Mount Kilimanjaro: General
information
Introduction
Facts & Figures Origin of
the name 'Kilimanjaro' History
Johann Ludwig Krapf The First
Ascent in 1889 Geology
Ecology The Frozen
Leopard Glaciology
Trekking Kilamanjaro
Introduction:
KILIMANJARO is the highest mountain in Africa and the
tallest free-standing mountain known to man. It is a mountain where you can
hike for more than 56 miles, gain 13,123 feet in altitude, traverse rain
forest, moorland, alpine desert, snow fields and ice cliffs, all virtually on
the equator!. The base of this immense mountain measures 31 X 50 miles and the
outstanding features are its three major volcanic centers; Shira in the west
(13,648ft), Mawenzi in the east (17,322ft) and the snow-capped Kibo in the
middle (19,340ft). In the space of a few days, normally 6 or 7 days of climb
and 1 1/2 days of descent, the climber can pass from the Equatorial climate to
Arctic, through tropical rain forest, moorland, alpine desert to snow and ice.
The summit of Kilimanjaro can be reached by any
reasonably fit person, with the assistance of a guide and porters. We recommend
the Shira Plateau and Western Breach route and advise against using the shorter
routes such as the Marangu and Machame. For additional information on our treks
please see our Advice on Trekking.
Apart from its dramatic geological features and the
beautiful mountain vegetation Mount Kilimanjaro is also notable for its
birdlife which is plentiful in the rich forest zone. Elephant, buffalo, eland,
rhino, Abott's duiker, bushbuck, baboon, blue as well as Colobus monkey and
even leopard can be seen on its slopes. Kilimanjaro is also populated by a wide
array of butterflies, moths and other insects.
The mountain can be climbed almost any time of the year
although it is often wet in the rain forest during the rainy season in April
and May. The best time to climb is between August to November.
Kilimanjaro rises from plains at approximately 6,561
feet, right up to 19,340 feet. An ancient volcano, it now lies dormant except
for some tell tale signs of fumaroles in the ash pit. The main peak of Kibo, is
flanked by two other peaks, namely Mawenzi and Shira. These peaks form
spectacular photographic backdrops when viewed from various vantage points
along the routes to the summit.
The different routes to the summit passes through five
ecological zones, being the cultivated lower slopes, Montane forest, heath and
moorland, alpine desert and the ice capped summit.
The lower slopes of the mountain are mainly used for
agricultural purposes. The climate here is ideal for the production of coffee,
an industry that Tanzania is famous for. Further up, a rain forest belt
encircles the mountain up to about 6500 feet. As you proceed higher, you pass
through the heath which changes into moorland, semi-desert at altitude,
progressing into total desert and finally into an alpine region with permanent
ice glaciers.
The higher slopes are covered with scree, loose stones
resembling gravel, making it more difficult to negotiate. The main glaciers
edging their way down the slopes of Kibo are Heim, Rebmann, Decken, Arrow and
some smaller ones. These glaciers form the permanent ice cap of the mountain,
although they are, as a result of global warming, receding each year.
Being only 3 degrees south of the equator, Kilimanjaro
is influenced by the passage of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone. There is a
constant feeling of summer, and there are two rainy seasons to keep in mind.
The highest rain fall occurs from March lasting until about the end of May.
This is monsoon time. Slightly less rain falls during the short rainy period,
which occurs from around October to November, but can extend into December.
Apart from these factors, climbing Kilimanjaro remains fairly constant
throughout the year.
The maximum rain fall occurs in the forest belt, where it
can reach up to 79 inches per year. At the summit which can be describe as a
"high altitude desert", the rainfall reaches less than 4 inches per year. Rain
(and snow at higher altitudes) can however be encountered at any time of the
year.
The average temperature at the foot of the mountain is 77
- 86° F and on the summit, it can range from 14 ° F to minus 4° F.
