TO THE ROOF OF AFRICA IN 128,263 STEPS

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is quite an adventure and, without a doubt, one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I did quite a bit of research before getting on the plane and starting the climb as I wanted to be as ready as I can when I get to the starting line (a.k.a Machame Gate).

In the coming post, I’ll share all I learned from the research I did before embarking on my journey but mostly from the first-hand experiences I gained during my 7 days climb to the roof of Africa.

CLIMBING KILIMANJARO – THE ROUTE

Machame Route MapThere are seven different routes you can take to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Each route is different, and since I don’t plan on climbing all of them, I can only share my thoughts about the route I’ve taken, which is the Machame Route.

The route that I took is the Machame route, also known as the Whiskey route. Machame is the second most popular route on the mountain, after the Marangu (Coca Cola) route.

As you can see on the map, the route starts at the southwest area of the mountain at Machame Gate. The route can take six days minimum to complete. However, seven days is recommended as it allows for better acclimation to the altitude, and it will increase the chances of making it all the way to Uhuru Peak.

I did it in 7 days.

The descent is down Mweka, on the southeast side of the mountain. Because of the ascent in the west and descent down the south, Machame offers great views of Kilimanjaro. Additionally, the Machame route visits stunning places such as Shira Plateau, Barranco, and Lava Tower.

ROUTE NUMBERS – DISTANCES AND ALTITUDE

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Day 1 – Machame Gate to Machame Camp

The first day of the climb starts at Machame Gate. Here you will sign into the climber’s book, have a little lunch, and basically pass the time until the porters will get everything weighed and ready to go. We were supposed to go out with 23 porters, 4 guides, and 1 cook but ended up going out with 24 porters.

That’s 29 crew members for 9 climbers. There is ALOT to carry up that mountain, and you can’t believe how much the porters take on and how easy they make it look.

Once all the bureaucracy is done, the climb starts in the rainforest. The first day is an 11km walk through the forest. It begins with a wide trail that narrows and gets steeper as you advance.

During the walk, you’ll see the mountain peak through the trees, and although it looks much closer than it did from the hotel balcony, it still seems far, far away. Also, be sure to keep your eyes open for monkeys.

After walking for just under 6 hours, we made it to Machame Camp. We got there just before the sunset, and overall, the first day was pretty much a walk in the park. 🙂

When we got to the camp, all was ready for us. We got into the Mess tent for dinner. The food was actually pretty good. We got our oxygen and pulse checked (this is done every night to make sure you can continue the climb), and then we were sent to sleep.

When I got out of the tent, it was the first time I saw the night sky over the mountain. It was just after sunset when we got into the tent, so it wasn’t fully night out, but after 2 hours, the sky lit up with thousands of stars.

Seeing the night sky at a very dark spot with no light pollution is amazing, and it was one of the sights I was most waiting for. It was also the first time I could actually see the milky way in the sky with my own eyes.

It was time to take out the camera and start shooting 🙂

Not great, ah?

I know, that’s what happens when you forget your polariser filter on the camera, and that wasn’t the only problem that night…

After 10 minutes, an armed Tanzanian guard decided we should all go to sleep. There was no reasoning with him as English wasn’t his preferred language of choice, and after talking with our guides, we realized there isn’t much we can do. Apparently, the first camp is guarded by the National Park, so we just packed up and got to bed.

Luckily for me (and them), these guards aren’t guarding any of the other camps, and I’m not planning to forget the fucking filter on the camera in the coming nights. 🙂

Day 2 – Machame Camp to Shira 2 Camp

The second day starts when the porters wake you up, eat breakfast, and get your stuff ready for the climb. There was a great sunrise during the morning with clouds strikes over the mountain peak, so I had to take some shots.

