At 60 and healthy enough, not overweight, but not particularly physically active, I am planning to join a tour group and go out Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Seems that there are a lot of tour operators to choose from, typically it takes about a week to hike up and down, there is no mountain climbing as such, and the main physical challenge is adapting to the high altitude (up to 20,000 feet).
The main benefit is to give an imposed motivation for a few months fitness and health training before going.
Any comments? Anyone been there? Anyone know about altitude training at sea level (apparently there is various equipment for that)?
My cousin did it last year for his 60th birthday. He wrote the whole experience up in an email. I deleted it but remember a few details - the most surprising one to me was that once at the top (timed for sunrise) it’s so freezing that you don’t stay and linger.
Iirc, he hired a private guide.
He’s in great shape for 60 but I don’t recall him saying he did any particular training for the climb and nothing about the altitude being difficult to deal with.
Altitude sickness can be serious. Apparently over 1,000 people are evacuated off Mt Kilimanjaro every year, and 10 people die, though they say the actual number can be 2-3 times higher. I am not recommending this guide service at all, because I know nothing about it, but some of the information on here matches what I’ve heard: http://www.ultimatekilimanjaro.com/acclimatization.htm
I don’t want to scare you, but I do think you should be REALLY careful about whom you hire. Find out a lot of details about the tour operator that you will be going with. Some acquaintances went a number of years ago, and told me a horrifying story. The guides were supposedly well qualified, and measured their blood daily (for oxygen saturation, I believe). They claimed everyone was doing just fine, but they found out at the end of the trip that the guides had been falsifying the numbers, not writing down the actual values, and one of the ladies was basically dying. The guides ignored it, did nothing, and when my acquaintances realized that she was dying, they administered the first aid measures to save her life. She did not know anyone in the group and was traveling alone.
The guides ended up taking her down, while the others continued to the top. The guides told everyone that they were going to take her to the hospital, but when they got down to the bottom, they claimed that the hospitals were closed on the weekend, and dumped her into a hotel room and left her there alone. She barely survived.
The people that I talked to said that they had a great time because they didn’t have altitude sickness, but they were horrified about what they realized after the fact. The pretense about safety, but then they just falsified everything and neglected the ill woman. Apparently it’s not such a big deal to the guides if you die on the mountain. They’ll get fired, but just move on to another company. There is little recourse that people have when something tragic happens.
Kilimanjaro was on our travel wish list for many years until we watched the Globe Trekker episode in which Ian Wright made the climb and interviewed others along the way. It was one of the few times in his many travels that he lost his sense of humor and seemed genuinely miserable. Considering that he was very young and healthy at the time (2009) we took it as a reality check.
If you do go, ask your doctor about a medication that lessens the effects of high altitude. A colleague at work recently visited Tibet on short notice and had no problem with altitude while taking the medication.
DH went twice, and both kids went once. I did NOT join them for the hike (I did join them later for safari) in spite of hiking at high altitude (above 16,000) in Cordillera Huayhuash, Bhutan and other remote destinations
Adapting to the high altitude is NOT a physical challenge. This is a matter of allowing your body enough time to acclimatize. Hiking above 19,000 feet is extreme, and I would not recommend it as the first high altitude hiking experience when you do not know how your body would react. All tour operators are equipped with oxygen tanks etc, but evacuation still takes hours, likely in complete darkness and at freezing temperature. There are no good medical facilities at the base either. The trail is not accessible by helicopters or mules, so people must be carried down by porters. The route outline is one of the worst in my opinion due to the unique mountain profile: you must ascend from the base (at 5,000 feet) to the summit (above 19,000 feet) and back in only 6 short days, with only one day to acclimatize in high camp at ~15,000 feet. The hike to the summit and back to the high camp happens within one day, with only an hour or so to spend at the top. These are extreme conditions, with very little time to acclimatize – not good for an inexperienced hiker, and I would not recommend it.
If you are determined to go, I can get you information about tour operators – we always use local companies. They are more experienced, better connected, and this is a nice way to support local economy and people (many porters work out of necessity to support their families, at a very low pay, and their health / physical shape is often in very poor shape –completely heartbreaking, but this is a different story…)
ETA: btw, even if you do not develop any altitude sickness, hiking at high altitude is completely different from sea level - every step feels exhausting. You should hike several “fourteeners” at Colorado to experience the difference… than multiply it by 10.
As someone who develops minor altitude sickness symptoms (headaches) at 8000 feet (went skiing) and vomits at 14000 feet (car trip up Mauna Kea), I’d advise you to test your ability to tolerate altitude before making reservations. It’s a challenging hike, yes, but altitude sickness is another bear entirely.
I recommend that if you’re going to hike a 14,000 footer, try Pikes Peak. Good trail, tram at the top if your knees don’t appreciate the downhill, and a restaurant with freshly made doughnuts at the top. Hallelujah!
There are over 50 fourteeners in Colorado… no need to go to the one that attracts the most tourists and lowlanders, not to mention cars!
