A few years ago I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the roof of Africa by virtue of being the tallest mountain there.  I have written about how I prepared, what I wore for the climb, and how each day was from day 1 to reaching Uhuru Peak (Kili’s summit) to coming down the mountain.  However, one of the things I have not written about directly is one of the questions I commonly get asked:  “how hard is it to climb Kilimanjaro?”

I get the question directly but I also it in a different way:  when people look at me like I did an almost impossible feat.  I get that it is not something most people do hence why it is a feat of a kind. But to me there are crazier and/or harder things (it is all relative, isn’t it??).  So I wanted to share a little of my perspective on how hard it is to climb Kili.

The first time I saw Kili outside of the Honey Badger Lodge – such an amazing mountain!

A photo shared in my earlier post showing what I took with me (for the climb and subsequent safari)

A bucket list item that never was:  Kilimanjaro

I never planned or thought of climbing Kilimanjaro.  It had never occurred to me even as a fleeting thought.  Nowhere in the radar.  I had barely heard or read of people who had done it.  Nor was I a big hiker to begin with (I had never slept in a tent until my first night on Kili!).  My first multi-day hike ever had been the year before I climbed Kili when I hiked four days in the Transylvanian Alps in Romania with Trekking for Kids (TFK).  This all changed one night at a fundraiser for TFK a few months later.

At this event, folks started egging me on to join them in a few months later on the climb Kilimanjaro with TFK.  I considered the whole idea preposterous. I felt tremendously ill-suited for something so physically demanding.  “Climbing Kilimanjaro is too hard,” I thought.  While I exercise regularly and consider myself to be generally fit, I was not running half marathons (had done it once a dozen years before) nor doing bootcamps a few days a week nor anything of the like.

Climbing Kilimanjaro was for the super athletes of the world.  I was far from being that though I knew I was in slightly better shape than the average person.  But, a lot of cajoling, elbowing, and a couple (or 4) glasses of wine later, I succumbed to friendly group pressure and banter.  I said yes.  In a way, I was feeling excited that I would attempt something so ‘crazy’ and out of my comfort zone (always a good thing to do every now and then).

The next morning I woke up and incredulously remembered the prior night’s events.  I was asking myself why I had agreed to undertake this ludicrous effort instead of politely saying I’d think about it.  Well, I am not one to disappoint so I decided I was going to give it a shot after all.  I decided that not because I thought that I had what it took.  In fact, I thought it would take a LOT of training time I did not have.  Training at altitude I also did not have easy access to.  And requiring plenty more hiking experience at altitude or not that I did not possess…

Ready to start the climb – clean, well-prepared, and eager!

Getting ready for climbing Kilimanjaro

A million questions started swirling in my head once I accepted I was indeed going to stick to this.  SO many question!  How do I best prepare?  What do I need to bring with me?  What do I need to wear to deal with the cold?  Can I do anything to improve my chances at the doing well under exertion?  Can I do anything to help me be ready for the high altitude?  What did I need to know in terms of my personal safety?  How much was it going to cost me when it was all said and done?  And on and on.

I was fortunate to have been doing the expedition to Kili with an outfit like TFK.  They provided a good bit of info to help us prepare ourselves, and gladly answered all my questions as I researched things and acquired the things I needed.  I even remember being at REI looking at stuff.  I called TFK’s Director of Operations, an all-around hiking guru.  And started asking many questions to understand the options, look at items, see if the items’ features were really needed, and all that sort of good stuff.  It was not easy but having access to expert knowledge helped make these key decisions, Especially when spending is required and one has to be careful what one spends the hard-earned money on!!

I won’t repeat here all the things I decided to do in terms of preparation or to pack in terms of the best clothing options and non-clothing items to bring; I will provide links to those posts below.  But now I will address here the “how hard” question…

So how hard is it to climb Kilimanjaro then?

Hiking to the summit of a 19,340 foot mountain is not something to be undertaken lightly.  OK, perhaps if you are a superstar athlete or have the right genes you can… but most of us do not fit that category.  Actually, I take that back:  even being a superstar athlete does not guarantee you will make it to the top of the mountain or even to the rim of the volcano (Stella Point for our route up).

Physical conditioning is only part of what is needed to make it to Uhuru Peak, the summit.  It will most CERTAINLY help you tons. I experienced difficulties after the intimidating Barranco Wall and, of course, summit night for not being in the best possible shape.  However, the other key factor affecting your chances of success is, well, simply how your body deals with the high altitude and lower oxygen levels.

