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You'll love the way we climb & trek™ |
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You will spend many hours in your tent. It has to be light-weight, comfortable, safe and durable. You will appreciate the option of a Porta Potti ™ in a specially designed privacy tent. Ladies love this for obvious reasons. But even the guys can appreciate this luxury when it's freezing cold at night and a lingering stomach discomfort forces you outside. And we believe toilets with holding tanks are better for the environment than scattered holes in the ground. A portable shower is a luxury and you understand that water is scarce. But a quick hot rinse at the end of each day does wonders for a tired body! |
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Your Comfort
Very few of our clients are experienced campers! For many, the thought of eight days in a tent is enough to consider a Caribbean cruise instead! And you must realize that due to the cold you will be spending a lot of time inside your tent. The Kiliwarriors set the standard for comfort on Kilimanjaro.
Our luxury Tents:
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We use Mountain Hardwear Trango 4™ tents. See pictures above & below. These are the best in their class - a quick Internet search will confirm this! |
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Floor space range between 51.3 and 65 sq. ft. (excluding the vestibules). These are 4-person tents! |
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With 50.5 inches of headroom, you can sit up and move around comfortably. |
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There are two doors - you don't have to disturb your mate when nature calls. |
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Plenty of built-in side cargo pockets. |
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A hanging lamp for reading at night. |
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a portable mattress and pillow (simply the best sleeping system on the mountain). Our Platinum clients enjoy additional comforts such as double-thick mattresses, personal toilets and hot water bottles! |
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Each tent is rated for 4 seasons. Snowstorms, strong winds, and driving rain - our tents are designed for the worst conditions. |
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Singles never share a tent with strangers (and there is no extra cost)! |
Your personal comforts:
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A private, portable toilet in a portable outhouse. See below. Environmentally safe and lightweight, you will appreciate this luxury once you have seen the alternatives on the mountain! |
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We also use our portable toilets during lunch stops on the trail. It is comfortable for our clients and great for the environment. |
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To refresh yourself after a hard day, you can enjoy a quick hot shower (obviously we cannot provide showers near the summit due to the lack of water). See picture below. It is enclosed to ensure privacy and to protect you from the cold. |
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Due to potential allergic reactions we do not provide soaps and shampoos. Please bring your own. |
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We do provide hand sanitizer liquids and we ask all our clients and crew to wash hands often! |
The mess tent:
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After an 8-hour hike you deserve better than a barstool. We use lightweight folding armchairs with large seats and soft backs. It features armrests with handy cup holders. |
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Our mess tent is roomy and comfortable. It's perfect for socializing at the end of a long hike, to play cards, to write your diary, or to just kick back and relax with a warm beverage. |
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Food! We serve too much food so be prepared to gain weight on your climb! |
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Our camp staff is trained to adhere to strict standards for food and water hygiene. We use the most expensive Katadyn Expedition water filters. |
The experiences of your Climb:
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During the Climb, your guide will tell you about the mountain and its peoples. Take time to notice the contrasts and extremes. Listen for monkeys and birds. Look for unique vegetation and extraordinary geology. Talk to the porters. Despite the language barrier, they will appreciate your interest and you will find these supermen very engaging. |
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For our Platinum clients, we employ summit porters to assist you during the hike - especially during your summit attempt, the summit day itself, and the initial descend from Uhuru Peak to Barafu Hut. You will be happy to have someone help you with your daypack, with picture taking and with refreshments during the toughest parts of the Climb. |
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It is much easier to summit when you are well fed, rested, healthy, and taken care of. |
The use of toilets with holding tanks - luxury or necessity?
Please read a recent newspaper article: "Welcome to Turdville"
We read somewhere that experiments have proved that each gram of faece contains 1,000 parasite cysts and 1,000,000 bacteria. Decomposition in alpine areas is extremely slow, worsening the impact of improperly disposed garbage and trash. Even an orange peel left behind will require many years to fully decompose.
Toilet paper should not be burned as this disposal technique has resulted in many forest fires around the world. It is inappropriate to deposit human waste under rocks, because rock inhibits moisture and heat, critical factors in decomposition.
In some studies, it has been proposed to use smearing techniques! Ultraviolet radiation from the sun and organisms present in the soil are the best decomposers of human waste. At high altitudes those soil organisms are not very abundant. Therefore, sunlight provides the best form of decomposition. The idea is to leave faeces on the surface of the ground. Scattering and smearing the faeces around will maximize exposure to sunlight!
Just imagine what the mountain will look like after a few months of smearing! Recent studies by NOLS disputed the idea of smearing in high-traffic areas. And most eco-organizations disapprove the use of holes above the timber line.
Urine residue can entice animals to chew on plants and dig up soil. This can be especially harmful in alpine areas where regrowth of damaged vegetation is extremely slow. Urine's strong odor can also become a factor when concentrated in one area.
Do you get the picture? We believe that using a toilet with a holding tank, and dumping the holding tank in an approved waste area after biodegradable treatment is the best way to keep the mountain clean.
Hemorrhoids can also develop at altitude! The problem may well be the use of the long-drop toilet. Prevention is all about remaining well hydrated, eating high fiber diet and avoiding straining. If a high fiber diet doesn't do the trick, take a tablespoon of metamucil (psyllium powder) every day. A portable toilet is more "natural" for Westerners and helps to prevent hemorrhoids!
We are currently implementing the Clean Mountain Cans technology. Read here...
The use of showers - wasting water and too cold?
On average our clients shower about 2 times during the trip!
Our showers are available until Barranco and Sheffield Camps (depending on your route) and again at Mweka Camp. Please understand that there is not enough water at the higher camps.
When arriving in camp in the early afternoon the sun is out and it can be quite pleasant to shower. The shower tent is completely enclosed sheltering you from the cool wind. The water is hot! We don't recommend showering in the evening as you hair may not dry before going to bed.
At home a shower uses less water than a bath tub. The same is true on the mountain! We shower in less than a liter of water! Most outfitters give their clients a plastic bowl of hot water to sponge themselves - and each bowl often contains more than a liter of water!
Our tent specifications:
| Picture credits: Mountain Hardwear™ |
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| Shower, Toilet and
toilet tent
The view is a standard option!
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