Mt. Kilimajaro Tips

I am writing this in response to a request from a friend, Hillary, who will be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with her father Mitch and friends in January 2009. I thought some of you may find it interesting. Our guide service was Kessy Brothers, we did the Machame Route. Their website is linked below. With the 6 of us we were able to pay only $816 each to get up the mountain. This did not include tips. http://www.kessybrotherstours.com/kilimanjaro_routes.htm The Kessy Brothers was a middle of the road guide service, no frills, but enough to get you up the mountain. The best guide service I heard about and saw on the mountain was Tusker, http://www.tusker.com/. I'm sure they cost more but your trip is sure to be more comfortable. Things to consider: -The 6 day 5 night Machame Route was great, very scenic, I highly recommend it. If you have time and money you should strongly consider adding one more acclimatization day, it will only help. When you go up the Machame Route you go down the Mweka Route, a route only for descending. -Kilimanjaro Porter's Association Tipping Recommendations (http://www.kiliporters.org/tipping_recommendations.php). We tipped lower than recommended and it was awkward because we gave the tip the morning of the last day on the mountain. We tipped lower because we didn't have the money to tip more, our service was fine, but the US Peace Corps volunteers I trekked with don't make much money. The main guide argued with us for a long time and it made the hike down unpleasant. I recommend giving the tip at the office to the guides so that if they want to argue the company representative is present. Or just give big tips and then you shouldn't have any worries. Main Items to Bring: -Tent (if you go with a reputable company they may have tents you can use, we had our own tents and the porter set the up for us in a rough manner, broken tent stakes, if the company has tents it could be worth using theirs) -Sleeping Bag (bring a 10 degrees Fahrenheit bag, it gets really cold up there) -Sleeping Pad (you don't want to be directly on the frozen ground) -Hiking Boots (waterproof or all leather are recommended, I climbed the mountain in flip-flops and trainers) -Sandals (light weight, to wear around camp and let your feet air out) -Gaiters (to keep out rocks and dirt on the climb down) -Socks (you will want to wear 2 pair on the summit day) -Thermal Pants -Fleece Pants -Convertible Pants (or shorts and pants) -Rain Pants (these are necessary for the rain and the wind) -Short Sleeved Shirt -Thermal Shirt -Fleece Top (a full zippered with pit zips for ventilation would be nice) -Down Jacket (or something really warm) -Rain Coat (with hood) -Scarf (this was a clutch item for me blocking the wind from my face on summit day) -Balaclava (I did not have one but it would have been nice to use on summit day) -Warm Hat -Sun Hat -Gloves (light weight) -Warm Mittens (for summit and cold days) -Sun Glasses (with Chums) -Sun Screen -Chap stick (for your mouth, I also used on my nose as it will get chapped from wiping) -Trekking Poles (they are great for the way down, save your knees, I used them the whole time up and down) -Day Pack (you will hike with it, pack up 3 liters of water, extra clothes, rain gear, etc.) -Pack Rain Cover (for your day pack) -3 liters worth of water containers (I used one water bottle and a bladder, to help your bladder hose from freezing after you drink blow air into the hose) -Water Treatment Drops (I used Aerobic O7, you may order it at http://store.agoodvitamin.com/aerobico71floz.html, 2 drops per liter for water treatment, got the idea from the wilderness therapeutic camp I worked at) -Large back pack for porters to carry (will have your tent, sleeping bag, and other belongings in it, you may want to bring a large plastic sack to put your items in to keep them dry as you will not be hiking near your large pack) -Head Lamp (with new batteries, bring at least one set of extra new batteries for summit day, you start hiking at midnight) -Travel Pillow (guide services may have or you can just use extra clothes) -Bandanna (use as a sweat/snot rag, you nose will be running a lot and cloth is nice on it) -Snacks/Treats (we had plenty of food from our guide at camp, but snacks like peanuts or dried fruit during the day for you keep in your day pack are nice) -Journal and Pen -Reading Book (optional) -Cards (optional) -Camera (fully charge the battery and make sure you have enough memory) These are a few of the things I was thinking about for Mt. Kilimanjaro. For me it was a lot more physically challenging than I thought it would be, especially summit day. Good luck Hillary and Mitch!!