Things They Don’t Tell You About Kilimanjaro
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“No need to cry – the mountain isn’t going anywhere – you can try again.”
That statement made by my Kilimanjaro guide, Douglas, has stuck with me for 17 years. In a way, it’s actually haunted me. I started my career break and eventual life of nomadic travel writer 17 years ago when I flew to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro, which I subsequently failed at. My sister, friend Heather, and I took on climbing Kilimanjaro on the 7-day Machame route. It has an average summit success rate in excess of 85%. I never ever thought I would be in that 15%, but I was.
I’ve always thought about going back and trying to finish the climb, but every time I think about it, I think about my past trip and all the things I know about it now that I didn’t back then and it makes me pause a bit.
“Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”― Jack Heath
For those of you who are thinking about climbing Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, it’s worth your time to research and select a reputable company that will ensure your wellness and answer any questions you might have. And so you don’t dive in completely blind, you’ll want to get to know the ‘devil’ before you get there. However, don’t let any of these dissuade you from taking on Kilimanjaro, this is all a normal part of high altitude hiking.
Table of Contents
9 Things They Don’t Tell You About Climbing Kilimanjaro
1. Be Prepared for a Hard Reboot
“Have you tried unplugging the computer and turning it back on?” We’ve all been asked that question by a help desk representative at some point. Reboots aren’t just for computers or phones, they can also happen to humans. We arrived at the Machame gate and we thought we knew what hiking was, but then someone just turned off the power and we had to start all over rebuilding definitions and expectations. Suddenly our definition of what a good toilet was, a challenging hike, what it means to go slow, or good night’s sleep changed. We had to quickly adjust to our environment, and it was an environment that was not necessarily comfortable.
2. Age and Fitness Are Irrelevant When Climbing Kilimanjaro
When I attempted the climb, I was in marathon shape having just finished another half marathon before the trip. In the end, being in good shape probably hurt me in a way. The way you combat altitude sickness is by going slow and acclimating. It wasn’t in my nature to go slow. I thought I was going slow, I really, really thought I was going slow. But apparently I didn’t go slow enough. People who are ultra fit are normally pretty competitive and slow is not in their vocabulary, which is why you see a lot of fit young people fail at this climb. In fact, you might be surprised at how successful the older hikers are on Kilimanjaro. When I did it we had a guy in his upper 70’s complete it.
3. This is Not a Technical Climb
The ascent does not require any technical climbing, however there is one section where you do have to scramble up boulders. But other than that, the climb is rather gradual and simple. The trails are not necessarily demanding; however, the environment is.
4. There is no Privacy
Sure – there’s privacy in your tent, but when it comes to other personal things such as what you are eating, what you are throwing away, and the details of your morning constitutional – it’s now all public knowledge – at least to your guide. Douglas went to great lengths to determine what we might not be telling him by going through our lunch box garbage and leftover dinner to see if we were eating everything. After all, loss of appetite is one of the symptoms of altitude sickness
5. You Will Be Peeing Outside
Before you panic, yes there are ‘toilets’ on Kilimanjaro. They are long drop toilets, which basically mean you are doing your business in an outhouse. It’s a hole…with a place to sit. Sure, some outfitters actually try to bring toilets along – but most don’t. During the day though, along the trail, there are very few long drop toilets. If you have to go, then you just tell your group and sneak behind a rock. There is no shame, and no one cares. In fact, I actually think it’s pretty freeing. Just make sure that you leave no trace. And don’t think that you are going to be one of these people who just ‘hold it’. They make you drink 3 liters of liquids on the trail to stay hydrated in altitude. I had to pee at least 8 times a day – honestly my body thought I was trying to drown it.
6. You’ll Lose Your Appetite
I love to eat, especially when I exert myself and feel like I need food for energy. However, at some point in the trek, you’ll likely lose your appetite. Nothing will look good to you. It happened to each of us and it’s a common result of high altitude. It’s actually a cruel result of high altitude since you need food for energy to get up the mountain, but the further up you go the food is not appetizing at all – or in my case, makes you vomit.
7. Even Though You Are Exhausted, You Won’t Sleep
By day 4 I was continuously tossing and turning in my sleeping bag. I was sleeping, but it wasn’t good sleep at all. And even though I was exhausted from exerting myself all day in little oxygen, I still didn’t fall asleep out of exhaustion. It was really frustrating, but it’s something that is typical in altitude.
