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About the expedition

Tags: 2010 | Afrika | Keňa | Kilimandžáro | Mt. Kenya | Tanzanie

Africa 2010 – Mt. Kenya & Mt. Kilimanjaro

After a successful ascent of Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus (5642m) and crossover of the highest point of the South American continent from east to west, we were not far from the idea to go for another of the highest summits of the seven continents - Kilimanjaro (5895m).

It is most likely that in the future due to our financial and physical limits we will not take a look at the whole crown of the Earth but this is not in the nature of our motivation anyway. Climbing and discovering faraway places is basically what we seek.

In the end the Expedition Africa 2010 (Mt. Kenya & Mt. Kilimanjaro) was not quite dizzying or very sporting endeavor. Some of the things failed but it was definitely a great combination of being in the beautiful countryside and meeting people of different mentality. Instead of chatting over beer we simply decided to go for the real Africa.

Expedition date: 4 - 18 September 2010.

Mt. Kenya (5199m)

Mount Kenya is a mountain ridge situated roughly in the middle of Kenya, in the area known as Mount Kenya Central Highlands. The capital of Nairobi is located only 130 km away. Along with Kilimanjaro the Mount Kenya massif is one of the few places on earth where you can observe the "equatorial" iceberg. Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and second highest in Africa. By coincidence, it is the second most popular mountain in terms of numbers of visitors (about 25,000 visits tourists each year). The area around the mountain is a national park listed by UNESCO.

Mt. Kenya massif has three main peaks - Batian (5199m), Nelion (5188m) and Point Lenana (4985 meters) - and many secondary ones like Point Thompson (4995m), Point Pigott (4958m), Point Dutton (4885m), Point John (4883), Point Melhuish (4880), Krapf Rognon (4800), Point Peter (4757 m) or Midget Peak (4700m). There are ten glaciers and numerous valleys. According to available data, only 50 climbers per year reach the highest peak of Batian, which is, in comparison with the figure of 25,000 tourists a year in the massif of Mt. Kenya, quite insignificant number!

It is not without interest that long long ago (more than 1 million years) this extinct volcano was probably reaching the height of 8000 meters!

Weather on Mt. Kenya!

Mt. Kilimanjaro (5895m)

Kilimanjaro is a mountain massif located in the territory of Tanzania. The still active volcano has three peaks - Kibo (5895 meters), which is also the highest peak in Tanzania and the entire African continent - then Mawenzi (5149m), the third highest peak in Africa, and Shiro (3962).

Kilimanjaro is also the highest freestanding mountain in the world. It rises more than 5000 metres above the East African plateau whose average altitude is 800m. For the sake of clarity it is good to note that the names of the highest points changed over time. Kibo Peak (5895m) can be most commonly found in the literature as Uhuru Peak and even as Kaiser Wilhelm Spitze in older books. Mawenzi (5149m) was originally named Hans Meyer Peak.

Kilimanjaro is literally a magnet for tourists. The national park established in 1977 (since 1989 in the UNESCO list) is annually visited by up to 30 000 tourists; if we add carriers, guides and other helpers, we get a completely crazy figure - over 100 000 people a year on its slopes! The success rate of ascents is estimated at between 40-50%. On average more than 30 tourists reach the peak daily – but there are no average days during the two main seasons so the tourists are counted in their hundreds rather than tens!

Weather on Kilimanjaro.