kilimanjaro gear help, pleas

I am going to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro the end of July, 2004. I am new
to trekking/backpacking and have some questions and need some advice.

1 - Sleeping bag. I am hoping to rent a bag from my tour company, Roy Safari
in Arusha. Is this a good or bad idea? I am trying to avoid buying an
expensive bag I will never need again, and trying to avoid carrying it to
and from Africa. If I should buy my own here, what are the minimum
requirements?

2 - Outerwear. My local outfitter said this would meet my needs in the artic
climate at the top: Goretex shell, 2 good polar fleece layers, one good hi
tech undershirt. This seems rather skimpy to me. Don't I need some down?

3 - Rain pants. I have synth convertable shorts/long pants that I am going
to treat with wash in water repellant. Is this good enough? or should I get
some real rain pants?

4 - Trekking poles. Do I really need these? Should I get one or two? Is the
shock absorbing feature useful? What about renting/buying at the trail gate,
as I have heard you can do?

5 - Tipping guides/porters. How much?

6 - Altitude sickness. Is Diamox any good? Ginko biloba? My wife can't take
Diamox, is there a non sulfa alternative?

More later, I am sure...

I might be able to help a little. I climbed Kili back in August of 1997 and
again in August of 2001. It was my first real trekking experience, so let
me disclaim that I'm no expert on the subject of trekking, but I can at
least tell you my experience.

1-One of the friends I was with rented his sleeping bag in Moshi. It
smelled horrible and was not quite as warm as you would hope, but
ultimately, it was functional. I brought a bag that I borrowed from my
parents. I think its rated for 0 degrees and was fine. I can't remember
the brand. It was a big hassle to lug the thing around when we weren't on
the mountain. I think it may be a risk as far as quality goes to rent, but
if you're sure you'll get adequate equipment, it would be worthwhile. Even
though it was a hassle to cart around, I was glad I had it when I saw what
my friend was able to rent.

2-As far as outerwear goes. The night of the summit climb is when warmth
really came into play. On that night, I wore basically what you're local
outfitter suggested, plus a down vest. I got a little hot, so your
outfitter may be right. YMMV. Every other day, we were able to hike in
short sleeves and put on a fleece layer only when we stopped for
breaks/meals and at the end of each day's hike. The mornings were also very
cool, so we also started out each day's hike with more layers and shed them
as we warmed-up. It snowed/sleet on us for about an hour one of the days.

3-We never needed rain pants. I also had quick drying convertable
shorts/long pants. I brought 3 pair. This was perfect for me. You can
probably get by with 2 pair.

4-You will probably get varying answers regarding poles. I didn't bring
them and never really needed them on either trip. I saw many people who did
bring them. Some of those people ended up giving them to their porters to
carry, some used them expertly, and some people dragged them behind them.
Interestingly, I did not see many guides or porters using them (for what its
worth, I hiked around Mont Blanc, in Europe last summer, and ALL the guides
seemed to use poles there). Watching other people use them, they seemed to
really prove their worth in the decent. It can be quite jolting on the
joints trekking continuously down 19,000 ft. over 2 days. Neither of my
friends used poles and they were really sore the morning after the decent.
For reasons I can't explain, not using poles did not cause me any problems.
If you have knee problems, I could see poles being a lifesaver. If you plan
on doing a lot of trekking, I imagine using poles would be a good
preventative measure against injury and general wear and tear on the body.

5. This site gives some suggestions on tipping.
http://www.kilimanjaro.co.tz/afewtips.htm I can't remember how much we
tipped, but it was in the ballpark indicated on this website.

6. I can't help on the altitude sickness. I was lucky not to be effected
enough by the altitude to require medicine.

Again, I'm no expert, but I hope this helps a little.

Landon

"none" wrote in message
...
I am going to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro the end of July, 2004. I am
new
to trekking/backpacking and have some questions and need some advice.

1 - Sleeping bag. I am hoping to rent a bag from my tour company, Roy
Safari
in Arusha. Is this a good or bad idea? I am trying to avoid buying an
expensive bag I will never need again, and trying to avoid carrying it to
and from Africa. If I should buy my own here, what are the minimum
requirements?

2 - Outerwear. My local outfitter said this would meet my needs in the
artic
climate at the top: Goretex shell, 2 good polar fleece layers, one good hi
tech undershirt. This seems rather skimpy to me. Don't I need some down?

3 - Rain pants. I have synth convertable shorts/long pants that I am going
to treat with wash in water repellant. Is this good enough? or should I
get
some real rain pants?

4 - Trekking poles. Do I really need these? Should I get one or two? Is
the
shock absorbing feature useful? What about renting/buying at the trail
gate,
as I have heard you can do?

5 - Tipping guides/porters. How much?

6 - Altitude sickness. Is Diamox any good? Ginko biloba? My wife can't
take
Diamox, is there a non sulfa alternative?

More later, I am sure...

"none" schrieb:

I am going to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro the end of July, 2004. I am new
to trekking/backpacking and have some questions and need some advice.

I don't have any special advice on climbing Kilimanjaro,
but:

1 - Sleeping bag. I am hoping to rent a bag from my tour company, ...

If you don't want to bring your own sleeping bag, you might
think about a light bag made of linen or silk to use _in_
the rented bag.
1. it's not as heavy and bulky as a warm sleeping bag
2. it's another layer - more warmth at night
3. it's easy to wash - more hygienic than the rented bag

4 - Trekking poles. Do I really need these? Should I get one or two? Is the
shock absorbing feature useful?

You should use two or none. If you use just one, you do more
damage to your body than using none of them.

