How prepared would you be if you are invited to go climb Mt Kilimanjaro in a few months?

30 comments

1. I may be stupid, but that has never stopped me from doing things I’m 110% unprepared for.

2. **YOU ARE NOT PREPARED** 🌙⚔️😈

3. Ehhhhhhhhhh idk it’s not even a fitness thing im worried about, it’s the altitude.

   If I lived somewhere far above sea level, i’d say “Fuck yeah, let’s go now!” but last time I went from the desert at sea level to hiking in the Rockies at 10k foot elevation without acclimatizing, i got crazy altitude sickness

4. I’d be 100% prepared to say, “Nope.”
   [Far too many bug borne illnesses](https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/53883) for me, not really worth climbing up some hill.

5. The difficulty of it is primarily in the very high altitude and your ability to acclimate/cope with that. It’s mostly not a technical hike hike/climb AFAIK.

   I handle altitude well enough to do 14ers in CO within a day of arriving from sea level, so…probably quite a bit better than most.

   Probably quite a bit worse than a skilled mountaineer for whom it’s not remotely the most difficult thing they’ve done.

6. I’d know where I was going to die…you buying us the tickets? Or nope?

7. Bruh, I wouldn’t even prep – just pack my bags the night before and go. I’ll buy some beers when we land.

8. I was definitely jump at the opportunity

   ​

   to change my flight to Bali and sit my fatass on the beach.

9. I guess I’m “prepared”, but that just doesn’t sound like a fun way to spend my time. I’d do it if someone paid me more than I’d normally earn in that amount of time though, sure.

10. If you can walk 5 miles a day for 7 days straight you’ll be fine. Get the equipment, get the altitude pills, and you don’t need to train. That said if you have a breathing condition etc you might struggle.

    I did it two months ago, 30M in decent shape but not active, no training.

11. If my knee wasn’t fucked I’d inform myself on the hike. How long, what altitude, is there climbing parts, what gear do I need, who’s coming and their experience level, any locals coming with us, what happens if shit goes south, is there a chopper to help hikers, who covers the costs of that bird, how much is the cost of the trip,how’s the food and water situation. If after gathering all information I’m still interested I start training. Walking long distances every day, hiking similarly long tours around my home, there’s more than enough hills and mountains for that, calculate what weight my gear is gonna be, add 5-10kg extra for good measure. I’d buy shoes that are good for Kilimanjaro and wear them everywhere for that prep period. Hiking shoes need to be broken in. I’d try to gain as much muscle and stamina as possible.

    Me and my friend attempted a 2 day hike July 2020, we had to cut our hike short and turn back early because I was used to short hikes and therefore lighter backpacks, my shoulders were killing me. My buddy despite being the son of experienced hikers didn’t break in his shoes and had blisters on his feet and because we weren’t informed where we can get drinking water on the hike. We wrongly assumed there wasn’t any and had too much water with us.

    Since then I have lost a lot of weight and gained muscle and stamina and he joined the army so same for him. We are both in peak physical condition and we wanted to get revenge on that damn mountain this fall, but I fucked up my knee. Our plan is to get it done in 2024.

12. No problem at all. I have all the required gear and plenty of experience

13. Not prepared. Altitude and also taking off work. Im not in horrible shape but I’m not in mountain climbing shape either

14. So we need one 9mm gun and 1 bullet.

    Bc I am not doing that!

15. I went up Mt. Sinai with a Hangover, untrained and wearing converse. I did similar dumb stuff at Table Mountain. It was an endeavour, but with some preparation I think I might be fit enough for that. I know Mt. Kilimanjaro is higher, but that is what the training is for.

16. When I was 20 or so I climbed Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl (shy of 18,000 feet) with four months training. We had this 12 story dorm and trip leaders said you’re ready when you can run the dorm stairs ten times. I was living at 5000 feet at that time. Followed my instructions and had a great trip. Altitude was a problem, my judgement was off but the group was good and we looked after each other.

17. I could definitely be in shape for that in three months!

    I have the leave time I’d just need to come up with the money.

18. A few months? Ez. I’d be fine to do it.. it only costs like $5,000 to do and I’ve hiked similar (though slightly less elevation gain).

19. I have a somewhat related story but In late 2018 I booked onto a trip to hike to Everest Basecamp over two weeks in late 2019. When I booked it I was in awful shape and had almost no experience hiking that distance over multiple days. I spent the next 12 months getting out as often as I could in the Scottish Highlands (not far from where I lived). November 2019 rolled around and I remember even on the plane over to Nepal I wasn’t sure if I could make it to the end of the hike. There was multiple days on the hike I was so sick and exhausted I felt like giving up and turning back. But eventually I did make it to Basecamp and got to see Everest with my own eyes. Genuinely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but if you ever get an opportunity to do something like it (e.g Kilimanjaro etc…) You should grab the opportunity by the balls and use it to prove yourself and everyone wrong.

20. I haven’t done anything quite like that, but my friend did it, and I can usually keep up with him, so I think I could probably do it.

21. In my 20’s and 30’s sure, but not today. I would probably opt for something more local even back then.

22. I’d be willing to do it. the only problem is that I’m probably not good enough shape for something like that.

23. If one walks, on average, 15000 steps a day, would they be ready?

24. Not at all. I could definitely clear my schedule for two weeks with a few month’s notice but no way would I be prepared to climb a mountain. I’d go on vacation somewhere else with that time off.

25. I did Mt Kinabalu in Borneo (4,095m with a couple hours’ rest 3/4 of the way up) with zero prep – I was in moderately decent shape but I live at sea level, and getting off of the bus at the entrance was already the highest ground I’d ever set foot on. No altitude sickness and I made it to the top, but the last bit above 3,400m was a *struggle*, and my knees were so wrecked after coming back down that I could barely walk the next day.

    Still, [worth it for the view :)](https://i.imgur.com/gxehEAy.jpg)

    Another 2,000m on top of that might have been doable at a MUCH slower pace on much easier terrain, but at the very least I’d need those months to get my body used to trekking again so as not to risk crippling myself halfway up, and I’d probably invest in a breath-training device of some sort [like this one](https://www.powerbreathe.com/whos-it-for/sport-and-fitness/altitude/), dunno how effective they are but every little bit helps. I’d also be researching ultralight gear and/or happily shelling out for a local porter to lug my stuff if that’s an option.

    So to answer your question: Maybe? 3 months or so of active daily prepping would probably be enough to avoid a total shitshow…

26. I’d go into cardiac arrest crossing the airport.

27. Kilimanjaro is supposedly not even hard. Bet i could do it right now. I work out but barely any cardio.

28. I’d love to go back, but I might have to tweak my fitness training a little for those few months, just so I’d be happy with the altitude.

29. Probable hate it, but with a couple months prep, would complete it.

30. A friend of mine did this 4 or 5 years ago and it’s actually not a very hard hike. It’s long so it’s grueling from that standpoint but it is not very technical and it’s not exceedingly High