The good news: you can do a couple of things that help a tad.  Nevertheless, you have to have an OK fitness level.   You WILL be exerting your body through a few hours a day of walking and gradual climbs, mixed with some steeper climbs at certain points!

Leaving the Lava Tower looks harder than it was (Day 3)

Training at altitude would help but, from what I understand, the body’s adjustment to altitude dissipates within a few days/a week so that may not be logistically possible for most (if money and time were no object, of course, one would train at high altitude in another continent for a week or two and head straight to climb Kili without wasting days in between – not a likely approach for most).  I did not do any high altitude / long climbs as part of my training due to many constraints but certainly they can only help so if you are able to do some of that in the weeks before, then your fitness level will be better.

Heading to Barafu Camp from where we would launch to the summit (Day 5)

Part of my training as I share elsewhere was walking on a treadmill on a high incline with a backpack loaded with twice the weight I would carry on the mountain.  It was an odd sight at the gym for sure but it helped physically if not just mentally…  That and the fact that I am in general good shape through routine exercise were in my favor but I still struggled summit night (who doesn’t?) and after the Barranco Wall.

Climbing along (not up) the Barranco Wall had its challenging spots (me in orange!) (Day 4)

A little while after the Barranco Wall (OK, an hour or so), we got hit by a little rain

Kilimanjaro was far from easy (each day I would end completely drained and able to move but barely). But I feel it is a reasonable, attainable goal for people with a fair degree of training/fitness.  And with the drive to push themselves beyond what they think they can do.  Yet, with all that, it will still all depend on how the high altitude hits each particular individual.  And that reaction cannot be predicted.

I have to say that MOST CERTAINLY going with a great organization (in my case, a non-profit like Trekking for Kids) and having a one-of-a-kind extremely seasoned lead guide as we had (Luis Benitez – read about him here) were key success factors in helping ME complete the journey from planning to trekking to summitting.  And making it down in one piece!

What was the hardest part about climbing Kilimanjaro?

It is a hard question to answer.  We are all so different.  My answer may not be yours.  Things I can think of include:

• the cold, especially at summit night,
• the longing for a nice glass o’ wine or a beer (OK, I threw that in for comic relief),
• the badly needing to get up to pee in the middle of the night (if taking Diamox – or not),
• the constant packing and unpacking, inflating and deflating,
• the not showering,
• the bathroom situation at camp and on the trail,
• the rocks to climb requiring longer legs than I have,
• the having a sick tent-mate and wondering for days if you will catch it and not be able to summit,
• etc.

(NOTE:  Observe that food is not on this list of possible “hard” things.  I ate great stuff thanks to our great porters and crew!)

But, frankly, all these things are overcomeable.  For instance, while I used wipies every day to sort of clean up after a day of hiking, I had no such thing for the hair.  Yet not even ONCE on the mountain did I think that it had been days since I had washed my hair last.  Those who know me will know how incredible THAT sounds.

Kilimanjaro:  Hard climb but special

That’s what makes going up Kili something special.

YES, it is hard in many ways. Indeed, physically, no matter how well trained you are (with those rare exceptions).  But the hardest part is the mental part.  When you wonder if you really can make it all the way.  And when you wonder whether you want to – on one of those rare moments when you are too tired to think straight.

The hardest part is keeping going, putting one foot in front of the other when you think you can step no more.  But you can.  And you will.  Pole, pole.  Slowly, slowly – our internal Swahili chant.  And you will be so amazed when it is all done that you actually did it.  That you had it in you.  I never knew I did.  But I did.  And I found out through this amazing experience…  I am eternally grateful for those folks at that fundraiser who egged me on. Because the sense of achievement and the self-discovery was truly a gift received – or earned, actually 🙂

And this is the face of happiness at 19,340 ft above sea level at the summit, with my family close to me.

At Uhuru Peak, the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro!!  (with the short-lived too-reflective sign; it’s gone now)

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Some key links to other posts I have written here based on my experience of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro:

Gear for Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro Clothing

Preparing to Hike Kili: More than Training and Gear

Top 14 Items to Bring on a Climb of Kilimanjaro

And if you want to read a day-by-day walkthrough of what it is to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, start with Day 1.

And if you just like hiking in general, check out some of my posts about hiking in different places around the world!

Hiking in the state of Georgia: Blood Mountain

Hiking in the Transylvanian Alps in Romania

Trekking the W Circuit in Patagonia

Doing the Camino de Santiago in Spain

A Hike around Fitz Roy in Argentina

Would love to hear from you about places you hope to hike or favorites past hikes – always good to get ideas from others for future hikes!!