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03-09-2007, 23:25 birdman1 Joined on 03-09-2007 Posts 1 Re: Kilimanjaro Trek June 07 Hello Amy,Can I introduce myself.  My name is Alan. I will also be hiking to the top of Kili (hopefully). on the 20th June with Charity Challenge and my good friend Alasdair. I see you have been chatting to Alasdair through the forum. Hope your training and fundraising has been going O.K. Myself and Alasdair are Munro bagging every weekend as part of our training. With regard altitude! This will be my second time at high altitude, having been to Everest base camp in 04, and climbed Kala Patthar, at 19,000+. Don't worry about the altitude, we will all get a small dose of effects like, loss of appetite, broken sleep, headache and dizzyness. These are common side effects we will all expect. Apart from this, Its all GO. It is not as bad as documented. We will all reach the Summit Together. Best regards, and good luck with training. Alan, The Tartan Trekker      Report

03-13-2007, 13:19 Aims Joined on 01-21-2007 Teesside Posts 3 Re: Kilimanjaro Trek June 07 Hi Alan, Thanks for the reassurance with regards to the altitude, its nice to know i've got some knowledgeable people going on the trek with me. Sounds like you two are doing some good training, unfortunately the area where  live is not as good as Scotland for hill walking but i'm going to try and get a couple of weekends in the Lake District before I go, if I can get the time off work! Thanks again and good luck to you too. Amy    Report

03-23-2007, 17:37 Single Step Joined on 03-23-2007 Posts 2 Re: Kilimanjaro Trek June 07 Hi - all the best with your climb! I did it in 2001 (hardly recently but it hasn't changed much!). I think the main thing is to listen to your guide, don't force the pace (the mountain will aways win), drink loads, eat everything, however you're feeling) and mainly enjoy each moment. When you get to the last push (probably from Kibo Hut) don't look up the interminable scree but just put one foot in front of the other and concentrate on each step as a result in itself. I can't remember the last 6 hours, my mind has completely blanked it out. You'll have a great time, and the view from the top is extraordinary!!    Report

03-23-2007, 22:32 Alasdair Joined on 11-28-2006 Ayrshire,Scotland Posts 9 Re: Kilimanjaro Trek June 07 Hi SS Thanks for the excellent info.Sounds like you had a really fantastic time.Questions I would like to ask are: Were you warm enough in your sleeping bag and what type of bag [comfort rating ] did you take? Does your drinking water freeze on the summit push? What grade of sunglasses [grade 3 or 4] did you take? Did it rain much?We are going in June.How long do you get on the summit if you get there?! Does anyone take a cellphone to the top? Did you take a water purifier? Think that's all the questions I have for now. Thanks a mill for your valuable info. Cheers Alasdair    Report

03-29-2007, 9:45 Single Step Joined on 03-23-2007 Posts 2 Re: Kilimanjaro Trek June 07 I took a three season Ajungilak (think that's how it's spelt) bag. If you are sleeping in the huts on the Marangu route then you're inside, so the bag will be fine. if you're in a tent, that might be a different matter. The only exception to this is Kibo Hut, the last hut before the top, which is like an open prison and bloody freezing. However you don't stop there for long, probably won't sleep and being cold is the least of your worries! All my water froze on the way up from Kibo, even some in a flask if I remember correctly. Forget trying to get anything out of a platypus hose....... You do need to think about this quite carefully - I would have tried harder to insulate the water had I known this would happen. I took ski goggles for the last bit, which also keep your eyes warm. The sun is very harsh, full stop. Electrical equipment packs up due to the cold (I was lucky my camera still had some charge). The summit is a very private moment and pretty damn emotional to be honest. The last thing I felt like doing was phoning my mates! But if you must, you can, as long as the phone's still working! You don't need to take water purification if you're going with an organised trip, but some Berocca dissolved into it makes the whole experience of drinking a tad more pleasant. You need to mentally prepare yourself for what happens if you get AMS (which you probably won't). My trek buddy, who is about 20 years younger than me, collapsed in a heap at about 17.000ft and had to go down. I know he felt bad about it, but - as I said before - the mountain will always win and there's no telling who will make it and who won't. You break every sensible rule of climbing doing Kili - too fast, too much height each day, no 'go high, sleep low'. However, the sense of achievement is extraordinary! Best wishes    Report

