On January 12, Jessica Biel along with fellow celebrities on the Summit on the Summit team, climbed to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, Uhuru Point.  Each member reached the top successfully. 

Temperatures were reportedly in the single digits during the final ascent, which is not uncommon on the upper slopes of the mountain during nightime.  The team also had to endure low visibility as snowy conditions. 

Jessica Biel and the rest of the Summit on the Summit team began their climb up Mount Kilimanjaro on Thursday, January 7th.  The team is climbing Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for the global clean water crisis.

The website is sparse on details, but it appears that the group is ascending via a variation of the 7 day Shira route.  They were at Moir Hut on day 3 and are currently at Barranco Camp on day 4. 

A new report published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has estimated that Mount Kilimanjaro’s glaciers will be gone  within the next 20 year.  Based on aerial photographs and extracts of ice, the authors measured the pace of the glacial retreat to arrive at their time frame.

Scientists have calculated that Kilimanjaro’s ice sheet has shrunk 85% since 1912, with the rate accelerating in recent.  In the last 9 years, the three remaining ice fields have shrunk by 26%.

Following the much publicized BT Red Nose Climb for Comic Relief, where a team of UK celebrities climbed Kilimanjaro to raise money for malaria prevention earlier this year, next January a group of US celebrities are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with Summit on the Summit to raise awareness of the global clean water crisis.  

Among the celebrities are music artist Justin Timberlake, actress Jessica Biel, actress Isabel Lucas, rapper Lupe Fiasco, and singer Kenna.  More celebrities are expected to join.

It has been reported that the climb will take six days.  This is a bit peculiar if true because a short itinerary would pretty much guarantee that only half of the team will make it to the top.  Six days is not nearly enough time for most people to acclimatize to the altitude.  Hopefully, the charity climb will use a longer route so more of the team can summit.

It will be interesting to follow their climb as it unfolds.

In  a press release issued yesterday, we released the results of our year-long Kilimanjaro Climb Survey conducted among independent travelers, hikers and mountaineers.  Over 100 respondents participated in the survey, offering valuable insight into various aspects of climbing Kilimanjaro to prospective adventurers.

Demographically, male climbers outnumbered female climbers by 2 to 1, and the ages ranged from under 18 to 70 years old.  A third of climbers were between 31 and 40 years old and a third were between 41 and 50 years old.  July proved to be the most popular month for climbing Kilimanjaro among respondents, followed by August and October.  These popular months are excellent times to climb due to low precipitation and good visibility.

In preparation for their climb, 35% of respondents hiked as their primary form of training, which is the best exercise.  The median frequency of training was three times per week over a three month period.  Kilimanjaro can be successfully climbed by any reasonably fit person.

The survey revealed that the route of choice was Machame for 45% of respondents.  Machame, also known as the “Whiskey Route”, is the most popular route on the mountain, with Marangu, the “Coca Cola Route,” coming in at a close second.  Climbers using these trails can expect to encounter high traffic on their journey to the summit.  Only 14% and 11% of climbers used Lemosho and Rongai, respectively.  Ultimate Kilimanjaro uses the less frequented routes for its group climbs as ideal alternatives to avoid the crowds.  

The biggest obstacle in successfully climbing Kilimanjaro is the extreme altitude.  Kilimanjaro is 19,340 feet high.  The low oxygen content commonly causes differing degrees of altitude sickness among climbers.  The respondents’ susceptibility to altitude sickness was consistent with published figures - 82% of climbers experienced at least one symptom of mild altitude sickness.  

On Mount Kilimanjaro, summit day includes a strenuous 4,000 foot climb to the peak, beginning at midnight, in subzero degree weather, followed by a 9,000 foot descent.  55% of respondents identified summit day, which consists of 10 to 14 hours of trekking, as very tough.  Other cited difficulties included altitude acclimatization (34%), lack of sleep (17%) and foul weather (10%).  On a scale of 1 to 10, the most common rating for the climb difficulty was a 7.

Respondents overwhelmingly noted that their trip on Kilimanjaro was a very positive experience.  More than 50% of the climbers rated their experience as 10 out of 10, meaning that regardless of all other measured variables - how old they were, when they climbed, what route they chose, how many days they took, and whether or not they reached the summit, they had a great time.