At 10,000 feet the day temperatures range from 41° - 59° F, and at
night frost is normally encountered. Clearly a large variation, making it more
interesting to summit the mountain.
About 22,000 climbers set out every year to conquer the
Kilimanjaro peak. Several well-marked hiking routes lead to the summit of the
mountain. To use the word "climber" is not always correct. Although none of
these 'hikers routes' really requires mountaineering skills, hiking to the
"roof of Africa" is physically and mentally demanding and should not be under
estimated. As much as 60% of those who set out to climb Kilimanjaro turn back
before they reach Uhuru peak. For additional information on our treks please
see our Advice on Trekking.
Today, hikers make up the bulk of all those who conquer
Kilimanjaro, and the mountain is in fact one of the highest peaks accessible to
hikers in the world. Of course there are extremely severe climbs available,
including some grade 3+ climbs, but those we leave to the professional alpine
climbers and experienced mountaineers.
With the adequate preparation any reasonably fit person
above the age of 12 years can reach the summit successfully, in fact the oldest
person to date to reach the summit was a Frenchman Valtee Daniel at an age of
87!
For additional information on our treks please see our
Advice on Trekking.
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Facts & Figures
Kilimanjaro is the: highest peak in Africa
highest freestanding peak in the world
highest 'walkable' mountain in the world
Area protected: 1921 (as a forest Reserve)
Park Established: 1973
Park HQ Opened: 1977 (by President Nyerere)
Unesco World Heritage: 1989
Location: 2 50' / 3 20'S, 37 00 / 37 35'E
Total area of park: 291 sq miles / 75,353ha
Area of forest Reserve: 358 sq miles / 92,906ha
Altitude at Marangu Gate: 6004 feet
Altitude at summit: 19,340 feet
Diameter of Kibo Crater: 1.12 X 1.17 miles
Diameter of the Inner Crater: 0.8 miles
Diameter of the Ash Pit: 1148 feet
Rainy Season: November - December
March - June
Dry Season: January - February
July - October
Rainfall at altitudes: Forest Belt 5,905 feet 91 inches
Mandara Hut 8,989 feet 51 inches
Horobo Hut 12,198 feet 21 inches
Kibo Hut 15,190 feet 8 inches
Temperature generally falls 34F with every 656 feet increase in altitude.
Vegetation zones: Lower Slopes
Forest
Heath and Moorland
Highland Desert
Summit
There is roughly about 3,300 feet of altitude for each zone
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Origin of the name 'Kilimanjaro'
There are many unsatisfactory explanations for how the
mountain got its name and no one can quite agree which is the truth.
"Mountain of Greatness", Mountain of Whiteness",
"Mountain of Caravans", "Small Mountain of Caravans" are all names derived from
the Swahili, Chagga and Machame dialects.
From what little we know on the subject, we think it
might have something to do with the Swahili word 'kilima', which means 'top of
the hill'. The second portion 'njaro' presumably refers to the snow in some
way. We did discover that a similar word 'ngare' means water in the Meru
language.
Of course everyone knows that in truth the mountain was
named after the legendary Tanzanian beer.
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History
In the second century AD, Ptolemy, the Greek astronomer
and cartographer, wrote of mysterious lands to the south of modern day Somalia
that contained "man-eating barbarians" and a "great snow mountain". This
knowledge he must have gained from the Phoenicians, who had circumnavigated
Africa by this date. He may also have been drawing on ancient Egyptian writings
telling of the great expeditions of the pharaoh Hatshepsut, whose ships had
traded the Swahili Coast.
Either way, Ptolemy's account stands as the first
documented reports of Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro. The next thousand
years however brings no mention of this great mountain.
As the coast of East Africa rose in prominence as a
trading route after the establishment of Arab rule in the sixth century, the
main hub of activity centred around the island of Zanzibar and the immediate
mainland known at the time as Zinj. The Arabs had at their disposal, an almost
unlimited supply of ivory, gold rhinoceros horn and a far more lucrative and
mobile commodity, slaves.
