WWF Travel Blog

A group of travelers celebrates summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro. Photo courtesy Thomson Safaris

WWF member Bill Hayden recently climbed Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro. We asked him about his experience summiting Africa’s highest peak.

When did you first decide you wanted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro?
I was doing some trekking with friends about a year and a half ago in Nepal and I met some people who had just recently climbed Kilimanjaro. They were really excited about it, so I decided to go. It’s famous because it’s one of the so-called seven summits [of the highest mountains] that are on each continent.

How did you prepare for the trek?
I ride a bike a lot for recreation and that seemed to give me the preparation I needed. I felt at the higher elevations I had really strong lungs. I didn’t do a lot of hiking beforehand though they say to. I found that primarily getting a good aerobic workout every other day on the bicycle prepared me adequately.

How was the climb compared to what you had imagined?
It was longer than I thought it might be. Nine nights up there. But you hike very slowly. The Africans have a Swahili saying “poli, poli” which means “slowly, slowly.” You just need to get used to walking much slower than you would on flat ground.

What amazed me so much about the entire climb was the tremendous support team that goes with you. There were five of us trekking and I bet there were 20 to 25 Africans on the work team—from cooks, to waiters, to porters. They always walked fast ahead of us so the tents were set up by the time we got to camp. The cooking was great, the food was very high quality. And if you make an effort you can really get to know some of the Tanzanian crew. Many of them speak English and they are very friendly. That makes for a richer experience.

What was it like to summit?
That was great. I thought maybe I’d be worn out but I felt I still had energy to spare. The day that we climbed the summit I think we left around 8 in the morning, maybe 7, and got up there at 1 or 2 in the afternoon. It never rained on us and it wasn’t that cold.

Any advice you’d give to future trekkers?
You definitely do need to work out consistently before going. Whether it be bicycling, hiking or some other form of aerobic exercise using your legs. It is long and you’ll feel it if you aren’t in shape. We didn’t have really cold weather so we didn’t need everything we brought, but you have to be prepared for really cold weather.

It was an exhilarating experience. Definitely worth it.

Join WWF’s Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb, September 12-24, 2010.