Word: climbing
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...That sight, and that summit, draw more than 15,000 climbers a year to Tanzania. Kilimanjaro is one of the world?s highest readily climbable mountains - all that is required to climb ?Kili,? as it is affectionately known, is a decent level of fitness and an iron will to succeed. Unlike most other tall mountains, Kilimanjaro is not part of a chain. The dormant volcano's massive bulk rises in solitary grace out of the East African savanna, just 200 miles south of the equator. It stands 19,340 feet above sea level, shorter than the towering peaks...
...weeks ago I set off with a group of friends to climb Kili. Our first challenge was to choose a route from among the half dozen options. Most climbers take the Marangu route, a benign five-day round-trip popularly termed the "Coca-Cola route. " Other routes are longer and more challenging, but also more scenic and less crowded. We opted to combine the Umbwe and Mweka routes. It's tougher, warned our guide, but the scenery is stunning...
...Costly climb...
...Climbing Kili is not cheap. Tanzania?s park fees are among the highest in Africa and then there are the guides (it's illegal to climb without one) and porters. Our group of 13 required a lead guide, two assistant guides, two cooks and 26 porters. Total cost, including tips at the end, was $800 a person...
...took us on a gentle path through dense forest. The going was easy, though Michael, our guide, constantly reminded us to take it slowly and allow our bodies to acclimatize. The Swahili word for slow is ?pole? (poh-lay), and that became the buzzword for the rest of the climb. Slow and steady really does win the race. The track became steeper the higher we climbed and by mid afternoon, a light drizzle began to fall. We set up camp at 9700 feet, in a rocky bush clearing just above a couple of caves...