The climb to Shira 2 camp is very different from the climb to Machame Camp. It’s a much steeper climb, and you’re no longer in the rain forest, so you have much better views of what’s around you, which is great, but you’re also exposed to the sun, so covering your head and wearing sunscreen is pretty much a must. You can see the Shira peak to your left during the climb and the Uhuru peak to your right. Quite amazing views when you take the time to break from climbing and really understand where you are and what’s around you.

There are also 2 great hidden spots during the climb that provide you with some AMAZING views, and I hope your guides will let you know about them.

Oh, and don’t forget to take a look behind you as that might surprise you as well. 😉

The second day takes you from an altitude of 2,850 to 3,810, so you’re climbing just about 1,000 meters in height, and the overall distance is only 5km. When you compare it to the first day that takes you from 1,640 to 2,850, an overall distance of 11km (more than double), and when you do the math, you understand that the 2nd day is much steeper than the first day, and this is no longer such a walk in the park. 😉

You can also see it took less than half the steps, and the main thing that shows how hard it was compared to the first day is the active time. I’m not sure how the app makes these calculations, but the pace was much slower with a lot more resting breaks than the first day, and I assume that has much to do with the active time.

This day was the first time I started getting those negatives thoughts that creep into my head. It got quite hard during the last hour or so of the climb, and I had to stop quite a bit from getting some much-needed rest.

One of the best feelings I had during the climb was seeing the camp and knowing the day is over. Shira 2 Camp is very different from Machame camp, and it sits on a much larger area with great vistas to Shira peak on one side and the Uhuru peak on the other side, especially during sunset.

After we got to the camp, we had a little get-together with the team, and our guides introduced us to all the porters that are going to accompany us throughout the climb. This is defiantly among the highlights of the entire trip. The guides and porters sang and danced their asses off for 40 minutes!

The best part was at night as again, we went into the mess tent at sunset and got out after a couple of hours to see the sky full of stars. As I mentioned before, there are no guards here, so no one could interrupt me from taking some shots of the night sky this time. 🙂

Day 3 – Shira 2 Camp to Barranco Camp (Through Lava Tower)

The third day has some great views when you walk out of your tent in the morning. The sun rising behind Uhuru peak casts some great light in the sky, especially on Shira peak.

The third day is one of the most important days of the climb as far as height acclimatization goes. We start the day leaving Shira 2 camp, making our way to Lava Tower which sits at an altitude of 4,630 meters, and than going down to Barranco camp, which sits at an altitude of 3,976 meters.

Climb high and sleep low.

Climbing up to a high altitude and then going down and sleeping at a lower altitude is very good for acclimatization and helps to cope with the height and reduce the chances for altitude sickness.

As you can see from the daily stats, this was a VERY LONG day and felt like it. Walking 14.1km in almost 10.5 hours and recording 21,405 steps. The good thing about it is that the final third of the day was going down, so it’s much easier even though your knees might like climbing more than descending. I know mine did 😉

Although it was the longest day so far, it wasn’t as hard as the previous day. The climb is gradual and not very steep, and the views are out of this world. You start with Shira Peak behind you, and it gets further and further away as you progress through the day, and in front, you can see the Uhuru Peak and how it’s getting closer and closer.

POLE POLE

You can’t climb Mount Kilimanjaro without hearing “Pole Pole” dozens of times a day. It’s pretty much the official slogan of the climb and it means “Slowly, Slowly”.

How slow? I figured a video would make it more clear than any words 😉

The video was taken after the lunch break we had on our way to Lava Tower and as you can see Pole Pole is pretty damn slow and drinking plenty of water its the most important factor in acclimating to the high altitude.

After a short rest at Lava Tower and refilling our water supply (one of the porters took 10-15 liters of water and waited for us at Lava Tower so we can refill our empty water bottles. He made it there 2 hours ahead of us with triple the load we carry) we started our decent to Barranco camp.

Uhuru Peak was now on our left hand side and we were going down into a valley. About half way down clouds started rolling in and engulfing the valley.

It’s quite a view.

