I turned 45 on Kilimanjaro this past July. I had an incredible time. Pls see my you tube....best,
--bill



http://youtu.be/Abk80yIK_Tw

Bill:

If you live to be 100, you only see the sun rise 36,500 times in your life, only a handful of which you remember.

You never forget the morning you see the sun rise as you summit Kili.

It is stunning more AR members don't try it.

Congrats on your summit.

My turn comes next Aug whilst I am in Tanzania. If successful, it will be the best trophy Africa has ever given me.

Cool way to celebrate 45 years on this old rock by climbing that one! Well done!

Bill,


Congratulations!!!! What route did you use? My husband leaves September 2, 2013 using the Shira-Western Breach route.

Excellent video.

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:
Congrats on your summit.

My turn comes next Aug whilst I am in Tanzania. If successful, it will be the best trophy Africa has ever given me.

Guy does a winter a ascent of Rainer and wonders if he will be successful...hell, you don't even need crampons for this baby!

A small segment of super fit people just can't deal with 19K, but I don't think you are one of them.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:
Congrats on your summit.

My turn comes next Aug whilst I am in Tanzania. If successful, it will be the best trophy Africa has ever given me.

Guy does a winter a ascent of Rainer and wonders if he will be successful...hell, you don't even need crampons for this baby!

A small segment of super fit people just can't deal with 19K, but I don't think you are one of them.

I am certainly looking forward to it. To summit that hill is more important to me than any buffalo, elephant or leopard I could pay to shoot.

It's a "must have" for me in my life. I've climbed many hills that are WAY more difficult, but none as sentimentally important to me..if that makes any sense.

Planning on a winter accent of Hood next. Should be fun!

There's an Auburn University sticker on the sign at the summit, placed there by a twenty something young man from my home town. I plan to replace the sticker in 2014 on the occasion of my 40th bday.

quote:

Originally posted by safari-lawyer:
There's an Auburn University sticker on the sign at the summit, placed there by a twenty something young man from my home town. I plan to replace the sticker in 2014 on the occasion of my 40th bday.

How long ago? I have a pic of the sign on top but that sign has since been replaced. I think I like the old one better.

Hi All,

thank you for the well wishes and congrats. I did the Lomosho route...little longer but well worth for the scenery and time to get acclimated to the altitude. Pole, Pole is a Swahili word you will hear one and over, meaning slowly, slowly. You win by coming in last...thus being a pedestrian is in the vogue on the mountain!

wishing scottyboy and safari-lawyer the very best with your climb as AnotherAZWriter will tell you, at the summit of Uhuru, you will feel like a rock star....the rush of adrenaline and emotions are indescribable.

next, Mt. Elbrus....happy labor day to all!

Congratulations!! Thanks for sharing the video, looks beautiful there!

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by safari-lawyer:
There's an Auburn University sticker on the sign at the summit, placed there by a twenty something young man from my home town. I plan to replace the sticker in 2014 on the occasion of my 40th bday.

How long ago? I have a pic of the sign on top but that sign has since been replaced. I think I like the old one better.

Within the last year.

Cool, I plan to climb the kili in the next years, too.

@all

Which route would you recommend?

Caracal, I did the Lemosho route...the scenery was incredible and the traffic for the first 4 days was low, scenery spectacular. My friend did the Rongai Route and loved it....good luck!

http://www.kilimanjaroroutes.com/index.htm

Caracal,

Attached is a link with the descriptions of the various routes.

Looks like a good hike, but do you really believe you are in the same league as Jon Krakauer? Friend off mine was the first Canadian to climb Everest, back in the eighties, and the achievement wouldn't mean nearly as much today. Got enough money and someone will push, pull, or drag you wherever your heart takes you.

Grizz

Nope not in same league as Krakauer, never want or claim to be; the book was merely something to read during the down time......like hunting, the thrill of kili was in the planning, anticipation, dreaming; the summit was just the icing on the cake.

your buddy is truly a pioneer and agree with you about the money part, everest is too commercialized as with most adventures. Love to hear your buddies story....

http://buriedinthesky.com/


This is really a GREAT book about K2 and the incident when all the climbers were killed.

Kili is a great climb & an incredible experience. I did it in 1998 @ 47. If you go, I'd highly recommend the Shira Plateau route via the western
breach. High camp is at 18500, so you've got a lot shorter climb (to 19340) on summit day. Also, the longer trip allows more days to acclimatize to the increasing altitude. No, the climb is not technical (neither are Elbrus and some Aconcagua routes) but conditioning is important and altitude sickness can be a real problem that anyone, regardless of fitness level, can get. Feel free to pm me if anyone needs more detail.

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams:
Looks like a good hike, but do you really believe you are in the same league as Jon Krakauer? Friend off mine was the first Canadian to climb Everest, back in the eighties, and the achievement wouldn't mean nearly as much today. Got enough money and someone will push, pull, or drag you wherever your heart takes you.

Grizz

Grizz:

I don't know why you brought up Krakauer...

Money helps climb Everest, but not everyone can get short roped up. I enjoyed Krakauer's book, but he clearly had a hard for Sandy Pitman and seemed green with envy that she was wealthy.

You are so right, Grizz. And for those out there that think money can buy summit success on Everest, they need to look at the stats. Only around 29% of those that attempt the mountain succeed. And, don't forget over 200 deaths on Everest.

txsouthpaw, you are lucky...they closed the western breach a couple of years ago due to a freak accident...it would have been a gorgeous hike.

http://www.mountkilimanjarogui...-western-breach.html


cavu67,

My husband is going on the western breach. The
company he is booked with is www.wildernesstravel.com They use the Shira-Western Breach route and camp at 18,500.

http://www.wildernesstravel.co...ri-kilimanjaro-climb


Link to the Western Breach itinerary.

Kathi, your husband will have a great trip. I used Mountain Madness with that itinerary. He won't be disappointed...

txsouthpaw,

Thank you. We were supposed to do this trip together in 2007 when he turned 50, but he traded Kilimanjaro for an elephant hunt.

Now with my mother-in-law having alzheimers and dementia we both cannot be away from home for that many days. After the climb, I will be joining him for the photo safari part of the trip.

http://www.outsideonline.com/o...2/Take-a-Number.html


Outside Magazine has a fantastic story and photos of Everest. The photos have hundreds of climbers and guides attempting to climb. Well worth the read.