare paragraph, and hopefully it will help you choose the right questions to ask your operator.
Hope that helps, feel free to PM for details and I can email more info.
In terms of fitness, you should be able to walk comfortably for around 6hrs in hilly terrain. There are two tough days on Kili; the hike to Lava Tower, and summit day. Lava Tower hike is around a 7hr day, and summit day is a massive 18hrs all together (Midnight-7am summit climb, 8am-12pm descent, 12pm- 2pm rest/ pack/ lunch, 2pm-6pm descent to Mweka Camp). It's more a case of staying awake on that one, rather than brute strength and fitness!
The most important aspect though, much more than fitness, is that you're well acclimatised. Many people rush their climb, and it's a totally false economy. The vast majority of our trips are the 8 day ascent, and that's one of the key factors to our success rate. It is well worth investing the extra 24hrs and a little extra money to spread the climb over the longer period.
As to whether or not you'll acclimatise well, that's pot luck! We have had heavy set 60yr olds finding it much less difficult than "Ironman" 20 year olds. Staying hydrated, having good food, staying healthy and sleeping well all help immensely.
If you do decide to take the plunge, please please please ask your tour operator about their porter welfare standards. The abuse of porters is shockingly widespread. I wrote a short article/ guide on our website here: http://www.monixadventures.com/kilimanjaro-luxury-trips Scroll to the porter welfare paragraph, and hopefully it will help you choose the right questions to ask your operator.
Hope that helps, feel free to PM for details and I can email more info.
