“Pic of the Week”. December 28, 2012. Sunrise over the Western Icefields, Mt. Kilimanjaro.

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I love being in the mountains!  One of my greatest travel experiences was a trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Mt. Kilimanjaro is a massive free-standing extinct volcano (actually a fusion of 3 volcanoes) in Tanzania, just south of Kenya and near the equator.  It’s the highest peak in Africa (5,895 m or 19,341 ft) and, as such, one of the Seven Summits (highest mountain on each of the seven continents).  Its summit can be reached without technical climbing gear but it’s a long walk up.

Our camp before the night of our ascent to Uhuru Peak was at around 18,000′ (5500 m) above sea level, right beside the glaciers of the Western Icefields.   The light at …

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.All Trips / Africa / Tanzania

Mount Kilimanjaro (Part 3) Summit and Descent

A Trek up Mount Kilimanjaro 3) Summit and Descent

We had spent the past week slowly working our way up the slopes of Kilimanjaro via the Shira route, an experience I’ve previously described in blog posts here and here.  Finally, after a chilly night’s camping beside the Furtwangler Glacier on the Summit Plateau, the Roof of Africa was only a few hours away.

Looking back at the Western Icefields, near the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. You can see our camp being disassembled, bottom right.

Looking back at the Western Icefields, near the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. You can see our camp being disassembled, bottom right.

We were up before dawn, enjoyed hot tea and a light breakfast and were eager to tackle the 800′ climb separating our camp from Uhuru Peak (19,340′). It was slow going in the thin air and steep slope but what an experience to watch the early light of sunrise on the eastern horizon!  The sky above us was mostly …

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Mount Kilimanjaro (Part 2): Ice and Snow

A Trek up Mount Kilimanjaro 2) Ice and Snow

We had ascended the western base of the volcano this past half week, had hiked through jungle and moorland, as I’ve described in a prior blog post here, and were now entering Kilimanjaro’s alpine desert zone, characterized by wide open spaces with sparse, small plants.  We began feeling the altitude as our pulse and breathing grew more rapid in the thin air.  The views were unobstructed and wonderful — it seemed like you could see all of Africa from here.  But in reality we enjoyed the African plains,  the Shira plateau to the west and the iced peak of Kilimanjaro to the northeast.  Often the clouds would roll by thousands of feet below our camp  (Like …

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Mount Kilimanjaro (Part 1) Ascent to Shira

A Trek up Mount Kilimanjaro 1) Ascent to Shira

Mt. Kilimanjaro has fascinated me ever since I read Ernest Hemingway’s classic novella, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro“.  Little did I know as a schoolboy that I would one day walk its slopes.  As it turned out my journey to the Roof of Africa was one of my greatest travel experiences.

Some facts about the mountain:  At 19340 feet (5895 m) above sea level, Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa.   Even though the mountain is near the equator, it’s so tall the summit is always covered by ice and snow (“Kili” means cold.); this snow-pack is an important source of water for the foliage and animals living around its base.  The lower slopes …

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