The great slave caravans that ventured far into the
interior would have passed close by to the mountain to collect water from the
permanent streams but it was the Chinese traders of the twelfth century that
were next to record observations of a great mountain west of Zanzibar.
Kilimanjaro was to remain a mountain of myth and
superstition throughout the centuries - one of the great secrets of interior of
'the dark continent'
It was actually the desire to find the source of the Nile
that drove British explorers and geographers to first head inland towards the
mysterious mountain around 1840 onwards. Up until then Kilimanjaro had been
tall tale told by the Arab traders of Zanzibar. No one really believed that
there was a snow-capped mountain on the equator. It wasn't an immediate leap
from legend to clear fact though, as British geographer William Cooley
cryptically reported back to London that there was indeed "a large ridge called
Kirimanjara" and that it was in fact "strewn with red pebbles".
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Krapf
In 1844, at the instigation of the London based Church
Missionary Society, Johann Ludwig Krapf, a Doctor of Divinity and his wife
Rosine arrived in Zanzibar. Krapf had a dream to link the West and East coasts
of Africa with a chain of Christian missionaries, but it wasn't long before he
discovered his high ambitions conceived in the parlours of Europe were not
going to be so easy to realize in the field.
In March of that year they moved to Mombasa, where Krapf
was to suffer a major test of his faith when his wife died of malaria within
days of giving birth. The child died also. Krapf was plunged into depression
and suffered alone for two years until the arrival of Swiss missionary, Johann
Rebmann, whose fresh enthusiasm was finally able to re-kindled Krapf's ambition
desire to link the two coasts.
On 16th October 1847, Rebmann, with the help of eight
tribesmen and Bwana Kheri, a caravan leader, set off for the mountain of
Kasigau, where they hoped to establish the first of mission posts. The journey
went well and they returned to Mombasa on the 27th of the same month. Along the
way they had heard the stories of the great mountain "Kilimansharo", whose head
was above the clouds and "topped with silver", around whose feet lived the
mountain's people, the fearsome Jagga (now Chagga).
Krapf immediately sought permission from the governor of
Mombasa for an expedition to Jagga. His official reason was to find areas
suitable for mission stations, but the legendary mountain was becoming of
increasing interest to the two missionaries.
Disregarding warnings about the 'spirits of the
mountain', on the 27th April 1848, Rebmann and Bwana Kheri set off for Jagga
and within just two weeks was standing on the great steppe of East Africa
within sight of Kilimanjaro ... the first European to set eyes on the mountain.
In his log he refers to "a remarkable white on the mountains of Jagga", which
he could just make out through the haze. He asked his guide to explain what it
was he was looking at and "he did not know but supposed it to be coldness". At
that moment Rebmann realised that the legend really was true. There really were
snowfields on the African equator.
In April 1849, Rebmann's observations were published in
the Church Missionary Intelligencier and although not properly substantiated
until twelve years later, it remains the first confirmed report of Mount
Kilimanjaro.
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The First Ascent in 1889
In 1887, Professor Hans Meyer, a German geographer, made
his first attempt upon the summit of Kibo. Accompanied by Baron Von Eberstein,
Meyer was eventually defeated by a combination of thick snow, 120 feet ice
walls and his partner's altitude sickness. The following day, from the safety
of The Saddle, Meyer estimated that the ice walls descended to just below the
crater rim at an altitude of about 18,044 feet. The ice was continuous over the
entire peak and it was evident that the summit could not be reached without
some considerable ice climbing.
After an aborted expedition in 1888, Meyer returned the
following year accompanied by the renowned Alpinist, Ludwig Purtscheller and a
well organised support group determined to scale the peak. The climbers came
prepared with state of the art equipment and established a base camp on the
moorland from where porters ferried fresh supplies of food from Marangu.
Daunted by the precipitous ice cliffs of the northern
crater rim and the extensive ice flows to the south, the two climbers agreed
that the best chance of success lay by tackling the less severe incline of the
south eastern slope of the mountain.
