Climbing Kili: An Overview
As I said in my previous post, climbing Kili was my favorite part of our African Adventure. Here's the lowdown on the logistics:
We took the 6-day Machame Route (5 days up, 1 day down). Machame is reputed for being the most scenic route, though it is not the easiest. It is also the best route for acclimatization, meaning it has the highest rate of successful summiters. Unfortunately, Machame is growing in popularity, so it is also one of the most crowded trails. Fortunately, we went in the off season, so we did not experience the crowds.
The entire Machame circuit is approximately 100 kilometers, and I can safely say that most of those kilometers are filled with some of the most spectacular and unique landscapes I've ever seen.
Day 1: Machame Gate (alt = 1490m/4888ft) to Machame Camp (alt = 2980m/9776ft)
Distance = 18 kilometers (mostly gradual uphill with some steep parts & some steps)
Time = 6 hours
Habitat = Mountain Forest (felt a little rainforesty)
Day 2: Machame Camp to Shira Camp (3840m/12,598ft)
Distance = 9 kilometers (steep uphill boulder steps - big steps - the entire way)
Time = 6.5 hours
Habitat = Alpine Heath to Alpine Moor
Day 3: Shira Camp to Lava Tower (4630m/15,190ft) to Barranco Camp (3950m/12,959ft)
Distance = 15 kilometers (gradual uphill to Lava Tower, gradual downhill to Barranco)
Time = 7 hours
Habitat = Alpine Moor to Alpine Semi-desert
Day 4: Barranco Camp to Barafu Camp (4550m/14,927ft)
Distance = 13 kilometers (straight up the Barranco Wall, then gradual uphill to Barafu)
Time = 6.5 hours
Habitat = Alpine Desert
Day 5: Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak (5895m/19,340ft) to Mweka Camp (3100m/10,170ft)
Distance = 7km ascent, 13km decent (straight uphill over scree, then straight down scree, then downhill through desert, semi-desert, moor, heath, and end at forestline)
Time = 15 hours
Habitat = Barafu to Summit is Stone Scree and Ice-Capped Summit
Day 6: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate (1980m/6496ft)
Distance = 15 kilometers (downhill)
Time = 3 hours
Habitat = Mountain Forest
We took the 6-day Machame Route (5 days up, 1 day down). Machame is reputed for being the most scenic route, though it is not the easiest. It is also the best route for acclimatization, meaning it has the highest rate of successful summiters. Unfortunately, Machame is growing in popularity, so it is also one of the most crowded trails. Fortunately, we went in the off season, so we did not experience the crowds.
The entire Machame circuit is approximately 100 kilometers, and I can safely say that most of those kilometers are filled with some of the most spectacular and unique landscapes I've ever seen.
Day 1: Machame Gate (alt = 1490m/4888ft) to Machame Camp (alt = 2980m/9776ft)
Distance = 18 kilometers (mostly gradual uphill with some steep parts & some steps)
Time = 6 hours
Habitat = Mountain Forest (felt a little rainforesty)
Day 2: Machame Camp to Shira Camp (3840m/12,598ft)
Distance = 9 kilometers (steep uphill boulder steps - big steps - the entire way)
Time = 6.5 hours
Habitat = Alpine Heath to Alpine Moor
Day 3: Shira Camp to Lava Tower (4630m/15,190ft) to Barranco Camp (3950m/12,959ft)
Distance = 15 kilometers (gradual uphill to Lava Tower, gradual downhill to Barranco)
Time = 7 hours
Habitat = Alpine Moor to Alpine Semi-desert
Day 4: Barranco Camp to Barafu Camp (4550m/14,927ft)
Distance = 13 kilometers (straight up the Barranco Wall, then gradual uphill to Barafu)
Time = 6.5 hours
Habitat = Alpine Desert
Day 5: Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak (5895m/19,340ft) to Mweka Camp (3100m/10,170ft)
Distance = 7km ascent, 13km decent (straight uphill over scree, then straight down scree, then downhill through desert, semi-desert, moor, heath, and end at forestline)
Time = 15 hours
Habitat = Barafu to Summit is Stone Scree and Ice-Capped Summit
Day 6: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate (1980m/6496ft)
Distance = 15 kilometers (downhill)
Time = 3 hours
Habitat = Mountain Forest
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