Phoebe, Elizabeth, Brad, Yiannis and A.J. at departure.
My cousin Elizabeth organized an expedition to climb Mount Kilimanjaro as a way to celebrate her husband’s 50th birthday. Since I was staying with her in Dar es Salaam for the fall semester she asked if I wanted to come along. I figured I was already in Africa, and it would be a way for me to mark my own 60th birthday last year. Our excitement was only surpassed by our naivete.
Kilimanjaro is the world’s highest free-standing mountain, that is, a mountain that is not part of a range, like the Himalayas or the Rockies. Kili is a dormant volcano and is the highest point in Africa. It stands 19,341 feet at the summit. It is still snow-capped year round, but it is quickly losing its glaciers due to global warming. It is two degrees south of the equator, so technically it is summer in December, but that does not affect temperatures as much as it does seasonal precipitation.
After some considerable online research Yiannis and Elizabeth picked a company to be our provisioner and to provide guides and porters. They settled on an eight-day route that gave us the best chance of avoiding acute mountain sickness (AMS) that comes from too rapid an ascent and can affect anyone, even the most otherwise physically fit climbers. The route we would take is called Lemosho. It kind of circles part way around Kili before meeting up with other trails for the final climb to the summit. And because their children, A.J., 17, and Phoebe, 15, would be with us, we picked a departure date in December to coincide with their winter school breaks. My research showed that it’s best to climb to the summit the night of a full moon so you don’t have to rely as much on flashlights. In December the full moon was the 28th. So backing up from that meant we had to start our climb on the 22nd.
The day before our climb we began a twice daily regimen of Diamox to help our bodies adjust to lower levels of oxygen in the atmosphere at higher elevations. An American doctor based in Dar also told us that Viagra could help and we bought enough for the trip.
We flew separately from Dar to Arusha and Moshi because coordinated plane reservations were difficult to get. But the expedition company picked us all up and got us to the Arusha hotel from which we would depart in the morning. We then got some additional gear and advice from the company. For example, the sleeping bags I brought were not adequate and I got one from the company to use. They looked askance at my low-top Teva trail shoes, but when I said I was comfortable with my choice the company rep shrugged her shoulders. And my Columbia shell and fleece liner raised some eyebrows, but I also had a second fleece and a down vest. For my legs I had a pair of light poly long johns, wool ski socks, zip-off trail pants and wind/rain overpants. They scotched my gloves and gave me mittens. Also, the trekking poles I borrowed did not lock well, so I got another pair from the company. I was initially leery of poles, which I had never used before, but I came to rely on them for balance and easing down the steep slopes.
With that we were ready to set off.
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