Kilimanjaro August 2018

[Scott P]

Nice trip report, Douglas. The pictures brought back so many great memories of that enormous mountain. It definitely is worth doing once in a lifetime. Better do it sooner rather than later because I am sure that the crowds will swell to even greater numbers in another couple decades.

And the cost too. We were there in December 1997, but when we saw the prices ($300 per person-that's $459 in today's dollars), we thought "we can't afford that", so we did something else. I wish that we had climbed it back then. It's way more expensive now days and the trend will likely continue. I hope a lot of the money does stay with the locals though.

[spiderman]

Scott, a significant fraction of the money goes to the National Park. The entry permit for foreigners (covered in your guide service fee) is wickedly high. That will keep growing at a rapid pace. The Tanzania government is trying to nationalize many businesses, causing a big loss of foreign investment. Tourism and mining are the main ways to make up for the trade deficit in most other sectors. It is hard to grow mining very quickly so tourism has to be milked as hard as possible.

A significant fraction of guide services are foreign owned and probably half of the non-fee revenue goes to the owner. Locally owned guide services at least keep the money in Tanzania although some of the owners are not the most likeable of people.

[Conor]

It's africa. Expect corruption and any "owners" to keep as much money as possible without breaking out a war.

[BobbyFinn]

We did Lemosho with the guide service Zara. They were great. As someone said, Lemosho does not have to be done in 8 days, less than 6 days will likely strain your support team too much.

Kilimanjaro is more crowded than Stevens Gulch in July.

Learn some Swahili - simple things like thank you, please, hi, etc.

While you're over there, do a safari.

Tip everyone - it's serious 3rd world there. You can make a difference in someone's day by giving them $2. Your porters (wearing ill-fitting gym shoes or flip flops) and guides will be doing 98% of the work getting you up the mountain - you're just along for a walk.

Donate some gear (new or used) to your guides and porters, they'll appreciate it. The country has no need for winter gear so it seems hard to get. At least bring a couple extra pairs of gloves or hiking socks.

Bring handwarmers to hand out on summit day for all the unprepared people freezing on the way up in the dark.

Everyone was very friendly.

PM if you want more info.

[scalba123]

Donate some gear (new or used) to your guides and porters, they'll appreciate it. The country has no need for winter gear so it seems hard to get. At least bring a couple extra pairs of gloves or hiking socks.

I would also suggest ball caps, bandanas and short/long sleeve shirts. Leave your shoes behind if you can. I saw one porter pretty high wearing flip flops.

[spiderman]

Donate some gear (new or used) to your guides and porters, they'll appreciate it. The country has no need for winter gear so it seems hard to get. At least bring a couple extra pairs of gloves or hiking socks.

I would also suggest ball caps, bandanas and short/long sleeve shirts. Leave your shoes behind if you can. I saw one port pretty high wearing flip flops.

100% agreed on that. People are very proud if their shirts or hats have something cool on it, such as Broncos or almost anything else from America. The assistant guide had a pair of MicroSpikes that MichiganBrian had given him. That was his most valued position and everybody looked at in amazement. We were lucky and the route was snow/ice-free, but sometimes things get slippery.

[Yukon Ron]

Kili is a dream of mine. I have some folks living in Ghana currently, and if I can manke the arrangements, I would really appreciate the opportunity to make this climb. It might be the last we see of the glacier, and maybe some of the wildlife, along the way.
Great thread, love the information.

[Sean Nunn]

Just for my edification, can someone give me a rough estimate of the cost for one person to climb Kili, starting in the US (including plane fare from a major city, food, accommodations, reasonable tipping, etc.)?

This is something that is on my life list and I just want to get a ballpark figure of how much I would need to save to make it happen someday.

[douglas]

Just for my edification, can someone give me a rough estimate of the cost for one person to climb Kili, starting in the US (including plane fare from a major city, food, accommodations, reasonable tipping, etc.)?

This is something that is on my life list and I just want to get a ballpark figure of how much I would need to save to make it happen someday.

For my entire trip, including flight and 5 day safari afterwards, I think it was around $5K. My memory may be a bit foggy, though.

[douglas]

Just got back from a Kilimanjaro trip yesterday -- we did the Machame route with Peak Freaks and it was amazing! Feel free to PM me with any questions

Is the glacier still there? When I was there 4 years ago they said it wouldn't last much longer.

[Sean Nunn]

Just for my edification, can someone give me a rough estimate of the cost for one person to climb Kili, starting in the US (including plane fare from a major city, food, accommodations, reasonable tipping, etc.)?

This is something that is on my life list and I just want to get a ballpark figure of how much I would need to save to make it happen someday.

For my entire trip, including flight and 5 day safari afterwards, I think it was around $5K. My memory may be a bit foggy, though.

Thank you. That is about what I was guessing.

[spiderman]

$5k is about right if you add in all of the costs and a safari afterwards. With the more upscale guide services, expect to spend even more money. The absolute bare minimum would be about $3k if you eliminate every unnecessary expense and you go with a couple of friends. The Seven Summits look like they will cost ~$200k unless you go the absolutely no-frills options. I am sure that number will increase faster than my salary goes up...