Kilimangaro in March~Gear help

[fleetmack]

biggest questions are:
will our sleeping bags be warm enough, i am thinking an over night winter camping trip might be in order? they list a 3 season bag they will supply but that sounds gross.
Yes, I used a 20 degree bag and a liner. I only used the liner on the last night. I think the last 2 nights I also slept in fleece pants, you will be fine with what you have.

does my husband need a puffy jacket or will his Columbia 3 in 1 be enough, they just list a windproof,waterproof mountain jacket
I don't know what a Columnbia 3 in 1 is, the only really cold time is the midnight-until-sun-comes-up on Summit day. I wore a down coat that morning as well as about 3 other layers (was probably 10-20 degrees that morning). The rest of the hike I was in t-shirt or maybe a sweathsirt or rain jacket.

do we need more fleeces to layer?
Not really, just plan for summit morning to be dressed like you would be on a moderately-cold ski day. Warm gloves, warm hat, base layer, fleece pants, base layer up top, sweatshirt up top, strong jacket up top. warm socks.

what are some good heavy weight baselayer bottoms, everything i see looks really thin.
I used my under-armour ski tights, with REI fleece pants, and hiking pants over that.

should i just pack my snowboarding insulated pants for summit day or just get good heavy baselayers with my OR pants.
see above

is it worth bringing my 200g insulated boots for the last 2 day push for my cold toes or are they just gonna be cold no matter what
not worth it at all. just bring warm socks and you'll be fine.

i have heard toe and hand warmers will be useless above 14k, worth still bringing some?
useless on this trip, in my opinion.

i want to rent a Sony A6500 camera with a 18-200mm lens wondering if it will freeze up there, if anything it should be good for the safari.
Bring it on the safari 100%, a good camera and lens is paramount to enjoying your safari IMO. I have been on 2 large African safari's and, while enjoyable, the camera made them wildly fun. As for bringing it on Kili, I did not. I didn't feel the added weight was worth it, especially knowing how good camera phones are now (I climbed Kili in 2010 so just brought a point-and-shoot up the mountain as I didn't have a camera phone).

one thing not mentioned was food. what did you pack to eat between meals, somewhere i read to have like 20 some "bars" with you for the 8days. i have some funsized candies packed to share with everyone, plan on energy chews, powders for water, cliff, pro meal and kind bars, maybe even some trail mix.
I don't think I brought any food - if I did, I don't remember eating it. Maybe a few gel packets or clif shots for summit day at most. But I did bring lots of propel packets and lemonade packets to make me enjoy the boiled water a little better, IMO, that was the smartest thing I did on that trip. Bring 20 or so per person, 2 per camelbak load.

I have a trip report on this site that details my gear list, I think.

[jbealer]

Thank you everyone so far with all the advice given, i am taking notes and making changes to my packed things! my guest bed is just covered right now in gear!

one thing i am held up on is the Yellow Fever shot, do we get it or not...

Yellow Fever
Health recommendation: CDC does not recommend yellow fever vaccine for most travelers to Tanzania. However, you might consider this vaccine if you are staying a long time or will be heavily exposed to mosquitoes.
Country entry requirement: The government of Tanzania requires proof of yellow fever vaccination upon arrival if you are traveling from a country with risk of yellow fever (this does not include the US - see complete list: Countries with risk of yellow fever virus (YFV) transmission.)
Tanzania:
Yellow Fever
Requirements: Required if traveling from a country with risk of YFV transmission and ≥1 year of age, including transit >12 hours in an airport located in a country with risk of YFV transmission.
Recommendations: Generally not recommended for travelers to Tanzania.

i really do not want to pay $60 at a travel clinic to talk to someone who might tell me i do not need it. I asked my Doc today and she was no help at all and said it was my call. all my research tells me we will be ok with out it. What did you all do? we will be there in March, before rainy season and no layovers in infected areas

We will be getting:
Cholera
Meningococcal MCV-4 & Meningococcal B
Typhoid
Diamox
Malaria
and stuff for travelers diarrhea (JIK)

Thanks again!

[matt pierce]

Thank you everyone so far with all the advice given, i am taking notes and making changes to my packed things! my guest bed is just covered right now in gear!

one thing i am held up on is the Yellow Fever shot, do we get it or not...

