War on Cancer

Hi all, I thought I would put a little more detail and more facts about our Mt.Kilimanjaro climb next year. At the top ( Roof of Africa ) the breathable oxygen is less than half the amount that is common at sea level, and climbers cover approx 60 kilometres on nothing but their own feet during the climb to the top and back down to the bottom.

Phases of the climb....stage one....tropical forest.

With most of the lowland forest now cultivated, the first experience of the mountain environment starts between 1850m and 2800m, this is where the dense vegetation of the Tropical Montane Forest begins.

Cloud condensation mainly gathers around the forest, so this area is usually damp or drenched in rainfall,creating a mass of plantlife and running rivers.

Open Moorland

At around 3200m an expanse of moorland extends beyond the heath and cloud line, this results in intense sunny days and cool clear nights. The climbing incline is gentle still at this stage, but the oxygen is thinning, so dramatically slows the walking pace down as muscles are less energized due to less fuel from the oxygen.

Alpine Desert

Beyond 4000m vegetation becomes very sparse, the earth is sandy and loose and intense weather conditions and temperatures fluctuate dramatically that barely any plant species can survive here. Above 5000m only the odd lichen survive and after the Kibo huts and beyond the saddle, where the landscape is predominantly rock and ice fields, this is where we will experience the final steep push to the summit.

Saddle to the summit

All the eastern routes converge to the west of saddle near Gillmans point, between the peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo. Kibo's crater is roughly circular and is 100m lower than Uhuru Peak.

At the centre of an inner crater,with walls 12 to 20 m high it contains a minor concentric cone. The centre of which falls off into the 360m span of the ash pit. This is the 120m deep central core of the volcano,and casts sulphurous boiling smoke from it's depth's despite the frozen, snowy outskirts.

This challenge is going to be a major test on our endurance, but one we will achieve.

Tracy