That said, I know a mountain climber who trains in Berkeley, Calif., which is pretty much at sea level, but has some steep hills to the east. She runs, weight lifts, does a lot of stair master – and packs a very heavy backpack while hiking said steep hills on weekends. Once a year she travels somewhere for altitude, but as someone upthread says, you can slowly acclimatize to altitude onsite.
I haven’t done Kilimanjaro, but I’ve spent some time in Arusha, Tanzania, a town that’s a main jumping off point for Kilimanjaro. Some people acclimatize by hiking the nearby Mt. Meru first – it’s under 15,000 feet.
While in Arusha, I met plenty of people in OP’s age range, who did Kilimanjaro without necessarily having a mountaineering background. They did prepare, physically, and were generally in very good health and condition. All said the climb was a challenge – but none of them regretted it. (Though yes, altitude sickness does stop some from reaching the top.)
“There are over 50 fourteeners in Colorado… no need to go to the one that attracts the most tourists and lowlanders, not to mention cars!”
I don’t remember cars on the trail, nor do I remember hoards of hikers either, it’s a tough hike. Enough people around that you don’t feel isolated, and very hiker friendly.
And nothing like a freshly made donut to top off your trip…and a ride to the bottom to save your knees. Maybe a cup of coffee to go with it (or a beer), and an actual restroom. Don’t find that at the top of most mountains!
@sorghum - I few other points. How are your knees? Descending from that height at this speed puts a huge burden on your knees, and you need to sustain it through the end. Definitely get several high-quality hiking poles, and maybe an extra one is case it gets lost of broken. You may also need something to control pain / inflammation (we always pack Aleve). And of course you’ll be told to take Diamox, but be very careful – it may interact with other medications (for example those that control hypertension), so you need to adjust them in advance.
And, if you’ve never hiked before, you need to get the top-notch hiking shoes, clothing and gear. This alone would make a difference between reaching the summit and getting back down in good shape… or not. Do a lot of research, talk to others, and test everything at home. The most-expensive or brand-name are not always the best. There are no stores on the trail to get or replace anything, so take this part VERY seriously.
Emilybee must not be remembering the details, because there is no one on earth who can easily handle that altitude without acclimatization. What Busdriver said- that climb is serious stuff. Do a lot of research.
I went to the top of Pike’s Peak a few weeks ago on the cog rail train. I had been in Colorado Springs for a couple of days and had been running every day. I’m a very fit 64 year old runner. I’ve climbed some 14ers years ago. When I stepped off that train at the 28 degree peak (64 at the bottom) I was immediately dizzy and whoozy. And, yes, the donut was great!
@MomofWildChild, he didn’t mention anything about it in his email but I doubt this was the first time he has ever been mountain climbing. It’s very likely he trained for it. The email was only about his climb.
I used to go to the Alps and the Rockies’ fourteeners. I would get a headache the first day but was fine the next day. How high is the starting altitude? You may get acclimatized as you go up if not starting too high. If you are starting high, you could get there for a day or two earlier and get used to it. It may be all it takes. Daily altitude change after that may come easy to adjust.
I like the suggestions to try 15,000 feet in the US, with donuts.
For training for altitude you can wear some device that strengthens lung function, basically makes it harder to breathe. Also there is a tent that fits over your bed and reduces air pressure, over a couple of months can build up red blood cell count.
The most offputting thing I read so far is that it is fairly normal for your checked baggage to get stolen at the airport.
Great suggestions so far, that’s what CC is all about!
“For training for altitude you can wear some device that strengthens lung function, basically makes it harder to breathe”
I have heard that some people wear something that looks like scuba or snorkel gear. My husband says he’s seen people stairclimbing with that one. I wonder if that really works. It seems bizarre!
Is there any way to carry on all your luggage, or will it be too much? That would be just awful to go through the trouble to get just the right stuff, and have it stolen when you arrive. Unbelievable! I wonder if you can overnight some things to the hotel, or if that would be way too expensive. Maybe you can carry as much as possible onboard, and just check the unimportant stuff that you can replace. Yeah, go ahead and steal my dirty socks and underwear, sucker!
With my Scottevest clothing, hope we can advertise here, I can carry a heck lot of stuff. They advise to wear a full sef of climbing gear including boots on the plane. That plus the carry on might just about do, if you go light on the photo gear.
Not a doctor, but there is a prescription medication called Diamox that is used to prevent altitude sickness. Ask your doctor about it.
I’ve never been to Kilamanjaro but I’ve done a fair bit of high altitude hiking in the Sierra Nevada range. The best thing to do is to spend a few days acclimating to high altitude just before the hike. I stay at 9,000 feet for a day or two before going up to 10 or 12,000. Drink plenty of water. Eat. You may feel a severe loss of appetite at high altitude. I do. But you have to force yourself to eat.
If you start having trouble breathing, walking or are confused, the only thing to do is to retreat to lower elevation.
