The short answer is – yes.
Being the ultimate adventurous desire for many people who love spending time in nature regardless of age, preferences, lifestyles and fitness levels – reaching the Uhuru peak on Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is tough.
It is gonna be the toughest thing you’re gonna ever do if you’re not an aspiring mountaineer managing your way to get to Mt Everest.
There are a couple of commercial routes used to get to the peak. I went through Machame. I can’t argue for all the other routes, but this one is like a dream theater scenario. The entry is all about the dense rainforests which are all around you all the way until some 3000 meters in altitude. After that, they slowly start to dilute into smaller and smaller vegetation. The last of the bushes and plants you’re gonna see is somewhere around 4500-4700 meters. Pretty incredible if you compare it to the Alps, there is no life above 2500. The area around you is changes so profusely. Gives you a feeling you’ve been leaping from 4 climate areas.
If I would have to locate myself on a scale from 1 to 10 in terms of the willingness to spend time on altitudes above 3500 metres, I’d be somewhere around 3.
Simply because spending time above 3500 metres is naturally hard. It’s suffering by definition. Less oxygen implied terrible headaches for me so far. And irritability. And loss of interest in activities. And whole lotta sensations that made me keep asking why had I gone here whatsoever?
I thought the altitude sickness is gonna avoid me on Kilimanjaro , but hell it didn’t. And I assure you it’s gonna get you, too. You might experience it in different forms, like stomachache or even vomiting, but it will get you.
It’s not only the altitude sickness. There’s a whole spectrum of unpleasant conditions, like dust and sands in your sleeping bags, your backpack, in your clothes. Then there are cold nights. There are troubled sleeping patterns that will come to a climax in this 7-day stay on the mountain.
Nevertheless, these minor disruptions should not discourage you from embracing the great unknowns of the nature. It was hell of a ride right there and I would probably do it again through a different route.
Do you have to be physically fit to make it?
Absolutely yes.
Do you have to be extremely fit, training 5-6 times per week to do it?
Not really.
There were people who could be my grandparents and still made it to the top without major setbacks.
Mount Kilimanjaro is an incredibly beautiful place and probably the most beautiful mountain in the world. So is Tanzania a beautiful country.
If you are interested about specific training and nutrition regiments which WILL enhance the odds of you making it to the top of Kilimanjaro, you better get in touch with me.
All of all, now or never.
Over and out, Imperative fitness.