The day seemed never to end and there was no camp insight thanks to the fog. Some of the porters made their way up again to meet us and help us with our bags. These guys made it all the way to the camp after taking the previous camp down, building it back up again at a new campsite, and then walking back to meet us to help carry our daily bags.

It’s pretty unreal how easy this all seems to them 🙂

We finally made it to camp and the first thing I wanted to do was change everything I had on me to a new set of cloths. And so I did and it felt pretty fucking awesome. The small things that can make your day on the mountain 😉

As usual, we had our dinner, oxygen and pulse testing and our briefing for what’s coming tomorrow. During this briefing we were told that the next day would start with climbing Barranco Wall. Unfortunately, we had no idea what Barranco wall is since the clouds covered the camp when we got there so we didn’t have a chance to see our surroundings and by the time we got out of the tent, it was pitch dark and the stars filled the sky.

I got my camera out and took some shots before I got too cold and I called it a night.

Day 4 – Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp

The forth day is here and the first thing I see when I get out of the tent is Barranco wall. The same wall we were told we are going to climb over to start the day.

Great way to start the day 🙂

It’s a 250 meter high rock face that is very steep and it’s the first time (and pretty much the only time) I needed to use my hands for climbing. It ain’t technical or complicated, it’s just too steep so you need to use your hands to assist you with climbing most of it.

Very early into our climb the clouds came back after giving us a break for the night and engulfed us the entire time we were walking in the clouds. It was pretty exciting at first and for about 20 minutes or so, but it got pretty annoying.

I knew I was missing on some great views and I really wanted to take some photos once I get to the top of the wall and i’m sure not being inside a cloud would have made the following image very different.

After we finished the 2 hour climb we started our slow decent which took 3 hours after which we had another short climb to the Karanga Camp.

We were completely covered in clouds during the entire walk with visibility limited to just a few meters ahead. The only good thing about this was the cool mist we felt and I just wished that rain won’t start dropping on us. Unfortunately, we did experience a few drops here and there but nothing major.

Once we got to the camp we went into the mess tent for some popcorn and tea. We were super lucky as 5 minutes after we entered the tent heavy rain started outside. It would be not good if we were still on our way to the camp with such rain coming down on us.

That didn’t prevent me from feeling a little depressed. I wouldn’t say I like winter, I wouldn’t say I like rainy days and I wouldn’t say I like it when it’s grey outside and during our forth day we had way too much grey.

When we got out of the tent the clouds started clearing a little and I could see the peak picking through the clouds.

We got back to the mess tent for dinner later and as always, once we got out, all the clouds cleared out and allowed for some great photos.

Day 5, Part 1 – Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp

Day five is upon us. We get up, have breakfast, and start our short walk to Barafu Camp, also known as Base Camp since its the last camp before you start your summit attempt and the highest situated official camp on the mountain at 4,673 meters.

We were climbing almost 700 meters in height at a distance of only 4km and after 4 hours we made it to Barafu Camp.

We had lunch and than we took off to the tents for a short rest. You have great views of Mawenzi Peak from Barafu and I was able to get some nice shots since resting wasn’t really working for me.

We got up at 5 pm and went back to the mess tent for early dinner and briefing about the night we had planned.

Day 5, Part 2 – Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak (Summit)

After the early dinner and all the briefing we had, mainly about what to wear for the summit attempt. We got up at 10 pm after not really sleeping since it just doesn’t really work on the mountain. It’s more resting than sleeping but it didn’t really bother me up until this point.

We had something small to eat, got our shit together and started our climb to the summit at 11 pm. We had 3 porters joining us for the summit attempt to go along with our regular 4 guides to help and assist along the way and carry our stuff.

It’s dark. It’s cold. You can’t see anything and when you look up, you only see the headlamps of those ahead of you and at some point, looking up got pretty damn depressing, so keep that in mind. 😉

OH OH!