8. Your Life is in Your Guide’s Hands
The summit stands at 19,340 feet – in extreme altitude. At over 10,000 feet, more than 75% of Kilimanjaro climbers will experience at least some form of mild Acute Mountain Sickness, and at that point, your life is in your guide’s hands. If you really do get sick, you won’t be able to make decisions for yourself, trust me I know. I would have stayed on that mountain if it was up to me, and I probably would have come down on a stretcher. It’s a good thing I listened to Douglas our guide. On Day 3 I lost my desire to do anything but follow Douglas up the hill, eat, and sleep. Headaches and nausea would come and go within a few minutes like a wave, and I relied on Douglas’s instructions to keep me going.
9. You Might Fail at Climbing Kilimanjaro, But it Doesn’t Mean You are a Failure
You can do everything right, but still, everything can go wrong. Which is kind of like life isn’t it? I never thought failure was an option, but it was a good lesson for the rest of my decade of travels. Things don’t always work out the way you planned, and you have to learn how to cope with that.
You Have An Important Choice to Make
Based on all of this you can see how important it is to pick a guiding company that knows the mountain and can ease you through all of these things so that they are minor speed bumps instead of big issues. World Expeditions operates an extensive range of adventures in Tanzania from climbs on Kili, to technical climbs designed for the serious mountaineer, to easy walks that can be enjoyed by anyone.
“the mountain isn’t going anywhere – you can try again.”
Douglas was right, the mountain is still there, and more people than ever are summiting it. In fact, at times it feels like it’s just a given that you’ll make it to the top. But I’m someone who didn’t. I spent all that time and effort, and learned the most important lesson of all…sometimes the best memories are the ones that don’t go as planned. It might not have had a Kilimanjaro happy ending, but it’s one of my best memories I have of my travels. It taught me so much, and even though I didn’t summit, it was still the climb of a lifetime. Maybe I will go back and face the devil I know again. At least this time, I know what to expect.
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Want to Climb Kilimanjaro? Here’s How…
It’s important to pick a good outfitter, a company with lots of trekking experience. Here’s the World Expeditions Machame Route Details
World Expeditions also does all of the other routes too – check out all of their Tanzania trekking offerings here.
Disclosure:
This article is brought to you by World Expeditions, but all opinions expressed here are my own based on my own Kilimanjaro experience.
That toilet! Used the same one – 3rd camp I think? Best views, worst smells.
That is actually such a powerful quote. Long drop toilets honestly scare me a little and I usually try to avoid them by just peeing outside. Wonderful post overall!
nat // dignifiable
My daughter made it in 2011 & I went to Kenya to receive her. It is just impossible to believe the last stretch where chances of getting into Coma is very high. I understood Frank Tyson cdn’t make it! Tough indeed! CONGRATULATIONS
Kilimanjaro has been a dream of mine for years, yet I’ve never taken the step towards making it happen. I think I keep waiting to magically be in better shape for it, haha!
Climbing Kilimanjaro is something I want to do – but appreciate the challenges. This is such an honest post to get me ready! Do you think you’ll attempt it again?
Thanks Rebecca! Yes I think I will try it again. I have nothing to lose! And I would like to really finish what I started. I hope you have a great hike – I’m sure it will be a challenge – but definitely worth it. And just remember, if for some reason you don’t make it – you did nothing wrong, it just wasn’t your time! Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Nice write up! I’m one of those people that got to the cables section of Half Dome and said Nope! After years of rock climbing, it just didn’t look safe to me, so I passed. Not as dramatic as Kili, but a similar feeling inside!
Dan
The mountain is not going anywhere indeed!its what I had to say to my self when I reached Lini Marangu’s base camp and decided I will not summit, my whole body was swollen,feeling heavy as a luggage, but promised my self to go back when the opportunity arise, it was insanely wonderful experience worthy having. Thanks for the write up it has brought back fun memories about my climb to Kilimanjaro??
Sorry you didn’t make it either! But I agree – it’s still a wonderful experience worth having!!
What a great blog, thank you for sharing this. We had a few girls fail to summit as well in our 28-woman group, and I don’t think I would have been able to summit personally if it wasn’t for our guides assisting in breaking down my mental barriers.
Um, DUH! Of course the environment was ‘not necessarily comfortable’! Of course it is going to be ‘a challenging hike’! Of course you’re going to be peeing and pooping outside or in an outhouse! Seriously, where did you think you’d be doing your business???!!! To anyone reading this, if these ‘facts’ come as a surprise to you, YOU ARE NOT READY TO CLIMB KILIMANJARO! And if you attempt this climb without any experience in mountain climbing or, at a bare minimum, multi-day hiking/backpacking, without a basic knowledge of how to use climbing equipment, you are not only risking *your* health and safety, you are jeopardizing the safety of your fellow climbers and guides who are going to have to tend to you when you get injured or sick – sacrifice their food and water and extra clothes to you, help to haul you out if you’re incapacitated.