From their advance camp at 14,107 feet the two climbers
set off at 01.00hrs and reached the lower slopes of the glacier at about
10.00hrs. Although the glacier was not as steep or high as the walls
encountered on Meyer's previous attempt, its incline never went below 35
degrees and ice steps had to be cut. Progress was slow but after 2 hours the
men reached the upper limits of the glacier where the incline decreased. A
further 2 hours of painful trekking through waist high snow and over deep
weathered ice grooves found the climbers at the rim of the crater with the
summit in sight. However time and strength were running out and the summit was
still another 150m above them, so they returned to advance camp to try again
after three days.
This time the route was clearly marked and the previously
cut ice steps had held their shape. The rim was reached in 6 hours and at
exactly 10.30hrs Meyer became the first recorded person to set foot on the
highest point in Africa.
Although Meyer and Purtscheller laid the trail for
further ascents on Kilimanjaro, there was not an instant queue of would-be
climbers. It wasn't until 1912, over 20 years later, when a path from Marangu
was established and the first huts at Mandera and Horombo were built by Dr. E
Forster for the newly formed German Kilimanjaro Mountain Club that activity
began in earnest. The outbreak of war in 1918 however delayed further
expeditions and the building of the Kibo Hut.
The year 1929 saw the next stage in the opening up of the
mountain with the formation of The Mountain Club of East Africa (now The
Kilimanjaro Mountain Club) by C. Gillman, N.Rice, P Ungerer and Dr.Reusch. The
Kibo Hut was finally completed in 1932, hotels began to organise safaris onto
the mountain and the public began to reach Gillman's Point with a few of the
hardier going on to the summit.
Most people spend between 5 and 8 days climbing the
mountain. In 1993, a Brazilian, Mozart Catão established the speed
record by going up and down in 17 hours 30 minutes.
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Geology
The great volcano Mount Kilimanjaro stands on an
otherwise featureless part of the East African plateau, on the Tanzanian side
of the Kenya border, side by side with the smaller Mount Meru.
Both mountains are extinct volcanoes, with Kilimanjaro
actually being the agglomeration of three distinct volcanoes, whose violent
creation is geologically associated with the creation of the Great Rift Valley,
100km to the West.
These two great mountains create a micro-climate around
themselves and the rain-shadow created to their South and East supplies the
beautiful and superbly fertile land in which the towns of Moshi and Arusha are
situated, full of banana groves and coffee plantations.
Mount Kilimanjaro National Park and Forest Reserve occupy
the whole of Mount Kilimanjaro and its surrounding montane forest. The National
Park comprises the entire mountain above the tree line and six forest corridors
that stretch through the montane forest belt.
Mount Kilimanjaro was born of the catastrophic movements
in the Earth's crust that created the Great Rift Valley that runs from the Red
Sea through Tanzania to Southern Africa.
The Rift Valley is an example of a Constructive Margin,
where new crust is exposed as two Continental plates pull away from each other.
Around 25 million years ago East Africa was a huge flat plain that buckled and
ruptured after the African and Eurasian Continental Plates rebounded off each
other causing huge rifting and weak spots in the thinning crust that led to the
formation of many volcanoes in the region. Where the original valley was
deepest, the volcanic activity was greatest eventually forming the huge
volcanoes of Ngorongoro on the Rift itself and a string of volcanoes to the
East including Meru, Kenya and Kilimanjaro.
The Rift Valley is still active today and Kilimanjaro is
the result of comparatively recent volcanic activity. Originally consisting of
three large vents; Shira, Kibo and Mawenzi, the formation of Kilimanjaro began
approximately 750,000 years ago. Eventually the Shira cone collapsed and became
extinct, followed by Mawenzi. The Kibo cone however remained active and about
360,000 years ago endured a massive eruption that released black lava across
the Shira Caldera creating the Saddle at the base of Mawenzi. Kibo eventually
levelled out at 19,500 feet and has been periodically covered with ice and
glaciers. Around 100,000 years ago a huge landslide created the Barranco Wall
on the south western edge of the crater and Kibo's last eruption formed the Ash
Pit, the Inner Crater and the perfect caldera.