03-29-2007, 21:04 Alasdair Joined on 11-28-2006 Ayrshire,Scotland Posts 9 Re: Kilimanjaro Trek June 07 Hi Single Step Thanks for your reply with some brilliant advice.Will take it all on board and put it to good use,hopefully.We are starting at Lemosho Glades then onto Shira Plateau and the Barranco Wall following the Barafu route to the summit......fingers crossed!All nights will be spent in tents so I had to purchase a 4 season bag and liner which set me back a penny or two.Can't walk past an outdoor shop without going in and 9 times out of  10 leave after purchasing something or other........brilliant when it is Christmas all the time! Thanks again for the excellent advice. Alasdair    Report

03-30-2007, 10:11 JuliaGo Joined on 03-31-2006 Oxford Posts 30 Re: Kilimanjaro Trek June 07 Hi Alasdair, My husband and I got back from Kili a fortnight ago. Steve made it to the summit but I had to turn back about an hour into the final midnight ascent - not altitude sickness as such, but breathing difficulties and chest pain, just not enough oxygen getting through! Still the best experience of my life. We did the Rongai route and camped, and I would say that a 4 season bag and liner is definitely necessary. The higher we got, the more layers I had to wear at night, but I was never cold in my sleeping bag. We did have platypus water bladders but they do need to be insulated for the final ascent. I was too mean to buy an insulating hose - it cost more than the water bladder! - but in retrospect I wish I had. We ended up wrapping bandages around the hose part, and they didn't freeze, but we took another water bottle in our packs as a backup for that final night. Good luck to everyone doing the clmb in June! Enjoy!! Julia    Report

03-30-2007, 21:10 Alasdair Joined on 11-28-2006 Ayrshire,Scotland Posts 9 Re: Kilimanjaro Trek June 07 Thanks for all of your very helpful information Julia, especially regarding the hydration system.I was thinking of placing my platypus inside my clothing close to my skin for its body heat but don't know if that would work.Will take your info on board about insulation for my bladder and hose.Did Steve manage to get his camera to work on the summit? Did you see much wild life etc on the lower slopes? Was there any snow at all left on the top? Sorry for all the questions! Glad to here that you had a fantastic time and the mountain will always be there if you feel the urge to go back some day. Kind regards Alasdair    Report

04-11-2007, 13:59 SmallStories.org Joined on 04-11-2007 Posts 1 Re: Kilimanjaro Trek June 07 Hi Alasdair, thanks for the sleeping bag info - I'll most definitely bear that in mind when making my big purchase.  I'm currently living in London (after living in both New Zealand and South Africa) so plenty of outdoor shops to get me excited! I'd love to be back in Scotland and close to the Munros right now but am having to suffice with military fitness training in the park a few times a week (ouch!) and a few planed days out up Snowdonia in Wales. I've been busy getting my website to its final stages so it can go live - which I'm told will be today, finally! You can find it at www.smallstories.org.  Its a few weeks behind so I'll need to make up for it in terms of fundraising effort - just starting really. I've got a main fundraising event which I've made a start on (I sing, so it's a music event.)  There's a few other smaller fundraisers which are on their way and they've come about by partnering up with people I know who are doing events - I asked them to donate a percentage of their revenue to my cause. I'm writing a publicity letter, so will hopefully find success with the local media - especially with the ex-pat South African and Kiwi communities in London.  Keep in touch. ps. I love the kilts idea - keeping us Scots well proud! Katrina (previous username WaveTui)        Report

04-12-2007, 11:04 elizabeth@justgiving Joined on 09-29-2005 London Posts 228 Re: Kilimanjaro Trek June 07 Hi Katrina, Nothing to do with Kilimanjaro but just wanted to congratulate you on the smallstories.org site- it looks great! Warm regards, Elizabeth *Elizabeth K* Justgiving Usability and Insight elizabeth@justgiving.com Justgiving    Report

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