The first hour or so was walking until we got to the mountain base, where it got much steeper, and the real deal began. Not long after that, I noticed the guy ahead of me tilting from side to side, and it seemed like he was going to fall or something, so I grabbed him. I mentioned the situation to our head guide, and we had a stop to rest.

It was decided to split our group into 2. One group for those who can keep a normal pace and the 2nd group will take it a little slower.

I was in the first group with 2 other guys, and we had 2 guides and one porter with us.

Our pace was very slow as you can’t really go fast on this climb. It was pretty damn cold even with 5 layers on me (both on my legs and my upper body), and I really felt the cold when we stopped for short rests. The main problem with the cold was my feet so having good and warn socks is a must.

WHAT’S THE TIME?

I clearly remember during the climb, one of the guys asking what’s the time and I told him that I don’t know and I’m afraid to ask. The reason was that it felt like I was walking forever and it was still pitch dark, so I knew I had a lot more to go. Also, I thought that if the guides would say that time is only 2 or 3 am, it might break me, so I preferred not to know that time.

But then they said it.

It was 4:30 am.

I started doing the math in my head. We started at 11 pm; it’s 4:30 now, which means I’m walking for 5 and a half fucking hours so far, which is actually pretty OK as I felt like I was walking for such a long time.

I also knew that sunrise is at 6:30 am and at the altitude we’re in; I would see first light much earlier than that, around 5:30, 5:45, so that actually gave me some new powers and helped me carry on.

DON’T LOOK UP!

At some point, I just decided to stop looking up as seeing all those headlamps above me was depressing as hell. It seemed as if this mountain doesn’t end. So whenever my head decided to look up, I convinced myself that those are not headlamps I see but stars and that the end is near. 🙂

After that, we did start seeing first light, and things got clearer, and we could see further than just a few meters without the headlamp. Sunrise was pretty awesome, and it was so damn hard to take out the camera to take some shots.

THANK GOD, IT’S STELLA!

To cut a long night short, it took us 8 hours to make it to Stella Point, and I felt drained. It really was the hardest thing I did physically and mentally. I wasn’t in any pain, but I just felt exhausted.

This is where all those sleepless nights kicked it. I was too damn tired, and moving each leg seemed like moving a house or something.

BUT, I made it all the way to Stella Point, and it’s only 1km to Uhuru Peak, and there’s no way I’m stopping here. The guides didn’t stop encouraging us, and they actually sang their songs all the way here.

The most depressing thing about going from Stella Point to Uhuru Peak was seeing all those coming down from the peak. They all had huge fucking smiles on their faces, and it seemed as if it was very easy for them while I was struggling quite a bit. 🙂

We had a stop mid-point, and I really felt 110% drained. The guides really pushed me, and I somehow got up and just started walking. I didn’t lookup. I just focused on every step—one step at a time.

And then I saw it—the final destination.

It ain’t something spectacular.

Just 2 big signs at the end of the trail with lots of snow on both sides.

And when I got there, I immediately felt 10 times better. In a matter of a second.

It’s taking pictures time. 🙂

I had so many photo ideas for the peak, but I just forgot most of them when I was there. I also remember trying to take a video with my GoPro, but it didn’t work for some reason. All I had to do was change something in the settings, but I didn’t think about it.

I guess the lack of oxygen up there and the effort it took to get there also contributed.

If you’re planning on doing this, then I’d suggest you write down all the photos you want to take and check that list once you are up there. The problem is you’ll have to remember to check the list, and I don’t have a fix for that. 😉

Day 6, Part I – Uhuru Peak (Summit) to Barafu Camp

After the picture taking was over, we started making our way down. I guess we were at the peak for 10-15 minutes.

Going down was much easier.

I really felt refreshed, as if I had a great night’s sleep.

On the way down to Stella Point, I could enjoy where I was and the amazing views around me.