If you are young and healthy and don't have any problems
with your knees, you don't _have to use_ them. But I don't
want to go downhill without them anymore. If you take them,
take them downhill. Uphill they aren't necessary.
And if you won't need them for more than this one hike, I
think you can save the money for the shock absorbers.

Hth,
INge

Hi,

I climbed Kili in December 2003. My two cents worth...

On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 10:57:51 -0800, "none" wrote:

I am going to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro the end of July, 2004. I am new
to trekking/backpacking and have some questions and need some advice.

My big tip - make sure you wear in your boots properly, and make
absolutely sure your toenails are as short as possible. My one toenail
sliced into the adjacent toe so badly during the descent that I almost
needed stitches.

1 - Sleeping bag. I am hoping to rent a bag from my tour company, Roy Safari
in Arusha. Is this a good or bad idea? I am trying to avoid buying an
expensive bag I will never need again, and trying to avoid carrying it to
and from Africa. If I should buy my own here, what are the minimum
requirements?

You can rent a bag, but I would definitely take my own inner, either
cotton or silk. I'd also take a decent blanket because the rented bag
might be pretty thin.

2 - Outerwear. My local outfitter said this would meet my needs in the artic
climate at the top: Goretex shell, 2 good polar fleece layers, one good hi
tech undershirt. This seems rather skimpy to me. Don't I need some down?
I didn't need down, and the summit temp was around minus 12. For the
final ascent, I used a thin thermal underlayer, one shirt (Nike quick
drying type), a good Polar fleece jacket, and a padded, waterproof ski
jacket) My body was even over-warm.

My hands were bloody frozen. I had spent a fortune on good gloves, but
my hands sweated in the begginning, and then the sweat froze inside
the gloves. Eventually the pain became so great that I took the gloves
off. I was very lucky to have taken two hand warmers (some kind of
chemical contraption that warms up when exposed to the air) I kept
them in my pockets, and spent most of the final ascent with my hands
in my pockets.

For the days before the final ascent, we walked in shorts, but there
were rainy spells, and decent, light rain gear is essential.

3 - Rain pants. I have synth convertable shorts/long pants that I am going
to treat with wash in water repellant. Is this good enough? or should I get
some real rain pants?
See above...
4 - Trekking poles. Do I really need these? Should I get one or two? Is the
shock absorbing feature useful? What about renting/buying at the trail gate,
as I have heard you can do?
I found that my poles were indispensible. I'm not a great walker, and
the sure help on the long steep incline and declines.

5 - Tipping guides/porters. How much?

6 - Altitude sickness. Is Diamox any good? Ginko biloba? My wife can't take
Diamox, is there a non sulfa alternative?
Diamox was an absolute godsend for me. I did't take it the first day
and a half, and I felt like dying. About five hours after taking the
Diamox, I felt 100% better. I don't believe that I would have made it
without the Diamox.
A friend of mine tried Ginoko and she felt lousy until the last day.
When I convinced her to use Diamox, she felt a lot better.

More later, I am sure...

Enjoy the climb...

Marc - Johannesburg

Hi

I went up in October last year.
I took my own bag Mountain Equ Sleepwalker II, and it was excellent.
You could get by with a sleepwalker I which is around £70UK, or less if you
can get a discount.....
Some of our group hired bags, and echo the thoughts of others here. They
were a bit cool and musty, but they survived by sleeping in a layer or two
of clothing. Taking a liner is an excellent idea if you are renting. (Mind
you a silk liner will cost you minimum £25UK...)

Re Outerwear - I basically used what your guy advised. I did take a down
jacket as well - but only for sitting around in the evenings. You can't walk
in down - its much too warm! A good Goretex shell is the key - it keeps in
the warm, keeps out the wind and, oh yes, its waterproof as well :-)
I also used some thermal leggings on the summit day, which were great if you
can afford them. Either way, be prepared to wear two layers on your legs.
Your synthetics over the tops of something else should be okay.

Poles - I used them, and benefitted greatly. But I have had problems with
knees etc. They really do reduce the pressure on your ankles as well. Use 2
or none. One pole is no good. Don't worry about the anti-shock, its nice but
not essential.

Tips - I think our group put up about $5 a day each. This was pooled and
split amongst the porters by 'role' e.g. $50 for the cooks, $60 for the
guides, etc (can't remember the actual figures)

I took diamox and it was brilliant. I had a mild headache the previous year
in the High Atlas in Morroco (4,500m)
but no effects at all on Kili. Others in our group did suffer (some quite
badly)

I have some pics on the family site -
http://www.tomalin.org/charles/tanzania/index.htm

Good luck - and if you have any other questions, get in touch...

Charles
--

www.wildviews.com
Natural History Photography
"none" wrote in message
...
I am going to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro the end of July, 2004. I am
new
to trekking/backpacking and have some questions and need some advice.

1 - Sleeping bag. I am hoping to rent a bag from my tour company, Roy
Safari
in Arusha. Is this a good or bad idea? I am trying to avoid buying an
expensive bag I will never need again, and trying to avoid carrying it to
and from Africa. If I should buy my own here, what are the minimum
requirements?

2 - Outerwear. My local outfitter said this would meet my needs in the
artic
climate at the top: Goretex shell, 2 good polar fleece layers, one good hi
tech undershirt. This seems rather skimpy to me. Don't I need some down?

3 - Rain pants. I have synth convertable shorts/long pants that I am going
to treat with wash in water repellant. Is this good enough? or should I
get
some real rain pants?

4 - Trekking poles. Do I really need these? Should I get one or two? Is
the
shock absorbing feature useful? What about renting/buying at the trail
gate,
as I have heard you can do?

5 - Tipping guides/porters. How much?

6 - Altitude sickness. Is Diamox any good? Ginko biloba? My wife can't
take
Diamox, is there a non sulfa alternative?

More later, I am sure...