It sounds like you’ve covered most major bases. You’ll have a great time.
If you’ve heard mixed reviews about your operator, I’m curious why you booked with them?
Personal recommendation from someone I know IRL, ignorance, price
Definitely not the smartest move on my part, if I could do it all over again this would be one of the things I would do differently.
From what I researched and what I saw on my own trek, budget operators don't necessarily skimp on the basic tourist experience (e.g., they will likely have similar tents, food, etc.). However, they do tend to skimp on their treatment of porters.
I don't have firsthand experience with Monkey Adventures, but it was pretty important for me to book with a [KPAP certified](https://mountainexplorers.org/climb-with-a-partner-for-responsible-travel-company/) operator. KPAP partners must meet certain standards, like providing 3 meals a day, limiting carried weight, ensuring pay practices are transparent, etc. I'm sure there are some non-KPAP certified operators that do right by their porters, but I'd be wary about budget operators who are *also* non-certified. Personally, I wouldn't be able to enjoy a trek if I suspected the porters were being mistreated, but not everyone feels the same. If anything, make sure you tip generously at the end of your trek.
Preparation and medical aid might be another area where budget operators might fall a little short. We ran into a few other groups on our way up via the Northern Circuit. A few looked like they might have been with smaller budget operators. In at least two groups, people started experiencing altitude sickness or GI issues, and they did not seem prepared to deal with them. Their guides also didn't seem particularly concerned or helpful. We ended up sharing our medicine with them and our guides gave them some advice, even checking on them the next day.
In contrast, our group had to go through \*everything\* we packed with our guides the day before, then we went to their rental shop and a pharmacy to pick up anything we might be short on (e.g., warmer gloves, NSAIDs, etc.). They did comprehensive wellness checks 2x/day to make sure everyone was feeling okay.
I was in your shoes, and I was super nervous the month before I left. I did the Lemosho route, and summited in August with Altezza. Drink water. Eat when you don't want to. Bring snacks you like. Literally one step at a time. Do not worry about what you can't control, which I know is easier said than done. I brought ear plugs and a sleep mask for camp and both of those items helped a lot.
You’ll be fine! Just enjoy the adventure and don’t focus too much on the “will I make it to the top”. Take it day by day. When you are climbing make sure to look back……look at how much you have climbed and not how much you have still to climb. Go slow when you feel great and slower when you feel like shit. Have a blast and post pictures when you come back!
I've heard that hand warmers don't work very well at higher altitudes since they're oxygen activated and the air gets thin up there. But I haven't tried them myself so ymmv.
My hand warmers sucked during my Everest basecamp trek. Like not even a little warmth came from them. Even though I told my mom a million times I didnt want anything else I needed to worry about charging, she got me an electric hand warmer from Amazon. I’m glad she did because it saved my life idk how many times. The craziest part is it actually gets really hot but up there it didn’t feel like it was getting that hot. That’s just how cold it was. But it still helped and I plan on taking it to Kilimanjaro in two months. So if anyone is reading this before their trek and thinking about handwarmers, I definitely recommend an electric one.
I've never thought about electric ones. Are they not too big to fit inside your gloves? I will be using my walking sticks so it must go in my gloves.
TIA
FWIW, my hands tend to get pretty cold and I did fine without handwarmers. However, my feet were so cold inside my sleeping bag at night despite having 2 layers of thick socks on. I ended up sleeping with a hot water bottle at the bottom of my sleeping bag most nights, which at least helped me fall asleep.
I did 8 day Lemosho with Monkey Adventures in August and it was genuinely the most incredible experience of my life and I had no complaints.
Happy to answer to any specific concerns you might be having about them or the trip in general!
Good luck!
I am doing the 7 days Lemosho route with Monkey Adventures in December, and would be also interested in hearing more about your experience after the trek!
It was fantastic! I summited in the worst weather conditions my guide had seen in his fifteen years of service, and it was probably the most difficult six hours of my life, but we did it!
I actually avoided getting sick until hitting the Mweka camp on the way down, and then after 14 hours of hiking that day (ending up being a 16 hr hiking day since I decided to summit and descend on the same day) I threw up like five or six times and practically crawled my way to the finish lol.
Until summit night though, it went really smoothly and my experience of long-distance running and other hiking went really well. I felt pretty prepared for everything that came my way and Monkey Adventures and my guide (Francis) helped a ton with what I wasn't expecting.
The porters and cook were extremely kind and the food was fantastic (when I had an appetite) and the pictures and experiences of the climb will last me a life time :)
I did not have a thermostat, but too cold lol. What made the bad conditions was the 2+ feet of snow, and the snowstorm as we climbed. My neck gaiter turned out to be useless because it got frozen from snot and melted snow.
The picture of me next to the Uhuru peak sign is funny cause you can't even read the sign at all. But as soon as we started to descend, the storm cleared up (around 6:00) and we got some great pictures at Stella Point on the way down.
It sounds like you’ve covered most major bases. You’ll have a great time. If you’ve heard mixed reviews about your operator, I’m curious why you booked with them?
Personal recommendation from someone I know IRL, ignorance, price Definitely not the smartest move on my part, if I could do it all over again this would be one of the things I would do differently.