Once we got to Stella Point the way, we go down changed. Instead of regular walking, we transferred into a sort of sliding, which was great since it’s fun and fast, so if we could keep that up all the way, we would be in camp in no time.

But we had a new problem now. The sun was already up. It was around9 amm, and it wasn’t as cold as it was at night, so having all those layers became a big issue. I could only get rid of the heavy coat I had on since there was nowhere to put all those layers, and it was really fucking hot on the way down.

I wish I could have thought about that in advance 🙂

Not too far down, we met our second group. Those that decided to go up at a slower pace. We said our hellos and wished them the best, and told them they are pretty close. Now I was the fucker that’s going down with a smile on his face while others look like they are about to die or something going up 😉

We just kept sliding down, and after 3 hours, we were back in Barafu Camp. What took us 9 hours to go up took only 3 hours to come down, and once you turn around to look at what you climbed during the night, it really left me speechless for a while.

Now it made sense why the climb to the top is taking place during the night. If you see what you need to climb then, I guess many would give up before even starting.

It is a huge climb.

Back at camp. Time to take off all those freaking layers and it’s a good thing that all the thermal clothing is also quick drying 😉

Time to get some rest until the others get back.

Day 6, Part II – Barafu Camp to Millenium Camp

Once the rest of the group got back to camp, we had lunch, and we had to make it down to a lower camp. You can’t stay at Barafu camp after summit since you need to go down and sleep at a lower altitude, so even so, we were all pretty fucking tired. We didn’t have many options.

Off to Millenium Camp.

A short one and a half hours later, we were at Millenium Camp, and our tents were already waiting for us. Unfortunately, they managed to take the camp apart, walk down ahead of us, and built it back up before we got there.

These guys are fast. 🙂

We had dinner, and although the skies were clear, I was too damn tired to take any photos.

I got in my tent and went to sleep.

Day 7 – Millenium Camp to Mweka Gate

I woke up 10 minutes before the porters were supposed to wake us up and realized I just slept for the entire night without any interruptions. That was the first full night sleep I had on the mountain without waking up in the middle of the night.

Best sleep I had on the mountain, by far.

I guess climbing to the summit that’s all I needed to do to have a good night’s sleep. 😉

We got up, had breakfast, got our shit together, and then said our goodbyes to the porters and the team with some singing and dancing with the summit in the background.

After all the dancing and singing was over, we all signed our names on the Israel Flag we had with us and gave it to the guides as a present and something to remember us by.

Now all that is left is to walk for 13.5 km to Mweka Gate.

Going down, we could see a blanket of clouds covering the forest that lies beneath.

We passed Mweka Camp and got into the forest. At some point, we got into the clouds that we saw before, and walking through the foggy forest was pretty amazing.

The pictures don’t do it justice. It really felt like a wonderland or something.

After nearly 5 hours, we made it to Mweka Gate, and the climb has now officially over. 🙂

Equipment & Tips

If you’re thinking about climbing Kilimanjaro yourself in the future then stay tuned for the equipment & tips section that will be added here soon 🙂

If you have comments or questions, feel free to let me know by commenting below.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro isn’t a technical climb, and all you need to do is walk your way to the summit (and use your hands at Barranco Wall, but that’s pretty much it). This is one of the main reasons so many attempt and many succeed climbing the mountain and making it all the way to Uhuru Peak.

With that said, you still need to get yourself ready for the climb and have the necessary equipment that will make it easier and more comfortable. There is nothing like personal experience, so here are my personal thoughts about the equipment you’ll need to climb Kilimanjaro.