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Ecology
Mount Kilimanjaro has five major zones and the activity
within each of these is controlled by the five factors of altitude, rainfall,
temperature, flora and fauna.
Each zone occupies an area approximately 3,300 feet in
altitude and is subject to a corresponding decrease in rainfall, temperature
and life from the forest upwards.
- Lower slopes
Altitude: 2,625 to 5,905 feet
Rainfall: 20 inches (Plains) - 71 inches (Forest
Boundary)
The southern lower slopes of Kilimanjaro contain
ample evidence of human activity. The original scrub and lowland forest has
been replaced by grazing land, cultivation and densely populated settlements
fed by water permeating from the forest zone. The slopes were originally
earmarked by the British and Germans as potential settlement areas due to the
'European' weather. These lush and fertile lands are in stark contrast to the
northern slopes where low rainfall coupled with the porosity of the lava soils
prohibits cultivation.
There are none of the larger mammals in this zone but
some of the smaller tree-dwelling mammals are numerous such as galagos and tree
hyrax along with the ever elusive genet. Generally nocturnal, they will be
heard before they are seen.
- Forest
Altitude: 5,905 to 9,200 feet
Rainfall: 79 inches (Southern slopes) under 39 inches
(Northern and Western slopes)
The forest belt completely encircles the mountain and
provides the best conditions for plant life. It serves as the water provider
for all the lower slopes with up to 96% of all the water on the mountain
originating from this zone and then percolating down through the porous lava
rock to emerge as springs.
The forest supports a variety of wildlife including
several large mammals such as elephant and buffalo and in certain areas it is
compulsory to have an armed guide. Occasionally eland inhabit the border
between the forest and the heath and moor land zone. Colobus and blue monkeys
are common along with bushbuck, duikers and (if you are very lucky) leopard and
bushpig.
The forest is damp and high generally attracting a
band of cloud, particularly between 8,200 and 9,850 feet. This cloud promotes
high humidity and dampness all year round whilst clear nights can produce low
temperatures. The daytime average however fluctuates between 59F to 68F.
- Heath & Moorland
Altitude: 9,200 to 13,125 feet
Rainfall: 50 inches (edge of forest) 21 inches (upper
limit)
This semi-alpine zone is characterized by heath-like
vegetation and abundant wild flowers. However it is two distinctive plants that
stand out, Lobelia deckenii and Senecio kilimanjarin.
Lobelia deckenii: This lobelia is endemic to the area
and exceptionally striking. Growing up to 10 feet high, it has a hollow stem, a
tall flower like spike and spiralling bracts that conceal blue flowers. In
order to protect the sensitive leaf buds from the sub-zero night time
temperatures, the lobelia close their leaves around the central core while the
covered rosettes secrete a slimy solution that helps to insulate and preserve.
Senecio kilimanjarin: This giant groundsel is again
endemic and is one of the most spectacular plants of all. It can reach 16 feet
in height with a crown of large leaves and a 1m long spike of yellow flowers.
Close relation Senecio cottonii can grow at even higher altitudes than the
Senecio kilimanjarin and uses its old dead leaves as insulation around its
trunk.
This zone does not support abundant wildlife due to
its altitude but there have been sightings of wild dog, buffalo, elephant and
most commonly eland. The Shira plateau even has the occasional visit by lion.
Smaller mammals are more common and support a few predators such as civets,
servals and leopard.
