Kilimanjaro – A Mountain Top Experience

There is really only one reason that a Hill Walker would find himself landing at Kilimanjaro international airport and it isn’t to go on safari to see the ‘Big Five’. It is, of course because they are about to embark on a walk up Africa’s highest mountain, a walk to ‘The Roof Africa’. Climbing Kilimanjaro has long been on my bucket list and over the next eight days, God willing, I will make it to the top of the worlds highest, free standing mountain.

Climbing Kilimanjaro is not to every one’s taste. In a country like Nepal the trekking involves walking through villages and towns, experiencing the sights, sounds, smells and culture of a country and stopping in cheap (by Western standards) lodges. On Kilimanjaro there are no villages to be seen or Accommodation to stop in. You are sleeping in a tent, often in sub zero temperatures and it is tough going, mentally and physically. You are, after all, climbing up an active volcano. For six days you head up, with no respite, climbing about 15,000ft to reach the summit. (I know the Mountain is 19,000ft tall but Lemosho Glades sits about 7,000ft.) And after that you drop off the mountain like a stone, with such speed that you descend 14,000ft in a day and a bit.

So why climb Kilimanjaro? Apart from the classic ‘because it’s there’ there are a number of good and sound reasons to make the effort to climb to ‘The Roof of Africa’.

Firstly and personally, It’s always been an ambition of mine. Ambitions and goals are important things in life. They keep you motivated when you feel like giving up, they give you things to look forward to and keep you going through tough times. They encourage you and keep you focused on the goal ahead and stop your mind and life wandering. There are other reasons of course,

Kilimanjaro is the highest free standing mountain in the world and because of its isolation you can see the curvature of the Earth from its summit.
You get to walk through five eco systems on your way to the summit.
It’s still an active volcano that you are walking up.
It’s the second closest point you can get to the Sun whilst standing on Earth.
It’s one of the seven summits, the highest points on all seven continents and you get to stand on top of a whole continent, The Roof of Africa, how cool is that and how many people can say they have done it.