  • LARGE RUCKSACK – This would be carried by the porters and will contain all the stuff you don’t need on you during the walk. It should be 70-90 liters capacity but keep in mind that it can’t weight more than 15 kilograms / 33 pounds as that is the weight limit the porters are allowed to carry. I used Osprey Waypoint 85. It’s an awesome bag that I bought back in 2012 and traveled the world for 6 months with and I’ve been using the day pack that comes with it everyday since. One of the best purchases I’ve made.
  • DAY BAG – This bag is for your personal use on the mountain during the climb so this would go with you all the time. It should be 25-35 liters capacity but more importantly, it should be comfortable. I used the Karimor Hydro 30. It’s a bag my brother bought about a decade ago and suggested I’ll take it along with me. I didn’t want to at first since it isn’t built for photography and I have a Kata DR-465I backpack but after getting the AGUA to carry my camera I decided to go with Karimor and it was a great decision. The bag is designed for this type of stuff and it really made it much easier to carry my stuff with me. It also allows for carrying a water pack which is great and highly recommended as its much easier to carry than water bottles.
  • WATERPROOF COVER – You won’t need a rain cover for your large rucksack as the porters have their own big rain proof sacks that they will put your bag inside. You might want to have a rain cover for your day pack as it could rain during the climb and you better be safe than sorry 🙂
  • SLEEPING BAG – You’ll need a minus 10 degrees centigrade rating or colder sleeping bag. Unless you have one already I would recommend you get one from the company you’re going to climb with. That’s what I did as I didn’t see the point in buy a new sleeping bag just for this trip (I don’t plan on sleeping in such low temperatures on a regular basis) and its much cheaper. Plus, I didn’t have to carry it with me from home and back home. The sleeping bag that was provided for me was clean and in perfect condition.
  • SLEEPING MATTRESS – Sleeping mats are not required as they will be provided for you. At least that was the case for me and i’m pretty sure that goes for all the other companies climbing the mountain.
  • PILLOW – A pillow is not a must. I didn’t use one but I kind of wish I did. As I mentioned sleeping on the mountain isn’t very easy so having a pillow can go along way instead of just resting your head on the mattress.

PHOTOGRAPHY

As you can probably see from the images above, taking photos was one of my main goals for this climb.

The issue was with having enough power to last me the entire 7 days of the climb. There is no option to charge any power devices on the mountain so you’ll have to bring all that with you. I ended up having 9 batteries for my GoPRO and 9 batteries for my Sony NEX-7.

  • POWER BANK – I also bought a PowerADD power bank that I could use to recharge stuff on the mountain and I did end up using it to recharge my GoPRO batteries and my iPhone. I had a Mophie space pack which also gave me some more power for my iPhone. Overall, I wasn’t using my iPhone for anything other than tracking my daily steps. It was always in Airplane mode and I only took a few photos and one video during the entire climb. The battery holds up pretty well when you’re not really using your iPhone 🙂 Only problem is during the night when it gets very cold. When I left the iPhone outside of the sleeping bag it lost 20% during the night while only losing 2-3% during the entire day. You should cover it with something warn and keep it inside the sleeping bag and as close to your body as possible in order to reduce the battery lose during the night. When I did that it only lost 8% (give or take).
  • SOLAR PANELS – Another option is using solar panels and I’ve seen plenty of climbers use them during the climb. I can’t recommend anything specific as I haven’t use any myself but from the research I did these seemed to be the best you can get. Combine a solar panel with a power bank and you’re all set as you’ll have plenty of sun on the mountain to give you more than enough power that will last you for the entire climb.
  • TRIPOD – If you’re into photography than one of the biggest highlights of climbing Kilimanjaro is the night sky and in order to take great photos of the milky way you will need a tripod. I brought 2 tripods with me, one small that I could carry with me during the day and another big tripod that I planned on using during the night. Problem was that my big tripod weighted 4 kg so I had to keep it behind in order to keep my rucksack weight under 15 kg. It wasn’t such a big deal as my small tripod did the job very well but it was the first time I could really appreciate the added value in having a carbon tripod and that reduces the weight in half, but it also doubles the price 😉 Overall, a small travel tripod is more than enough in my opinion and there is no need to bring a big bulky tripod.
  • MEMORY CARDS – A 32 GB card should be more than enough to keep all the images you’re taking during the climb unless you’re planning on shooing plenty of 4K video. If that’s the case, you might need more. I had 2 64GB cards, one for my GoPRO and one for my Sony NEX-7 and it was more than enough since I didn’t shoot any 4K video.