Lastly, fitness is ABSOLUTELY relevant! It is true that even the most physically fit among us can succumb to altitude sickness. In fact, even if you’ve previously had no problems when at altitude, there’s no guarantee that you won’t get altitude sickness the next time (it’s annoyingly unpredictable that way). But if you find yourself vomiting and with a terrible headache at 12,000 ft elevation with civilization a 12 mile hike away – you damn well better be in good enough physical shape that you can get your ass back down to a lower altitude despite of feeling 50%…or 25% or whatever.
Great article, one thing I wish I learned before climbing kili was the horrible exploitation of porters by tour operators. Here is a great article that explains how to avoid companies that endanger the lives of their porters by not feeding/paying them enough and even leaving them to die on the mountain at some points: https://theuprootedrose.com/blog/responsible-kilimanjaro-climb
I feel like most climbers are unaware of how horrible the situation is and we can really do a lot to change it by educating ourselves.
My wife and I did the climb in Sept 1990. We had been travelling in our Landrover for 3 weeks, so lots of sitting with short stops at various locations throughout Kenya and Tanzania. We were well rested for this adventure! Our guide just kept repeating over and over again: “polee polee” meaning slowly slowly. His words were so true. The morning of the final ascent to the top of Kibo began with a verbal wake up call at midnight. None of us had slept more than 10 uninterrupted minutes! The room was about +2C inside (34F), due to the -15C outside and the wooden shutters with many holes in them! But upon stepping out from the lodge, the views were nothing short of breathtakingly spectacular! Billions of stars lit up the heavens, well above the tree line, with planets as bright as small suns. The next 6 hours to the summit were the most taxing physically and mentally I have ever experienced. The body kept screaming: STOP! ENOUGH! but the brain kept urging: just a few more steps. With sunrise the peak became vsisble and we both had a renewed sense of urgency. On the final day of the whole adventure we wept like children knowing we had overcome all of our fears and mental blocks.
It was well worth it!
Thank you for this great article
So happy to hear that you made it to the top!! Congrats! And yes – Polee polee is burned in my brain forever!
This is aziz from the sahara desert of Morocco, you did a camel ride with us. I really love your articles…
Thanks Aziz!
I was living in Kenya for 2 years from ‘87-‘89. A few of us decided to climb it on one of our breaks. None of us had climbing experience, except for day hikes on mountains less than 3000 ft. So, we were pretty excited about this. We chose the 5-day trip: 3 days up and 2 days down. Absolutely amazing! Being where it is, you find yourself, in 3 days, walking through almost every kind of climate on the planet. It was surreal. Once at Kibo hut, we learned that the crew that tried to reach the summit the previous night had to turn back due to a blizzard. Our ascent was perfect, though. There was a clear sky with a full moon and cold enough for the scree slope to be very stable. Yes, at that point we would take a few steps and gasp for air. That was a unique experience. Like others have said, “you just tell your body to shut up and keep focused on getting to Uhuru peak”. Don’t be stupid, though, as others have stated. If you are feeling more than just exhausted, tell someone and get down. All of us made it with no issues. We were very fortunate. I forgot to mention something hilarious. As we were hiking up, the porters would overtake us while carrying all our gear. We would catch up to them taking a break. They would be sitting around and smoking!! We would pass by only to have them pass us, again, running up the mountain. It truly is amazing what the human body can acclimate to. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Question: At the time, there were still 100 foot thick glaciers up there. Are there still?
Jambo! Just got back from climbing. I too, experienced summit night with clear skies, billions of stars and seeing the sunrise on arrival at the top. Wow!
There are still some glaciers, but sadly they predict them to be melted sometime between 2025-2035. I wish I could post a photo. Anyway, porters still carry an incredibly heavy amount and a lot carry on their heads and necks. There were a few smoking on breaks, but not too many. Packs are weighed and good companies provide good hiking boots and other gear. During the summit climb, my body was telling me at Stella Point .5 miles away from the top that I reached my limit (and the whole way up that night). My wise guide knew it was a mental block and said I needed to stay with the team. And I said ok and then went on. That was a huge life lesson for me and I will always be grateful for him, and the other guide and this experience.
Congrats!
Things not less known for planning Kilimanjaro climbing bookings can be discovered at ottsworld. However, we add things like high camp base camp known as Kosovo Camp. Kosovo camp is slightly on high altitude than Barafu camp, and makes last summit attempt easier.