Preparing for Kili !!

About a month to go for the climb and I am brimming with excitement. Alpha and I watched the IMAX movie Kilimanjaro – To the roof of Africa last night. The movie has breathtaking sights of the mountain. Thought it could have had more substance on the actual challenges of climbing the mountain. They could have also said more about the locals and what Kilimanjaro means to them.

The biggest thing in our mind now is preparing physically for the grueling climb. We have been running and weight training but never sure how much is good enough. It is quite intimidating reading everything that is said about what it takes to make it to the top. We have scoured the online world for trip reports of all sorts. We found a few good ones, one of the nicest being this one by Malini Kaushik. She has a fantastic report on everything you want to know about climbing Kili. She actually helped settle the Diamox debate for us. Diamox is medication you can take to accelerate acclimatization but it comes with its side effects. You have to start taking it a few days before the climb for best results. There are numerous conflicting opinions but have decided to tolerate the multiple pee breaks that go with it and take Diamox. That seems to be the only way for us to survive the high altitudes.

In terms of logistics, I think we are fully prepared. We have certainly invested all we can for the gear stocking up on thermals, light-weight and mid-weight fleeces, day packs, etc. Finished all the travel and accommodation arrangements. We got the Tanzanian visa this week and now waiting for our Kenyan visa. But somebody, give a reliable prediction on how the situation is going to be. While planning the trip, we decided to fly into Nairobi and drive to Kilimanjaro. Now, we are faced with the political uncertainty in Kenya. Oh well !!!!!