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Mount Kilimanjaro
The Reality that is Mount
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
Once dismissed in the Western world as an impossible myth, the
world's highest free standing, snow-covered equatorial mountain
has now been charted and climbed, and stories of her resident
man-eating spirits are relegated to the realms of folklore. But
Mount Kilimanjaro continues to preserve a mysticism that defies
all recent knowledge of her slopes. Images of the towering snow-covered
cone rising majestically from fertile green foothills have become
a powerful motif of Tanzania's extraordinary extremes. Few could
deny a very distinct sense of awe when the cloud clears to reveal
a glimpse of the towering peaks, shining bright in the equatorial
sun.
Mount Kilimanjaro and
the Local People
Mount Kilimanjaro powerfully impacts the traditional lifestyle
of local Chagga people and all those who have made their lives
around this mountain, providing rich volcanic soils for agriculture
and an endless source of pure spring waters. One of the most amazing
aspects of the mountain in the present day is the accessibility
of its peak to climbers with no mountain climbing equipment or
real previous experience of scaling such heights. Kilimanjaro
is the highest mountain in the world that regular tourists can
climb, although it remains a considerable feat of human endurance!
The breathable oxygen at the top is less than half the amount
than is common at sea level, and climbers cover at least eighty
kilometres on nothing but their own two feet over the five days
it takes to reach the top and return.
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Mt Kimanjaro Trekking,
Mt Kilimanjaro Climbing History
The number of climbers has escalated to over a thousand a year
during the last century, quite a development since Hans Meyer
made history as the first European to scale the highest point
of Kilimanjaro in 1889. The increasing numbers each year have
made it necessary for the National Park to insist that all climbs
are pre-booked, and passes are no longer issued at the last minute
at the park gate. Although it is possible to simply trek a route
to the pinnacle of Kibo without relying on professional climbing
equipment, it remains a hard and serious endeavour that requires
a level of physical fitness, stamina and a realistic awareness
of the potentially damaging effects of high altitudes. Many tour
operators request that clients consult a doctor before attempting
to scale the mountain, and have a physical check-up for overall
fitness.
Tropical Mountain Rain
Forest
With most of the old lowland forest now cultivated and settled,
the first experience of the mountain environment begins with the
dense vegetation of tropical montane forest between 1850m and
around 2800m. Cloud condensation mainly gathers around the forest,
so this area is usually damp or drenched with rainfall, creating
an intriguing mass of plant life and running rivers between endemic
tree species. The area of heath just beyond the tree line also
enjoys a relatively misty and damp environment as cloud clings
around the density of trees. This is covered with heather and
shrubs such as Erica Arborea and Stoebe Kilimandsharica, and a
number of dramatic looking Proteas.
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Mt Kilimanjaro Moorland
and Giant Vegetation
From around 3,200m a wide expanse of moorland extends beyond the
heath and the cloud line, so that here the skies are generally
clear, making the sunshine intense during the days and the nights
cool and clear. The climbing incline remains gentle, but thinning
oxygen provides less fuel to energise the muscles and can dramatically
slow the pace of walking. Hardy endemic species of Giant Groundsels
(Senecio) and Lobelia (Deckenii) towering up to 4m high thrive
in this moorland zone and give the landscape a strangely primeval
atmosphere.
Fascinating Landscape
on Mt Kilimanjaro
Even higher, beyond 4,000m, this sensation intensifies as the
landscape develops into a more bizarre alpine desert, with sandy
loose earth and intense weather conditions and temperature fluctuations
so dramatic that barely any plant species survive other than everlasting
flowers, mosses and lichens. Only the odd lichen survives beyond
5000m, after Kibo Huts and beyond the Saddle, where the landscape
is predominantly rock and ice fields. Here, climbers experience
the final steep push to the summit.
Mount Kilimanjaro Climbing
Routes
The easterly routes, Marangu, Mweka, Loitokitok and Rongai all
converge west of the saddle near Gillmans Point, between the peaks
of Mawenzi and Kibo. Kibos crater is roughly circular with an
inner cone extending to 5,800m, (100m lower than the summit at
Uhuru Peak). At the centre an inner crater with walls between
12 and 20 m high contains another concentric minor cone, the centre
of which falls away into the 360m span of the ash pit. This is
the 120 metre deep central core of the volcano, and casts sulphurous
boiling smoke from its depths despite the frozen, snowy outskirts.
Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro
Some of the most important routes up the Mt Kilimanjaro
are given below:
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Mount Kilimanjaro
Hiking, Mount Kilimanjaro Trekking, Mount Kilimanjaro
Climbing, Mount Kilimanjaro Climbing Routes, Mt Kilimanjaro
Routes, Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, Hiking on Mt Kilimanjaro,
Coca Cola Route, Marangu Route, Machame Route, Shira Route,
Umbwe Route, Kibo, Lemosho Route, Uhuru Peak, Mandara
Hut, Horombo Hut, Kibo Hut, Camping on Mt Kilimanjaro
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