Procrastination 3 – Domomo 0

Recently, things were finally settled with our climbing operators. Guides and porters along with transportation and such will be handled by Ultimate Kilimanjaro for a cool $1,576 USD per person with the itinerary as follows:

Pre-Climb
Dec 25 – Pickup from Kilimanjaro International (JRO) and transfer to Moshi. Overnight in Hotel
Dec 26 – Drive to Arusha National park for a 1 day safari

Climb
Dec 27 – Rongai Gate (1,950m) to Rongai Cave (2,835m). Time: 4hrs Distance: 7km
Dec 28 – Kikelewa Cave (3,600m). Time: 6-8hrs Distance: 9km
Dec 29 – Mawenzi Tarn (4,316m). Time: 4hrs Distance: 6km
Dec 30* – Mawenzi Tarn (4,316m). Time: 3-5hrs Distance: 8km
Dec 31 – Kibo Hut (4,703m). Time: 5-6hrs Distance: 9km
Jan 01** – Uhuru Peak (5,895m). Time: 6-8hrs Distance: 6km
Jan 01** – Horombo Hut (3,720m). Time: 4-5hrs Distance: 16km
Jan 02 – Marangu Gate (1,843m). Time: 5-7hrs Distance: 20km

Post-climb
Jan 02 – Overnight at hotel
Jan 03 – Transfer to Kilimanjaro International

*Yeah we don’t actually make any ground on Dec 30th. We will climb up to Kibo Hut (our destination for the next day) and return down to where we started off that day. I believe this is  meant to help us with acclimatization as the oxygen up there should be half as dense than that at sea level.
** New Years summit woot! Also the toughest day, unfortunately.

While we originally intended to do an additional excursion to Reutsch Crater (5,800m), it would involve sleeping at an altitude of 5,750m. We had been advised by Ultimate Kilimanjaro that it was a highly risky maneuver and thus we abandoned this plan. I guess the safari will have to do!

Over the next four months, there’s a mountain of things I need to resolve (no pun intended):

How do I get to Kilimanjaro?
This is more of a “how do I WANT to get there?” as there are almost no direct flights to Tanzania, much less Kilimanjaro. Most of the affordable flights are 24+hours of travel time (to be fair, maybe 10hrs are spent on stopovers). So how do I want to get there? via Dubai? via London? Do I want to stay and make a mini trip out of it since my ticket is so damn expensive anyway?

Do I have all my gear?
Although this can wait until last minute. I think I have the basic hiking gear sitting around at home.

Vaccinations and medications? Will I acclimatize properly?
Do I need to take Diamox? “Side effect : Blurring of vision” is not my definition of “enjoyable”. However, during my trip up Mt.Fuji (3,766m), I believe I experienced mild symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). Lets just say vomiting my way up Kilimanjaro is probably not how I imagine my climb.

What camera do I bring up Kilimanjaro?
I have a Canon IXUS 75, Canon G10 and Nikon D5000 all ready to go. All three vary in weight and quality. And from what I’ve heard, even 1lb can make all the difference on summit day.

What I have going for me is the fact that I feel like my training is going well. While I’m not physically ready at this point in time, I think I will be by the time December rolls around. If not, then I can really start to panic.

I did get all the common childhood vaccines like Hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella and polio; actually I got the Twinrex Hepatitis A & B vaccine 3 years ago, and I’m pretty sure I’m vaccinated for meningitis … but the others, I have no clue.

Actually I should probably see a professional on this one, another thing on my “to do” list this weekend I guess