Mt Kilimanjaro versus Ironman. My own experience.
With Ironman racing now in the rear view mirror due to a damaged knee that ended my running career, I’ve turned to other bucket lists activities to keep me going. Like many EN athletes before me (Scott Dinhofer, Mariah Bridges, Franz Ri, etc.) I decided to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in the spirit of “doing cool things with my fitness.”
So along with my youngest son and daughter in law, Brandon and Ashley Hough, we decided upon the 8 day Lemosho Route using Ultimate Kilimanjaro as our tour operator (you cannot hike Kili without a licensed guide). The average success rate to reach Uhuru Peak at 19,341 feet is 66%, but the real figure is directly related to the number of days you take to reach the top. The name of the game is altitude acclimation and longer routes have a greater chance of success. The 8 day Lemosho route has a 90%+ success rate and everyone in our group of 16 made it to the top although some faster and some a little slower. If you are going to spend the money on this adventure then it’s worth paying for a longer trek to maximize your chance of reaching the very top.
Cost per person. Kili has a reputation as the “Poor Man’s Everest” because it is much more accessible and vastly cheaper, but that doesn’t mean it’s cheap. Below is a breakdown of typical costs for an 8 day hike. Shorter routes cost more and vice versa. If you add a safari or other activities the price will quickly go higher.
$3000 – Operator fee for 8 Day Route
$2000 – Airfare. Could be more or less depending on where you live
$300 -- Vaccines and preventative meds not covered by insurance
$250 – Guide and porter tips
$200 – Travel insurance (mandatory)
$100 – Visa fee to enter Tanzania
$100 – Extra hotel night (tour fee includes one night before and after the hike)
$1500 – Equipment and hiking gear
$250 – Souvenirs – more or less (I spent more)
` $7500 – TOTAL
Most of the operator fee goes to daily park permits and for guides, cooks and porters (the real heroes of the climb). Our group of 16 was supported by 2 lead guides, 5 assistant guides, 2 cooks and 53 porters for a total of 78 people that would ascend to base camp although only clients and guides would summit.
We elected to go during the holidays with the trek beginning on 26 Dec, the summit on 1 Jan, and completion on 2 Jan. I arrived in Moshi on Christmas Eve and left Friday 3 Jan. January is one of the dry months and we thought it would be neat to summit on New Year’s Day. Apparently, so did several hundred others so take that into consideration in your planning. On the other hand, the weather on the second half of our hike was nearly perfect and summit day was glorious apart from the bitter cold.
Comparison to Ironman. Day after day, I compared the hike to Ironman. Training wise, Ironman wins hands down. Anyone with good general fitness, no fear of heights, and adaptability to high altitude can do this. However, I saw my first evacuation for altitude sickness on Day 3 and it continued from there on in. The hiking was more difficult than I expected as we had incredible mud on Day 1, constant stepping up and over roots, rocks, and very little that I would consider to be an “improved trail”. Still, there is nothing technical about the climb as there are no ropes, bolts, picks, or any such thing required. The most technical aspect is the Barranco wall which requires a lot of hands on rock climbing. We started the wall climb on Day 5 which is shown in this video (24 secs to 2:18). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFTfKzUUiaQ
Through Day 6, I still thought Ironman was harder although sleeping in a tent at high altitude in cold temperatures is certainly not my thing. If the sun was out, it almost instantly warmed up, and vice versa. With little atmosphere between you and the sun, it was easy to get burned as several members of our group could attest.
On Day 7, I would learn the true measure of the mountain and how hard an endeavor this really was. We had an early dinner on Day 6 and were wakened at 11pm to prepare for a midnight start. On the stroke of midnight, our camp and every group at the Barafu base camp erupted in New Year’s celebration by banging pots and pans and wishing us good luck as we started our climb from 15,000 feet with the goal of reaching the summit near sunrise. With all the groups going up in the dark, it was like a slow moving conga line lit up by hiker head lamps going up the mountain in the bitter cold and wind with no place to hide. It didn’t take long before we started seeing people being escorted down the mountain with high altitude sickness. That only got worse as we went higher and higher. Above 18,000 feet I was wheezing with exertion and felt beyond tired. I started thinking about how good it would feel to take a short nap in the snow but our guides made sure that no one dozed.
