The summit night at Mount Kilimanjaro involves trekking for over 12 hours and descending to a camp where you will spend a night. Climbing the mountain is quite expensive, and you wouldn’t want to waste money only to fail to reach the summit! You need to prepare yourself prior to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro so that you can have a successful summit climb.
Although Mount Kilimanjaro is a walk-up mountain that can be trekked by both experienced and first-time mountaineers, you will still need some training prior to climbing it. This will make your trek easier and more comfortable. There are several ways to train for Kilimanjaro, and some of them can be seen below:
- Hiking: One of the best training exercises for Kilimanjaro is hiking on a hill while carrying some weight. You can hike for 3 to 8 hours in the weeks leading up to your Kilimanjaro climb. If you don’t live near any hills, then you can look for stairs to do regular training on. Daily hikes in Kilimanjaro take between 5 to 8 hours per day, so this training will help you get used to walking almost the whole day for several days.
- Mental Preparation: You also need to be mentally prepared to successfully summit Mount Kilimanjaro. Train to endure stress and strain on your body. Maintain a positive attitude and encourage yourself that if thousands of people have managed to reach the summit, then you can too. Always move at a pace you can manage, as they always say, “pole pole” on the mountain, meaning “slowly, slowly.” Being slow but sure will help you acclimatize to the altitude.
- Camping: There is only one route on Mount Kilimanjaro where you can find accommodation in dormitory huts, but the rest of the routes involve camping. For people who are not used to camping, it’s better to take some time off and start camping outside before coming to trek the mountain.
- Cardio Exercises: The main challenge most climbers face on top of Mount Kilimanjaro is altitude sickness, which can affect anyone regardless of physical fitness. The higher you go, the thinner the oxygen gets, and lower oxygen saturation at higher altitudes can affect your trek. Cardio exercises help trekkers prepare their bodies for high altitudes. Increase the difficulty of your training gradually.
- Altitude Simulators: Not everyone will have a hill nearby to do the hiking or even have time to train before climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. One way to train for altitude sickness is by using altitude simulators like altitude simulator masks you can wear while exercising. There are also altitude simulator tents you can use at home, controlled with a generator that pushes out regular oxygen, simulating less saturated oxygen. These tents should be used while sleeping or resting to help your body adapt to simulated elevation.
- Walking: Before embarking on the Mount Kilimanjaro climb, you should also do frequent long walks with the daypack you intend to use on Mount Kilimanjaro, with some weight in it.
- Warm-Up: Always make sure to warm up and stretch before starting your training sessions. This can help avoid muscle pulls, muscle strains, or tears, which could hinder your training.
- Sets and Repetitions: Consider incorporating sets and repetitions into your workout routine.
- Trekking Shoes: Some people buy shoes for hiking Mount Kilimanjaro just a few days before the trek, but that could make your trip very uncomfortable. You need to use the shoes you intend to wear on Mount Kilimanjaro while training so that you can determine if they’re suitable or if you will need another pair. Getting blisters on your feet during the climb will make your trek very unpleasant.
- Eat Healthy: Travelers will also need to monitor their diet in order to maintain a good level of physical fitness. Hydrate a lot before the trip and during the trip.
- Medical Check-Up: Before paying for the trip to Mount Kilimanjaro, the first thing you should do is visit a doctor for a medical check-up to determine whether you’re physically able to climb or not.