Yellow Fever
Health recommendation: CDC does not recommend yellow fever vaccine for most travelers to Tanzania. However, you might consider this vaccine if you are staying a long time or will be heavily exposed to mosquitoes.
Country entry requirement: The government of Tanzania requires proof of yellow fever vaccination upon arrival if you are traveling from a country with risk of yellow fever (this does not include the US - see complete list: Countries with risk of yellow fever virus (YFV) transmission.)
Tanzania:
Yellow Fever
Requirements: Required if traveling from a country with risk of YFV transmission and ≥1 year of age, including transit >12 hours in an airport located in a country with risk of YFV transmission.
Recommendations: Generally not recommended for travelers to Tanzania.

i really do not want to pay $60 at a travel clinic to talk to someone who might tell me i do not need it. I asked my Doc today and she was no help at all and said it was my call. all my research tells me we will be ok with out it. What did you all do? we will be there in March, before rainy season and no layovers in infected areas

We will be getting:
Cholera
Meningococcal MCV-4 & Meningococcal B
Typhoid
Diamox
Malaria
and stuff for travelers diarrhea (JIK)

Thanks again!

I haven't been in 10 years but at that time it was required. They very well may ask for your yellow card at the airport and you should have a Yellow Fever sticker on it. Besides, why risk it? Just get the shot...

[sue personett]

I climbed Kilimanjaro in February of 2017 and I was told that I needed a Yellow Fever vaccination. I was told they would ask to see my Yellow Fever Card. So I got one but I was also told not to get the rabies shots unless I planned on handling wild animals. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be handling wild animals so no rabies shots. With all of the shots, I felt like a pincushion. I'll never get sick again! HAH!!!
Namaste
Sue

[Greenhouseguy]

I climbed Kilimanjaro in February of 2017 and I was told that I needed a Yellow Fever vaccination. I was told they would ask to see my Yellow Fever Card. So I got one but I was also told not to get the rabies shots unless I planned on handling wild animals. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be handling wild animals so no rabies shots. With all of the shots, I felt like a pincushion. I'll never get sick again! HAH!!!
Namaste
Sue

Sue, I checked the CDC site, and they don't consider Tanzania to be a yellow fever country. Many people fly Air Ethiopia to get there, and I was told that I would need a shot if I had a 12-hour or longer layover in Ethiopia. You don't always get to plan your layovers, so that's something to consider. Nobody asked for a yellow fever card, but an extra $20 paid to the right person got a few people to the front of the visa line at the airport. I had Hep A shots, typhoid shots, cholera medicine, and antimalarial pills. There are lots of stray dogs in the cities, so some people recommend rabies shots if you're going to be spending much time in the cities.

[emcee smith]

I would agree on getting the Yellow Fever shot. Don't want hassles inbound when you are already going to be stressed to makes sure your bags make it, finding your guide/ride, etc.

Seems you are anti-rabies and I would agree as well (although I got it). I understood without rabies vac you had maybe 24 hours to get to a 1st world country for treatment, if you had the rabies shot you have either 48/72 hours to get treatment. The fear is you get bit high on the mountain and by the time you walk out and catch a flight you are beyond the 24 hours. Given risk of animals is low (or in town), you can probably get out and out in time.

One thing I heard was that for a 6-12 months afterward, if you go to the doctor/hospital for anything, the first thing you should mention is that you have been to tropical Africa. I was even told if you break an arm, mention that you have been to Africa. Most docs won't think to test for tropical diseases (similar to Lyme disease) and could easily go undiagnosed.

[jbealer]

Emcee, i was reading that if bitten you can get the shot after and be ok, but i did not see the time frame you mentioned, i was just thinking they would have the shot somewhere in town maybe. From what everyone is saying we will not see to many animals on the trail, and i was warned to not pet the stray dogs, as tempting as it will be. we will not have much time in town, maybe go thur after gear check but thats it.
i messaged the tour company about YF:
"If you coming from Country where their is no yellow fever it's not necessary for you to take it but if you have plans of going to Zanzibar maybe then you should take it ."

no plans for zanzibar, just a 2 day safari after, so i am very much still on the fence about it....

good news is we both did our TZ visa's online and were pre approved, on less thing to do when we land and to pay for!
So far it sounds like just my husband and I are booked for the trek from company:"I have ongoing clients once confirmed I will keep you posted"

[emcee smith]

Below is clipped from http://www.immunize.org Not sure if the time frame is accurate, it is more about whether Tanzania qualifies as "immediate medical attention" or whether they have rabies immune globulin available. FWIW I was the only person in my group to get the vaccination. My veterinarian cousin thought it was cool that I got the vaccine though

From the website (bold and underline are my adds):

The rabies vaccine is recommended for me because I’m an animal control officer. How does being treated after an exposure differ from getting vaccinated before an exposure?

