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Kilimanjaro Challenge

The Challenge

The route to be undertaken will be the Marangu Route which will be in 4 stages to reach the summit.

Stage 1: Marangu Gate to Mandara Hut - 845m (2773ft) climb, 8Km (5miles) walk

• This is an easy day that only has about 5 hours of walking through the tropical rain forest to the overnight stay at Mandara Hut.

Stage 2: Mandara Hut to Horombo Hut -1014m (3326ft) climb, 12Km (7.5miles) walk

• The second day starts with a steaper climb through the last of the rainforest. It will be around a 7 hour walk to the next overnight stop where the enviroment changes to open heath and then to moorland.

Stage 3: Horombo Hut to Kibo Hut - 994m (3262ft) climb, 9Km (5.5Miles) walk

• The terrain becomes more rocky and rugged during the course of the day and the landscape turns to a more luna appearance. After around a 6 hour trek an early night is a must as the summit hike starts at midnight.

Stage 4: Kibo Hut to Summit - 1182m (3878ft) climb, 5.5Km (3.4Miles) walk.

• Around 7 hours walking is needed to reah the summit of Uhuru Peak at a height of 5895m (19340ft).  From then the decent starts and the walking days get longer.

Decent

• The decent starts just after we reach the summit and takes us down to Horombo Hut.  On the summit day an assent of 1182m (3878ft) and a decent of 2176m (7140ft) would have been undertaken involving around 14 hours of walking.  The following day leads to the Marangu gate where the climb started and the warmer weather is most welcoming.

Volunteer Work

There are many schools for disadvantaged children, including orphans, situated at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.  This is an ideal place to acclimatise to the altitude prior to the climb – and the schools are in desperate need of assistance. The exact details of the work involved will be confirmed at a later date, however it is planned that the group will work alongside the pupils and teachers to repaint classrooms and undertake essential repairs, such as mending fences and fixing broken walks to ensure the environment is safe and pleasant.  There will also be the opportunity to engage in some English teaching and skills sharing with the children.

Many of the children who attend the schools are the children of our trek porters and guides. Not only are we helping the children by improving their school facilities, but we are supporting the economy of the area by employing the fathers as guides and porters.

kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro is located in the North East of Tanzania on the border with Kenya. Kilimanjaro is actually an extinct volcano geologically associated with the creation of the Great Rift Valley 100km to the west. It is the highest mountain in the world that can be climbed without climbing equipment. The Bantu speaking group called the Chagga are the main residents. The first European to set foot on the highest point of Africa was Meyer in 1889. Since then the snow capped mountain has become a popular destination for those wishing to experience the most spectacular challenge of their lives.

There are five main ecological zones on Kilimanjaro:

• Lower slopes (800-1800m) Grazing land, cultivation, settlements generally fertile and lush with small mammals.
• Forest zone (1800-2800m) Forest belt completely encircles the mountain and provides water to the lower slopes.  Supports a variety of wildlife including elephant, buffalo, colobus monkeys, leopard, bushpig. It is generally damp and cloudy with cooler nights.
• Heath and Moorland zone (2800-4000m) This is a semi-alpine area with heath like vegetation and abundant wild flowers. Wild dog, buffalo and, possibly, lion live at this level.
• Alpine desert zone (4000m-5000m) A semi desert zone with sub zero temperatures at night and thirty degrees during the day.  Water is scarce and there are only 55 recorded species of plants who survive at this height and few mammals and birds.
• Summit (5000m) This is the arctic zone with freezing cold nights and burning sun during the day. The oxygen is half that at sea level. Kilimanjaro was once completely covered by an ice cap but at present only a small fraction of the glacier remains. There are serious concerns that the ice cover may completely disappear over the next 20 years.

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