Yes- the summit of Mount Meru is almost 15,000 feet high.  If you climb Meru, you can, with one day or no days in between, climb Kilimanjaro thereafter with a lower number of days (5 or 6) because you will have had exposure to approximately the highest altitude where you will camp on Kilimanjaro (Kibo Hut and Barafu are about 15,500 feet high).

However, do not be too aggressive on either trek.  To do Meru and a challenging Kilimanjaro climb back to back may put too much stress on your body.  And strenuous activity increases the likelihood of altitude sickness. So while the Meru/Kilimanjaro climb combination can increase the probability of summit success over a lengthy Kilimanjaro climb alone, it can also decrease it.  The success of this schedule depends on how strong of a hiker you are.

All nine members of the Red Nose Climb made it to the summit today.  Although nearly all climbers experienced some form of altitude sickness or minor injuries during the climb, they each made the gruelling ascent in the cold, windy mountain air and reached Uhuru Point before sunrise.  They are currently at Millenium camp, and will be off the mountain tomorrow.  The climbers used the 8-day Lemosho route.

They have a raised over 1,500,000 GBP for Comic Relief, a British charity organization. 

A band of nine UK celebrities are climbing Kilimanjaro in a charity climb, known as the BT Red Nose Climb for Comic Relief (Comic Relief is a British charity organization).  The goal of this trek is to raise money to help  the people of Africa combat malaria.  Malaria is the leading killer of children in Tanzania.  Donations will be used to train rural health workers, for early treatment of malaria, and to supply mosquito bed nets. So far the team has raised 800,000 GBP.

To sponsor the BT Red Nose team, visit:  http://www.rednoseday.com/climb/sponsor/the_team

The celebrities on the mountain are:  Alesha Dixon, Ben Shepard, Cheryl Cole, Chris Moyles, Denise Van Outen, Fearne Cotton, Gary Barlow, Kimberley Walsh, Ronan Keating.

The group is using the Lemosho route.  Today’s reports indicate they passed the Shira Cathedral and are staying at Lava Tower.   It is their fourth day on the mountain.

Swahili and English are the main languages spoken in Tanzania.  Here are some useful phrases:

In an interview with TVweek, Ann Curry, Today show host, discussed her recent trip to Kilimanjaro.  She and her production crew attempted to climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro as part of the show’s ‘Ends of the Earth’ series.  But she was turned around at about 16,000 feet due to altitude sickness. 

Currently, Curry is recovering from amoeba  that she got from bad drinking water.  In the interview, she reveals just how sick she and her crew were during the trek.   She reported having a headache “from the top of my skull to the back”, being nauseated, having swollen legs, hands and face, being bloated, hallucinating, and having a chest cold.  Curry said that, “Every moment we had was suffering” and that, “We were in bad shape.”

While 80% of climbers do experience symptoms of altitude sickness, Curry’s collection of symptoms and their severity were more serious than the average climber would, and should, experience.  In my opinion, she shouldn’t have been on the mountain in the first place.  Curry states, “We climbed with little or no training, certainly with no expertise, trying to do something that had never been done before, and I’ve got to tell you we were all heart. That’s all we had.”  Furthermore, she talks about her Walmart raingear malfunctioning and getting blisters from wearing boots she didn’t break in.  In other words, she was woefully unprepared, physically and mentally - a recipe for trouble on the mountain.

Curry noted that she was supposed to go to the Great Barrier Reef for her show, but did not because they could not get a live signal there, so they went to Kilimanjaro instead.  This decision occurred three weeks before her departure.  Complicating the matter, she attempted to climb the most dangerous route during the rainy season.

Kilimanjaro is known as a “beginner’s” mountain, because it requires no technical skills and is a ‘walkable’ mountain.  However, it is not to be underestimated.  19,341 feet is an extremely high altitude.  Kilimanjaro claims lives every year.  All climbers need to prepare and outfit themselves adequately for the journey. 

Curry’s tale is an example of how not to climb Kilimanjaro.

TVWeek Interview with Ann Curry