Treatment after an exposure in a previously unvaccinated person requires receiving a dose of rabies immune globulin and four (or five if the person’s immune system is suppressed) doses of vaccine. Vaccination before exposure requires only three doses of vaccine and no immune globulin. Booster doses of vaccine are recommended for some persons at high risk of rabies exposure. Check with your health department.

Is an immunized person totally protected if bitten by a rabid animal?

No. If bitten, a vaccinated person should receive two more doses of rabies vaccine; one dose immediately and one three days later.

What’s the advantage of being immunized against rabies if you still have to receive additional doses of vaccine if you’re exposed?

Being vaccinated simplifies treatment by eliminating the need for rabies immune globulin and decreasing the number of doses of vaccine needed after an exposure. This is important because many people at high risk may be working in areas where they may not be able to get immediate medical attention, or where immunizing products are not readily available. Being vaccinated might also provide protection against unknown exposures to rabies (e.g., from a bat bite).

[I Man]

We just returned home to NYC from Africa after doing the Machame Route, Masai Mara safari, some time in Nairobi and then a relaxing vacation to Zanzibar. We spent 19 days total including travel.

We went to passport Health NYC and we did get Yellow Fever and Rabies. For Yellow Fever they claimed that it was only required for returning to Tanzania from Kenya (for us, this was our Zanzibar portion). If you are simply going to Tanzania and leaving from Tanzania, you shouldn't need it. There was a shortage of the vaccine and we needed to take a European version. it cost $225 each, which sucked, but was worth it given our itinerary.

If you have done Rainier, you should relax your apprehension about Kilimajaro - in many ways, Kili is unlike any other big mountain I have ever done and is extremely straight-forward. For starters, you never camp at the same camp twice, you don't need to do anything aside from walk (i.e. now crampons or scrambling) and the logistical support makes everything quite easy. This was the first time I had ever had support on a mountain (aside from porters/logistic at a basecamp). This meant that we just needed to carry day packs with water and a few layers each day and all food was provided for us. We did bring some of the typical hiking snacks, and as usual we over-pakced. We went with a bare bones type outfitter, so I am sure the service level and food provided only goes up from there. The food was quite good and easy to eat compared with a lot of other trips (like in Pakistan when a goat hiked up with us and was then served to us over the next 5 weeks, of course we named him "Donald."

The weather on summit day was pretty rough comparative to what most experience, but was not terrible. It was windy and wet - everyone had ice frozen to their outer layers, it looked kind of cool. I wore a midweight wool baselayer, a Patagonia R1 Hoody, a midweight fleece layer, an Arc'Teryx Gamma Softshell and an Arc'Teryx Atom Jacket. I use light mittens. I was fine. I also wore La Sportiva Trango Cube boots, overkill, but I owned them anyway. My wife wore a similar setup except used my First Ascent Peak XV jacket AND Marmot 8000m mitts. Given the conditions, it being overnight and it being her first time to any sort of altitude, we were happy to have this. I never regretted my decision of only bringing 1 big puffy to Africa. She wore regular LS hiking boots with a good sock combo and never had an issue.

Many comment on how the guides control everything, but that's why we chose the company we used. They left us be everyday to hike on our own (the posted times are insane, you can easily cut 30-50% off the time without too much effort, though that meant a lot of time just sitting around at camp - but since it was our honeymoon, we didn't mind). The best part was that on summit day they asked us how long we thought it would take. We estimated 5 hours, with a goal of summitting at 630am for sunrise - so we left around 2am. This was extremely important as we would have been to the summit hours before sunrise had we blindly followed other groups lead. We were only the two of us in our group, so that made it a lot easier to call the shots.

For a sleeping bag, we used the Feathered Friends Spoonbill - a 2 person lightweight 0 degree bag designed for serious alpine climbing. I only owned this due to other trips, but it worked out really well. We were warm down low and warm up high. Honestly it never really got cold in the tent at night, especially compared with other big mountains.

I seriously have absolutely no remote clue as to why anyone would ever wear gaiters on this trip. Not only do they add weight to your feet and make them hot and sweaty, but they are completely pointless. I never wear gaiters on any trip (I attached elastic bands to keep my pants from riding up on serious snow climbs) - there is no snow or scree or anything that would necessitate gaiters. Trekking poles were really helpful though as we did the entire descent from the summit to the Trailhead in a single day - this was 4000m of loss.

Overall, most people on the mountain have never done anything like this - you having experience on Rainier will set you up to be experts compared with most people there. You will have an amazing time. Let me know if you have any further questions. Africa was incredible!

[jbealer]

Thank you all for the help packing for our trip!
We made the Summit on March 21st! It was an incredible trip. I can not wait to summit more mountains outside of Colorado!

I just got my TR done
https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... trip=19304