- Highland desert
Altitude: 13,125 to 16,500 feet
Rainfall: 10 inches
The temperature of the semi-desert zone ranges from
sub-zero at night to 86F during the day. Water is scarce and there is little
soil to retain what little water there might be. There are only 55 recorded
plant species that survive at this altitude. Lichens and tussock grasses
survive in reasonable numbers as do some mosses but as the soil is subject to
movement overnight as the ground water freezes, most root plants find life
extremely hard.
There are no resident larger animals in the desert
although; eland, leopard, serval and wild dog all pass through on occasion.
Only a few birds can survive in this rarefied air and once again none are
resident. Ravens and some large birds of prey will hunt during the day but will
leave with the sun.
- Summit
Altitude: 16,500 feet plus
Rainfall: under 4 inches
An arctic zone characterized by freezing cold nights
and burning sun during the day where the oxygen level is half that of sea
level.
There is minimal liquid surface water because of a
combination of low rainfall and porous rock, and the bleak terrain supports
minimal life forms. A few lichens grow but at a rate of about 0.3 inches per
year so even the most unimpressive looking spread is probably of venerable
years. The highest recorded flowering plant was a Helichrysum newii at 18,600
feet within the Kibo Crater but these are few and far between, as are sightings
of mammals at this altitude. There are however two particular sightings that
have made it into folklore...
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The Frozen Leopard
Originally discovered and recorded by the local
missionary Dr Richard Reusch in 1926 and later immortalized by Ernest
Hemmingway in his crap book The Snows of Kilimanjaro, no one knows quite what
the leopard was doing up here. Reusch, brave man that he was, managed to cut
off one of its ears before some other souvenir hunter made off with the whole
thing, never to be seen again.
Wild Dog
In 1962, Wilfred Thesiger, George Webb and Effata
Jonathon encountered a pack of 5 wild dogs at Hans Meyer Point (about 16,500
feet). As the men continued to the summit the dogs followed at a parallel
distance of about 984 feet until Uhuru Peak when they watched the men dig out
and sign the log book from the glacier crest. Fearing an attack, the men began
to descend but the dogs disappeared over the crest and were not seen again.
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Glaciology
The summit of Kilimanjaro was previously completely
covered by an ice cap more than 100m deep with Glaciers ranging well down the
mountain to below 13,123 feet.
At present only a small fraction of the glacial cover
remains which is most visible around the spectacular Northern and Eastern
Icefields and the southern and south-western flanks.
However the ice is receding at such a rate that there is
concern that the ice cover may disappear completely within the next 20 years.
Evidence of this retreat was first observed by Hans
Meyer, the first Westerner to make the summit, who reported in 1898 that the
ice limit had withdrawn by over 328 feet since his first ascent 8 years
earlier. This rapid change is therefore not entirely due to recent global
warming but rather a result of a longer term cycle of climatic events. Studies
by Sheffield University during the 1950's reported that Kilimanjaro has had a
long history of glacial advance and retreat coinciding with a sequence of eight
glaciations. The present ice cap is probably the result of the world wide drop
in temperature experienced between 1400AD and 1700AD and suggests that there
have been several long periods when Kilimanjaro was devoid of ice.
The current retreat is the result of a general increase
in the temperature of the earth over many hundreds of years.
Extract from: "Ice Cap Retreat" by Jonathan Amos in San
Francisco 19/02/2001
"The beautiful ice fields on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro
in East Africa could completely melt away in the next 20 years if the Earth
continues to warm at the rate many scientists now claim. The calculation comes
from Professor Lonnie Thompson, of Ohio State University, who has made an
aerial survey of the famous Tanzanian peak." He said "Comparisons with previous
mapping showed 33% of Mt Kilimanjaro's ice had disappeared in the last two
decades - 82% had gone since 1912. Studies on other tropical peaks had revealed
a similar picture".
He warned this melting could have serious repercussions
for drinking water supply, crop irrigation, hydroelectric production and
tourism.
He said, "…retreating glaciers is one of many
symptoms that the Earth is undergoing dramatic changes within our lifetime.
Climate change is just one piece in a much bigger puzzle."
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