Hi:

I've been looking at a lot of summit photos and in some of them there is a ton of snow at the top, and people are walking for hours in the snow. In others it seems that there is not a drop of snow along the route to the summit.

Are there any patterns (e.g. time of year) for there to be more snow along the trails to the summit? I'll be hopefully summitting in the beg. of July.

Also, do people bring crampons ever? I've read in some diaries that snow walking is slippery. Crampons would certainly help with that.

Kay

I guess climate and time of year plays a part, but apparently snow can fall at any time (just as rain can fall at any time on lower slopes).

I went in October 2007 and it was dry as a bone from Barafu to the summit.

I've seen photos from June/July where you can't even see the sign because it's buried under snow.

Can't answer your question about crampons, other than to say I didn't take any and was not advised to.

When we went (mid-September, 2007) there was just a bit of snow on the final stretch from Barafu to Uhuru. Probably less than an inch. In the first few hours of that climb (we started at @ 6:30a from Barafu) there were some slippery spots where we were walking on rock dusted with snow, or ash/dirt covered with compacted snow. None of us had crampons, but a couple of guys in the group had brought "Yak Trax" so they put them on. But as we climbed higher, we left the band of new snow and were walking on damp ash/scree for most of the day. But I have seen the photos you're talking about - with nothing but thick snow. I can't say for sure, but my impression is that the route (at least the one going up from Barafu) is generally not steep enough to require crampons even with full snow coverage. It seems like if you were to slip, you might slide a bit, but you would never be in danger of a prolonged out-of-control slide, or sliding into a cravasse (there are none) or off a cliff. I could be wrong -- with full coverage the slope/danger might be more significant than it seemed without a lot of snow. In any case, given the conditions we experienced, I didn't regret not bringing crampons or even yak trax.

Hope that helps! Sorry I can't speak to conditions in July.


-- On our way up through snow band --


-- On our way down the next day, above snow band --

Thanks for the replies. Nice photos,

kay

Hi Kay,
I climbed Kilimanjaro at the start of February. There was a light dusting of snow starting at Barafu camp, and a significant amount (maybe a couple of feet deep, but firm enough to walk on) starting around Stella Point. We were told these were unusually snowy conditions for the mountain in February. The beginning of July is right after the rainy season, so you may find it snowy too.

I too considered taking crampons (I've used them on many other mountain trips), but didn't in the end. We really didn't need them as the snowy part of the path (near the summit) was really quite gentle. Walking the streets of Ottawa after our first snowstorm of the season this past week was more treacherous than the snow on Kili!

If you're concerned about slipping, Yak trax (or similar) are probably more appropriate than crampons.

--Turtle

Hi Kay,

July is "the dry season". I climbed in July and had no rain or snow to deal with...even in the rain forest!

My outfitter, Tusker, would have made crampons available had we needed them on the Western Breach.

We did cross a basically flat snow field on the crater but no problem using waffle-stompers...

Have fun!

My husband and I reached the summit on July 1, 2008. We had a dusting of snow on Day 4 which made for beautiful scenery but didn't require the need for special climbing equipment. The summit was covered with snow when we arrived at 6:00 am but could be traversed in insulated hiking boots. You can see the snow in our video which is posted on this site or can be found on youtube by typing in Klingsberg. Enjoy!