Kilimanjaro. Alex Stewart
have sufficient change. On Kilimanjaro, there are limited opportunities to spend money but you might find a drink stop or entrepreneurial individual selling souvenirs at the gates, so have a number of small shilling notes to hand. You’ll need dollars to tip the team after the climb is complete.
Language
The official languages of Tanzania are Swahili and English. Swahili, or Kiswahili, has played a major role in uniting the people and solidifying the country’s sense of self. Swahili was adopted as the country’s national language after Tanzania secured independence. It has become the most widely spoken language used by Tanzania’s ethnic groups and provides a degree of commonality. English is widely spoken in the main towns and tourist areas, but is much less common in rural or smaller towns. It is the official language of commerce, administration and higher education.
Swahili is technically a Bantu language, although it has assimilated a number of Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Portuguese and English words. Trade and immigration have influenced and moulded it, and it is now the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa. It is surprisingly easy to learn and is pronounced as it is written, with the stress nearly always on the penultimate syllable. Local people are often delighted if you make the effort to try and speak a little Swahili, even if it is just to say ‘Hello’. Your guides will undoubtedly introduce you to a handful of phrases and essential words, most usefully the Kilimanjaro mantra, ‘pole, pole’, which means ‘slowly, slowly’. A glossary of useful words is provided at the back of this book in Appendix D.
Besides Swahili, there are a host of local languages that can be categorised in four groups: Bantu, Nilotic, Coshitic and Khoisan. The vast majority of Tanzanians speak one of the Bantu languages as their first language. The Maasai are the main speakers of the Nilotic languages.
Maps
There are a number of maps of Kilimanjaro itself available, both in Tanzania and abroad. Specialist map shops in the UK, such as Stanfords (branches in London and Bristol, www.stanfords.co.uk), carry a range of the best trekking maps available. Some of these are also available at the national park headquarters at the Marangu Gate or in the towns of Moshi or Arusha. Most of the maps that are available are general overview maps of the entire mountain and are not really of sufficient detail to be used as trekking maps. Nonetheless, they help to put the mountain and the various routes into context, as well as providing some useful and interesting details.
A revised edition of the ITMB (International Travel Maps) Kilimanjaro map was published in 2006. Drawn at 1:62,500 scale, it shows all of the main trekking routes, campsites, huts and water points. Colour shading to show altitude is combined with 100m contours and spot heights. There is a comprehensive index that lists many of the caves, glaciers, mountain features and surrounding villages, as well as some short text providing additional information about the routes.
You will also come across the Kilimanjaro Map and Guide by Andrew Wielochowski and published by West Col Productions. This double-sided sheet features a 1:75,000 scale topographic trekking map of Kilimanjaro. While similar to the ITMB map, the physical features such as scree slopes, glaciers and cliffs are more clearly shown here. On the reverse there are also more detailed maps of Kibo (1:30,000 scale) and Mawenzi (1:20,000 scale), in addition to text on the routes, climate, flora, fauna and suggestions for essential equipment.
View across the barren Saddle to the Kibo massif (Rongai Route, Mawenzi Tarn Hut to Kibo Huts)
The map of Kilimanjaro-Kibo by Sandra Greulich and Sacha Wettstein was published by Climbing Map in 2008. It is an excellent 1:80,000 map that combines topographic coverage of the mountain with an enlargement for the Kibo crater, a list of GPS waypoints, profiles of the main routes and street plans of Arusha and Moshi.
German publisher Harms Verlag produces a map of Kilimanjaro National Park and the surrounding area at 1:100,000 scale, with Kibo shown as an inset at 1:50,000. Ascent and descent routes are clearly marked, with huts and camps indicated along with altitude.
The Ordnance Survey produced an attractive map of Kilimanjaro at 1:100,000 scale in the early 1990s, although the overlaid route maps are not entirely reliable. Unavailable in the UK since the end of the 1990s, this map can still be found in Moshi and at the park gates.
One of the most readily available maps is the attractive, hand-drawn New Map of the Kilimanjaro National Park, drawn at a scale of 1:125,000, produced by Giovanni Tombazzi and published by Maco Editions in 1998. Although it provides a good overview of the mountain and the routes, it is not so useful as a topographic map.
If you are simply in Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro, then you will have little need of a general road map of the country. Your outfitter will transport you to the trailhead and ensure that you are collected from the end of the track as well.
Equipment
‘We will trek over fifty miles, going from a few thousand feet to over nineteen thousand feet. During the course of our journey temperatures will range from 100 degrees plus at the jungle base to minus 20 degrees at Kilimanjaro’s summit, and we must carry the gear and supplies essential for survival in both extremes. Every ounce must be counted, every square inch of space put to utmost use. To take too much will weigh us down and wear us out on the approach.’
Rob Taylor
Climbing Kilimanjaro is in no way technical and no mountaineering skills or equipment are required to make the ascent. In addition, a team of porters will carry the majority of your kit and supplies, leaving you to simply transport yourselves and a day pack to the next camp. Porters usually carry more than one person’s gear, bound together with string or rope. Several outfitters now supply their charges with kitbags for the climb, so that the bags can be transported and identified more easily. Nonetheless, it is essential that you are properly equipped for all of the different stages on the mountain and that you recognise the need to restrict the size and weight of your rucksack to a manageable limit. There is a very real tendency for people to take far too much clothing and equipment on the climb. Just because you won’t be carrying it is no reason to overload your pack. Besides which, the porters are restricted to carrying 15kg, and if your gear comes to more than they can legitimately carry, you will be forced to hire additional porters at additional cost.
Your choice of equipment is important and can influence your chances of succeeding on the mountain. You must be prepared for all eventualities and have sufficient resources to combat extremes of temperature, exposure and weather. While shorts and t-shirts may be appropriate on the lower slopes, they are not adequate clothing at higher elevations and anything short of a full cold kit on the summit is potentially life threatening. It is worth remembering that while the daytime temperatures can be very high, at night the mountain gets very cold.
Porters with their full packs walking through the forest to Mandara Huts (Marangu Route, Marangu Gate to Mandara Huts)
A warm sleeping bag, and if camping a good ground mat, can drastically improve your chances of getting a reasonable night’s sleep when camping at altitude. You should also expect rainfall at some stage. Waterproof clothing is essential to prevent the disruption of, or even early termination of, your climb: good waterproofs are an indispensable part of any Kilimanjaro climber’s clothing. They are essential for protection against rain or snowfall, but also double up as a windproof outer layer. Jacket and trousers made from waterproof, breathable fabric are ideal for this purpose.
The type of boot that you wear can be critical to your enjoyment and success. Your boots should be comfortable, medium to heavyweight and of a good fit. It is essential that they are well broken in before your departure, in order to minimise the likelihood of you developing blisters during the trek. The boots must provide good ankle support and have thick lug soles that give a degree of cushioning and excellent grip. Leather walking boots or indeed any other type of waterproof boot are ideal, since some of the ascent is through damp, wet forest or heath and the possibility of