Kilimanjaro cable car: is it a good idea? That depends on its purpose

December 17, 2021 Opinion and advice africa, altitude sickness, east africa, kilimanjaro, responsible tourism, tanzania, trekking 3 Comments

Is a cable car on a mountain always a bad idea? If its purpose is to shorten the journey for trekkers aiming for the summit, then it may not help much. But if it’s for day trippers heading up for a nice view before going back down again, then it could work.

What mountain summit has the world’s longest view?

July 29, 2020 Opinion and advice kilimanjaro, kunlun mountains, kyrgyzstan, mount kenya, pik dankova, tien shan mountains, tristan gooley 10 Comments

I’ve recently been reading The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs by the unusually named Tristan Gooley. It’s an excellent book that will cause you to look at nature in a different light (to paraphrase climbing writer Jim Perrin

5 stepping stones on the path to high altitude

August 22, 2018 Opinion and advice aconcagua, argentina, everest base camp, hill walking, jebel toubkal, kilimanjaro, mera peak, morocco, nepal, seven summits, tanzania, trekking 8 Comments

Are you keen to branch out and develop the skills to climb higher peaks? Here is a series of mountains further afield that more experienced hikers should visit if you are interested in reaching a challenging altitude.

The climate zones of Kilimanjaro from space

March 22, 2017 Opinion and advice africa, kilimanjaro, mountain environment, mountain photography, mountains from space, nasa earth observatory, tanzania 2 Comments

I’ve talked a bit about the glaciers on Kilimanjaro, and how they are shrinking at an alarming rate, but what about the climate on the rest of the mountain? This aerial photo by the NASA Earth Observatory illustrates them as clearly as any map.

A night on Kilimanjaro’s summit: the videos

February 22, 2017 Trip reports africa, david breashears, edita, kilimanjaro, mountain films, tanzania, trekking, volcanoes 2 Comments

I know I sometimes write a lot of waffle on this blog that many of you can’t be bothered to read, so this post is for you. I’ve recently finished editing the footage of our Kilimanjaro climb, which included a night on the crater. Here are three short videos to provide a flavour of the trek.

Should outdoor and mountaineering writers talk about politics?

February 8, 2017 Good causes climate change, damavand, jebel toubkal, kilimanjaro, migration, morocco, mountain, mountaineering ethics, outside magazine, pakistan, public access, the alpinist, travel writing 22 Comments

If you write about a subject that appeals to people of all political beliefs, then you should avoid talking about politics. But what if politics touches on the things you care about deeply enough to write about – do you say nothing? The answer to this is surprisingly simple.

Tilman and Shipton’s travels in Africa

February 1, 2017 History africa, bill tilman, duke of abruzzi, eric shipton, first ascents, history of mountaineering, kenya, kilimanjaro, mount kenya, mount stanley, mountain literature, rwenzori mountains, tanzania, uganda 4 Comments

The Himalayan explorer Bill Tilman spent fourteen years of his life as a coffee planter in Kenya. During that time he and Eric Shipton made a number of exploratory treks and climbs on Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro, and in the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda.

A brief introduction to Kilimanjaro’s volcanic crater

January 25, 2017 Opinion and advice africa, bill tilman, climate change, glacial erosion, hans meyer, kilimanjaro, tanzania, volcanoes 4 Comments

Last week I enthused about Kilimanjaro’s inner crater, and said that I considered it to be the jewel in Kilimanjaro’s crown. Yet the overwhelming majority of people who climb mountain don’t see it. This week I will talk in more detail about what they’re missing out on.

The best way to climb Kilimanjaro

January 18, 2017 Trip reports africa, edita, kilimanjaro, mount meru, seven summits, tanzania, trekking, volcanoes, zara tours 5 Comments

I’m convinced that for adventurous people who are experienced at high altitude, to camp at 5800m and look into the inner crater is the only way to experience Kilimanjaro, for the inner crater is Kilimanjaro’s secret jewel. Here’s the story of how we did it.

The Tanzanian Mount Meru

January 11, 2017 Trip reports africa, edita, kilimanjaro, mount meru, safari, tanzania, trekking, volcanoes, wildlife 11 Comments

Thanks to a hardcore climbing movie, an obscure peak in the Indian Himalaya is now the most famous Mount Meru in the world. But for many years a far more accessible and attainable peak in northern Tanzania was much more widely known.

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