Climbing Kilimanjaro was one great adventure and a journey not to be missed. My Kilimanjaro Climb with Ian Taylor was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I decided to join one of Ian’s climbs of Kilimanjaro in February 2015 based off a friends recommendation. I really wanted to make the summit so picked the 8 day Lemosho route as Ian suggested. I haven’t climbed any of the other routes but this route worked well for me. I was worried about altitude sickness and being able to walk for 8 days in a row.
Taking Extra Days to Acclimatize
I am so glad we had the extra days and can not understand how people try and climb Kilimanjaro in 5 or 6 days. I am from Colorado in the states and live at just over 5,000 feet. I really learned a lot about altitude, watching so many people sick on the mountain was some times hard to take. I have been to 10, 12 and 14 thousand feet in the Rockies but slept or lived at higher altitude and it was a real shock to see the difference between going to and living at altitude. We really needed those extra days and grateful for the pace and time spend adapting the lower oxygen environments.
Pacing
The pace of each hiking day was perfect, plenty of breaks, snacking and moving slowly from camp to camp was perfectly mapped out. I enjoyed the other people in the group. I had never hung out with Irish people before and wild is mild in how would describe. High energy people who made the trip so special, love you all. A team was being built each day and because we were moving up slowly we could enjoy the mountain, place, people and enjoy the experience so much more.
Beautiful Trail
I really enjoyed the hike up to the Lava tower and down into the Barranco valley, the barranco wall was a real highlight for me and mixed up the terrain scenery and we were hiking in. You should watch Ian’s footage from each day on You Tube. It gave me a great idea of each day’s hike and helped me visualize the hike and see how different the summit night is compared to the earlier easier hiking days.
My Training and Gear
I encourage anyone reading this or coming to Kilimanjaro to have the right gear and also get out hiking with a weighted back pack on a regular basis. I did 8 – 10 hours of training a week in the last 3 months built up to Kilimanjaro and it really paid off. I also did a lot of weight training on my calf’s, core and legs and felt great all the way through the climb. I got such a high after the climb and got such a great sense of achievement from putting in the hard work prior to the climb and feeling good, building my confidence each day and can not wait for my next adventure.
Listening to Ian’s Advice
My Kilimanjaro climb with Ian Taylor was a great one. His full time staff on the ground worked their butts off for us, eager to help and always available to us. Ian’s advice and training was so important in helping me gain the necessary fitness in achieving my goal. I stood on the summit and enjoyed every moment of the trip. I can not wait to join you guys in Nepal in support of the rebuild.
Jane Wagnor, Kilimanjaro 2015