BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi everyone,

In my research on tour companies/routes, I came across African Environments Shira Route (8 nights/9 days) itinerary, which calls for spending one night at 18,500 ft. inside the crater.

Has anyone does this? How safe is it?

Is it worth staying the night at such high altitude with the benefit of hiking only 800 ft to the summit or should we be staying a bit lower and then hiking for 4-5 hours to reach the summit?

Will staying at 18,000+ ft. for that long hamper the summit experience in any way?

Thanks for any info/advice y'all can provide!
-jen

Hi Jen

Im climbing with a start date of June 2nd and will be, if all goes well spending a night in the crater. I havn't decided whether or not to do it pre or post summit. From some of the posts here it is an amazing experience, plus you have the added benefit (if indeed it is a benefit) of not having to do the final push at midnite. My outfitter custom made my trek on what I requested. If you and your crew are interested you are more than welcome to join me.
Doug

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the reply. Can I ask who your tour operator is? I was thinking of African Environments, and then after doing more research, also came across a company called Tusker.

Their route (with a stay in the crater, too) caught my attention.

I'm pretty sure that I'm only going to get one chance to summit Kili in my lifetime and I'd like to make sure it happens...so I'm trying to find companies that take their time trekking up (8-9 days) and both African Environments and Tusker do that.

-jen

hi jen, i am climbing kili on the lemosho rte, also a 9 day trek with a nite in the crater before summit. i have had the same ?'s regarding a nite at that altitude, mainly because i am bringing my 16 yr. old daughter.this is what i have come up with...#1 going the longer rtes definitely give you a hand in acclimating and a successful summit. #2the day of summit is not quite as long starting in the crater,still a hard trek down,either way. #3 if you are going with a top notch company they will not take you to the crater if they see any signs of trouble in your health. i am going with Nature Discovery out of tanzania, on recommendation from a friend that is in travel business. i have heard of tusker and i believe they are very good. if you feel like traveling with a husband wife and daughter team, we start out on the 22 of june and would love to have more in the group. kh ps i am still a bit nervous about our crater night,regardless!

Camping at Crater Camp in Kilimanjaro is the hardest way of spending time on the mountain - and the most adventurous. I would highly recommend it. It's dangerous to sleep at 18,000 ft, but if you acclimate your body correctly, then it should be no problem. African Environment brings oxygen too.

Hi Jen

Im going with the Marangu hotel. All the guide books and forums have nothing but good to say about them. But I cant speak from experience, only from the research I have done. Time will tell. Tusker is from what I have found a very slick operation. They sent me a package that probably cost 10.00 to make up. It is excellent with dvds and beautiful color brochures. They have an office somewhere in the US which was dealing with me. I almost choose them, but there cost is way at the top of the range. Ill look through my emails and see if i can find the ones from Tusker and can forward on to you if you want

I climbed with Tusker and spent a night on the crater.
Tusker is an outstanding outfitter.
I chose their 9 day (to the summit)hike to maximize our acclimatization. Even taking a longer ascent, my son and I didn't sleep very well on the crater but we consider that night one of the defining moments of our relationship. Crater Camp is an awesome place. You can walk over to see the inner crater that cannot be seen from the summit. A sight very few souls ever experience. The glaciers glow in the moon light and you have never seen stars that close in you life!

Most of the people I've talked to slept without issue up there but sleeping that high is not supposed to be easy. I would not trade my experience for anything.

We took sleeping bags rated to -20F which may be overkill for the lower camps but the zipper can be left open when it is warmer. The important thing was staying warm at Arrow Glacier (We climbed the Western Breach) and Crater Camps. We were always nice and warm at night with that strategy.

As Donovan said, African Environments is a good outfit and their are others. The more days spent getting to the top, the better change for success especially if you are going to try a night on the crater.

Even four years after my trip, when I look at the Crater Camp photos, I shake my head in wonder and smile at the fact we actually did it.

The best of luck to you.

ps Our "Father/son trip" story in this very blog...

how old wa your son on the climb? kh

My son was 17.
He is now 21.
He, his brother (18) and I are going to climb Mt Rainier this summer in August with IMG.

Hi everyone,
Thank you for your great replies.

KH: I agree that the longer routes are the way to go, especially if you want a better success rate of reaching the summit successfully. And I'll have a look at Nature Discovery, too! My husband and I are hoping to go in late Aug/early Sept, but I hope to hear how your trip in June goes!

Donovan: Thanks for the info and recommendations for African Environments. Have you had personal experiences with them? or do you recommend any of their guides in particular?

48_below: I found Tusker's website to be very polished, too. But they seem to have a great philosophy on keeping people healthy on the mountain. So, I'm still looking into them.

Cheesehead: I did read your account of your trek up Kili and found it to be quite awesome! I also took what you said about researching various companies and their commitment to keeping everyone healthy and out of the danger zones to heart. And I liked the fact that Tusker does daily health checks.