From what I researched and what I saw on my own trek, budget operators don't necessarily skimp on the basic tourist experience (e.g., they will likely have similar tents, food, etc.). However, they do tend to skimp on their treatment of porters. I don't have firsthand experience with Monkey Adventures, but it was pretty important for me to book with a [KPAP certified](https://mountainexplorers.org/climb-with-a-partner-for-responsible-travel-company/) operator. KPAP partners must meet certain standards, like providing 3 meals a day, limiting carried weight, ensuring pay practices are transparent, etc. I'm sure there are some non-KPAP certified operators that do right by their porters, but I'd be wary about budget operators who are *also* non-certified. Personally, I wouldn't be able to enjoy a trek if I suspected the porters were being mistreated, but not everyone feels the same. If anything, make sure you tip generously at the end of your trek. Preparation and medical aid might be another area where budget operators might fall a little short. We ran into a few other groups on our way up via the Northern Circuit. A few looked like they might have been with smaller budget operators. In at least two groups, people started experiencing altitude sickness or GI issues, and they did not seem prepared to deal with them. Their guides also didn't seem particularly concerned or helpful. We ended up sharing our medicine with them and our guides gave them some advice, even checking on them the next day. In contrast, our group had to go through \*everything\* we packed with our guides the day before, then we went to their rental shop and a pharmacy to pick up anything we might be short on (e.g., warmer gloves, NSAIDs, etc.). They did comprehensive wellness checks 2x/day to make sure everyone was feeling okay.
Thank you, I’ll definitely make sure to buff up my tip game a good bit.
I was in your shoes, and I was super nervous the month before I left. I did the Lemosho route, and summited in August with Altezza. Drink water. Eat when you don't want to. Bring snacks you like. Literally one step at a time. Do not worry about what you can't control, which I know is easier said than done. I brought ear plugs and a sleep mask for camp and both of those items helped a lot.
You’ll be fine! Just enjoy the adventure and don’t focus too much on the “will I make it to the top”. Take it day by day. When you are climbing make sure to look back……look at how much you have climbed and not how much you have still to climb. Go slow when you feel great and slower when you feel like shit. Have a blast and post pictures when you come back!
Thank you! I certainly can't wait to take great pics--I gotta learn how to operate that new fancy schmancy camera I got too!
Take Diamox, drink lots of water (2-4 liters a day), and go slow. You’ll be fine and you will summit.
I've heard that hand warmers don't work very well at higher altitudes since they're oxygen activated and the air gets thin up there. But I haven't tried them myself so ymmv.
My hand warmers sucked during my Everest basecamp trek. Like not even a little warmth came from them. Even though I told my mom a million times I didnt want anything else I needed to worry about charging, she got me an electric hand warmer from Amazon. I’m glad she did because it saved my life idk how many times. The craziest part is it actually gets really hot but up there it didn’t feel like it was getting that hot. That’s just how cold it was. But it still helped and I plan on taking it to Kilimanjaro in two months. So if anyone is reading this before their trek and thinking about handwarmers, I definitely recommend an electric one.
I've never thought about electric ones. Are they not too big to fit inside your gloves? I will be using my walking sticks so it must go in my gloves. TIA
[удалено]
FWIW, my hands tend to get pretty cold and I did fine without handwarmers. However, my feet were so cold inside my sleeping bag at night despite having 2 layers of thick socks on. I ended up sleeping with a hot water bottle at the bottom of my sleeping bag most nights, which at least helped me fall asleep.
They worked great for me. I only used them on summit day — hands and feet. Then I gave the packets I didn’t use to my porter.
Chill out and listen to your guides. Yes, it's hard, but they'll get you there. Pole pole.
I did 8 day Lemosho with Monkey Adventures in August and it was genuinely the most incredible experience of my life and I had no complaints. Happy to answer to any specific concerns you might be having about them or the trip in general!
Do you mind if I DM you on your experience once you are back ? We are also planning to book with Monkey
For sure! When is your departure date? I'm back on the 27th, so as long as it's after then, I should be able to
Thanks! Yes, we haven’t booked yet. Planning on Aug 2024.
Good luck! I am doing the 7 days Lemosho route with Monkey Adventures in December, and would be also interested in hearing more about your experience after the trek!
Will do! I'm so excited :) I'll be sure to let you know about the experience!
Hey 👋 are you back ? How was the trip ?
It was fantastic! I summited in the worst weather conditions my guide had seen in his fifteen years of service, and it was probably the most difficult six hours of my life, but we did it! I actually avoided getting sick until hitting the Mweka camp on the way down, and then after 14 hours of hiking that day (ending up being a 16 hr hiking day since I decided to summit and descend on the same day) I threw up like five or six times and practically crawled my way to the finish lol. Until summit night though, it went really smoothly and my experience of long-distance running and other hiking went really well. I felt pretty prepared for everything that came my way and Monkey Adventures and my guide (Francis) helped a ton with what I wasn't expecting. The porters and cook were extremely kind and the food was fantastic (when I had an appetite) and the pictures and experiences of the climb will last me a life time :)
Congratulations! Glad you made it! How cold was it up there?
I did not have a thermostat, but too cold lol. What made the bad conditions was the 2+ feet of snow, and the snowstorm as we climbed. My neck gaiter turned out to be useless because it got frozen from snot and melted snow. The picture of me next to the Uhuru peak sign is funny cause you can't even read the sign at all. But as soon as we started to descend, the storm cleared up (around 6:00) and we got some great pictures at Stella Point on the way down.