As dawn approached, it was clear we were going to make it, although I was resting on my hiking poles each time we stopped. We soon came across Stella Point when we reached the crater rim, then continued up the trail until we reached the actual summit at 0715. The exertion momentarily passed as we took celebratory photos and then came the trek down. As the adrenaline wore off, I saw a lot of people in bad shape being supported by their guides. It took about 4 hours to make the descent back to base camp which I reached at noon. At this point, we saw a person being hustled down the mountain on a stretcher born by 6 porters. I was still wheezing with every step going down as the effect of the altitude really got to me. That gave me 2 hours for a short nap, time to pack up, eat lunch, then depart base camp to head to Mweka Camp at 10,000 feet. So at 2pm I left with a guide to drop another 5,000 feet. With my bum knee and a grueling hike down a rocky, dry stream bed, I reached Mweka at 6:30 pm and the slightest exertion had me gasping for breath. I finally got to bed after dinner at 9pm having been up for 22 hours of which the majority was hiking at high altitude.
On the final day we dropped another 5,000 feet in several miles to exit Kilimanjaro National Park and catch a bus back to our hotel. I was still wheezing but much more lightly than on Day 7. Meanwhile, the descent turned my quads to mush. After summiting on Day 7, we dropped nearly 15,000 feet in just over 24 hours. That was almost as grueling as the summit climb. Final verdict: Mt Kilimanjaro is harder than Ironman!! It’s also one of the highlights of my life. If you are looking for a new adventure, this is one to consider putting on your bucket list.
Comments
Way to go, Paul!
This is already on my calendar for next year, same company, same time, with my peeps from DFW and elsewhere.
This is a perfect breakdown of what's involved. Thanks.
Congrats @Paul Hough - reading this brought back some great memories. One of the hardest things I've ever done.. so, what's next on your bucket list adventure list?
@Scott Alexander - whatever you do, be sure to apply for your online VISA about a month before you go. You can buy your Visa at the window upon arrival at the airport, but that is a long, tedious line before you can proceed through the customs line, which is still slow AF. I think I stood before the immigration officer for a good 15 minutes while he typed onto a computer screen endlessly.
@scott dinhofer - no big adventures this year, but I'm planning on racing a 5 mile OWS in St Croix which will require a significant volume pop in swimming. For 2021, I am planning on doing LEJOG with Pedal Britain ... that's a one-way bike ride from Lands End at the southwestern tip of England to John O Groats at the northeastern most point of Scotland. It's roughly a 1000 miles with about 50,000 ft net gain. I am going to do it over 14 days for a 72 mile/day average so I can stop and take pics a lot.
Very Cool adventure. More photos please.
@Robert Sabo -
Very Cool. Thanks for sharing
Glad you did this and successfully. Everest next ?
@robin sarner - not a chance. It is expensive, dangerous, and really cold. I learned from Kili that I loved the hiking parts of the day, but the camping part not so much. Sleeping bags and tents are a lot less fun in your 60s .... especially when it's cold out. I want to ride LEJOG and MIZMAL for some future adventures. I'm planning on LEJOG in Sep 2021. Take a look and join me! http://www.pedalbritain.com/
Awesome @Paul Hough ! Thanks for sharing.
@Paul Hough - great report! I have never been above 14,000 feet. I remember that 14K felt scary to me and can't imagine taking it up another notch! Great pic and wonderful accomplishment! Really hard for those that have never been at that altitude to comprehend that your feet turn to cinder blocks while you constantly gasp for air that cannot be found. Mentally, it is a true battle of will, commitment and courage to keep it moving forward under those extremes.
The risk of sun exposure at those altitudes while it is reflected into your face off of the white snow as well as temperatures is real.
Thanks so much for sharing!
@Shaughn Simmons - thanks for the kind words. I like to think that if this old Florida sea-level dweller can get up there and not freeze to death then just about anyone should be able to. In my favor though, having grown up in the frozen north (New England, Iceland, North Dakota, etc.) helped a lot. I wore fewer layers than most in our group. Having gone to college at altitude (7250') didn't hurt either. I've always adjusted very quickly whenever I go back to Colorado.
@Paul Hough How cool to leave at Midnight New Year's Day. What a way to start not only the year, but your new life. Reading this, I'm reminded just how thin the strip of viable space is on this rock. We have to cherish every inch (and O2 molecule) we get.
@Paul Hough
the uk bike looks neat. may consider that.