CLOTHING

  • WATERPROOF JACKET
  • SUN HAT
  • WATERPROOF WALKING BOOTS – Boots are very important as you’re going to be walking in them for a long time. Do yourself a favor and don’t come to the climb with a brand new pair of boots, make sure you already walked in them and that they are comfortable.
  • THERMAL CLOTHING – It’s going to get cold on the mountain and it will get colder the higher you especially during the night. You’re going to need thermal clothing in order to handle the low temperatures. I had 2 thermal shirts, 2 thermal pants, and 2 pairs of thermal socks. Keep in mind you’re not going to shower during the climb so having the option to change clothes is pretty good.
  • FLEECE GLOVES
  • LIGHTWEIGHT WALKING PANTS
  • UNDERWEAR – I only took 2 underwear with me for the climb and that was only thanks to the fact I was wearing exofficio underwear. They are great and highly recommended 🙂
  • COAT OR THICK FLEECE – This is mainly for summit night. I had a ski coat that I only used during summit night. It is going to be really cold and you will need to wear 4 or 5 layers in order to keep you warm. I had 5 layers on summit night; 2 tight thermal shirts, 1 loose thermal shirt, medium thick fleece and the ski coat.

WATER

Drinking plenty of water is a must while climbing Kilimanjaro as it helps reduce the chance of getting altitude sickness. As a rule, each of us carried 3 liters of water every day during the climb. We got our bottles refilled every morning by the porters. As far as carrying the water, there is a new rule on the mountain that you can’t use any regular plastic water bottles as they found too many of them being thrown away on the mountain. You’re going to need to use your own bottles so I recommend you come prepared as buying such bottle on location would be a little expensive as the locals will take advantage of this new rule. If you ask me, I would highly recommend you get a water bag instead of carrying water bottles. It is much easier to carry and will reduce the load on your back during the climb. I had a 2 liter water bag inside my bag and another 1 liter bottle. Having at least one bottle is good as you’re not climbing all day and in the camp/tent it is easier to drink from the bottle than a water bag.

  • MINERALS – I added minerals to my water. A great added bonus was that it also gave the water a lemon flavour. It is much easier to drink the water when they taste good as opposed to the chlorine flavour they have due to the water purification tablets the porter sue to purify the water.

HYGIENE

You’re not going to shower for the duration of your climb. Just wanted to get that out there 🙂

No showers, no running water.

Wet wipes are a must. Hand sanitizer would be a very good thing to have in order to clean your hands.

  • CONTACT LENSES –  I use contact lenses and I was afraid I won’t be able to use them at high altitude due to the lack of oxygen but it turns out that it wasn’t a problem. I used the contact lenses during the entire climb and had no issues. I didn’t even use the eye drops I had with me in case my eyes go too dry.

TOILET

On the mountain, it is called “sending a message” and you have 2 kind of messages. A short message and a long message. I’ll let you figure out what each one means 😉

For us guys, sending a short message is no issue at all and you can do it wherever you want during the climb. The same goes for a long message, just find a secluded spot and send it away. On the campsites, you have little wooden huts with a hole in the ground, also known as “sniper pits”.

They work OK and I used them all the time for sending my messages when in camp, the only problem is the smell. It stinks. BIG TIME. So keep that in mind. Ladies, I don’t envy you when it comes to sending messages on the mountain 😉

HEALTH

Take a first aid kit with you. Add all kinds of meds you can get. It’s better to be safe than sorry and you never know what might creep up on you during the climb.

  • SUNSCREEN – The sun is brutal is up there even if it doesn’t feel like it. I forget to put sunscreen on my face for one day and I’m still peeling it off now 😉
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