Why Climb Kilimanjaro At Night?
Why Climb Kilimanjaro At Night? You’ve heard tales of the horrific summit night experiences on Kilimanjaro. The lack of sleep, the nighttime hiking, and the height rise of 1000 meters all seem like bad reasons to do it. Why don’t we sleep through the entire night and rise at our regular time? We would have recovered from our trip to Kosovo Camp and been well rested. Although it might seem strange to climb Kilimanjaro at night, we explain our reasoning in this article!
WHY CLIMB KILIMANJARO AT NIGHT?
Height is the primary cause: It’s harder to fall asleep the higher you are. Kosovo Camp, our tallest camp, is located at 4,800 meters. Research has indicated that disruptions to sleep occur at elevations of 2,500 meters and higher.
The goal is to spend as little time as possible at high elevations. We hiked for four to five hours on day five of our Kilimanjaro hike from Karanga Camp to Kosovo Camp. This allows us to rest, refuel, sip water, and take a nap before continuing on to the top.
We stay for only a few hours on our way back to Karanga Camp after descending from the summit. After taking a nap for an hour or two, we head over to Millennium Camp. At 3,832 meters above sea level, your sleep that night at Millennium Camp might have been the finest of your life. You’ll sleep like a baby because of the decreased altitude and the weariness from the summit attempt.
TIME MANAGEMENT
Giving ourselves enough time is another reason we break camp at midnight on the sixth day of our walk. The hike up and down might take up to 14 hours, depending on the weather and group pace.
We depart camp at eight in the morning and arrive at our next camp by mid-afternoon on a typical trekking day. We might be done trekking by 10 p.m. if we were to depart Karanga Camp at 8 a.m. The sun sets on Kilimanjaro between 6 and 7 p.m., and most hikers go to bed well before 10!
We give ourselves permission to move slowly by departing around midnight. You risk not reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro if you attempt to climb the mountain too quickly and suffer from altitude sickness.
At night, Kilimanjaro is an entirely different animal. You can usually pause and observe your surroundings to get a sense of where you’re headed. You are solely dependent on those around you, the porters and the guides, when it is dark. These folks are essential to your continued success. Everyone is dependent on one another, and by just putting one foot in front of the other, everyone else offers support!
It typically takes 7-8 hours to ascend Uhuru Peak from Kosovo Camp and 2-3 hours to go back down. This allows you to rest in your tent and replenish your energy before continuing on to Millennium Camp.
WATER AT KOSOVO CAMP
Before climbing Kilimanjaro, hikers frequently overlook the question of where their water comes from. When climbing Kilimanjaro, we rely largely on the porters, who are typically the first people hikers mention when you question them about their experience.
We avoid hanging out at the highest camp to reduce the number of trips they must make—they hike for hours to bring water up to the camp. The porters have not only brought down our tents from Kosovo Camp, but they have also set them up and are waiting for us when we arrive at Millennium Camp. Our porters are a truly amazing bunch of people, and extending our stay at high camp would only make their already extraordinarily challenging work harder.
SUNRISE AT STELLA POINT
There is a tangible sense of excitement among those preparing to attempt a Kilimanjaro summit on summit night. Nervousness and, for others, a sense of dread coexist with the thrill.
Compared to the preceding five days of hiking on Kilimanjaro, hiking in the dark is a very different experience. The breathtaking views are no longer there to keep you entertained. In the group, you cannot converse with your friends. The only thing you have is a pinpoint of white light coming from your headtorch that is aimed downward.
Many are so exhausted by the night that their sole solace comes from the music of the porters and guides. As you continue to walk forward, you find yourself questioning why you are doing this.
You eventually become aware that you have some view of your surroundings. You get a slight lift in confidence when you realize that the apparently never-ending uphill struggle is about to finish when daylight begins to filter in.
After six hours of zigzagging across a steep incline, the slope reaches a flat. It’s only going to take you forty-five minutes to get to Uhuru Peak from Stella Point. The pace isn’t as excruciatingly slow, and the slope is somewhat milder.
Then it happens. In the distance, a golden light appears. The dim brightness of a sunrise is visible. It does lift your spirits, even though it’s not the world’s most magnificent, breathtaking dawn. Witnessing the sun rise while standing on Africa’s roof is an experience that words cannot express. It now seems like a good idea to climb Kilimanjaro at night.
It’s incredible how much of a lift daylight provides. The gang is in a celebratory mood as they make their final ascent to the summit, propelled by the sun. You’ve succeeded.
SUMMIT SUCCESS RATE:
Although climbing Kilimanjaro is an amazing accomplishment, the high altitude makes it physically taxing and difficult. Altitude sickness and other health problems plague a lot of climbers. Because they finish the most difficult portion of the climb during the cooler hours of the night, when they are usually more alert and energized, climbers who ascend at night have a better chance of reaching the summit.
AVOIDING EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS:
The summit of the enormous Mount Kilimanjaro is 5,895 meters (19,341 feet) above sea level. The weather can be very harsh and erratic at such high heights. Thick clouds frequently envelop the summit during the day, reducing visibility and maybe making the ascent more difficult. Climbers can take advantage of more stable weather conditions, with clear skies and less wind, by beginning their summit attempt early in the night.
