After a few rookie mistakes on the mountains, here are a few tips that will help you avoid silly mistakes which could compromise your climb.

#1. Summit nights and descents are long hours spent in differing conditions (upwards of 15-20 hours). The start is typically at night when it is cold and dark. The descent to base camp after summit is usually around midday when the temperature is climbing. Finally overnight camp may be a bit further away from base camp which means probably arriving in the cold and dark again.

Tips

• Pack your sunglasses, sun hat and sun lotions/creams. Pack these into your backpack as you reach base camp to start your summit attempt
• Carry a backpack small enough to be light but large enough to carry your discarded heavy summit gear when the oven turns on
• Carry your own backpack so that you don’t run the risk of being separated from your backpack if someone else is carry it. You may need some of the food, water, gear and torch as the descent progresses
• If for some reason you must hand over your backpack to someone else to carry, remove the keys to your duffel bag, your water bottle, food and your torch and keep these with you. In case your backpack does not arrive by the time you need to leave base camp, you can  draw some clothing from your duffel bag to keep you warm and access a spare light source if needed. These will be very necessary for your trip back from base camp to the overnight camp (in the dark)

#2. Snow and ice refract the sunlight and can cause blindness and sunburns. Sun hats only protect the rays coming from above

Tips

• Ensure that you have polaroid sunglasses to cut out any refracted sun rays
• Ensure that sunglasses fit properly and are of the type that covers the eye all around
• Use a buff around the neck that you can pull up over the mouth and nose to protect your face from ultraviolet rays refracting off the snow

#3. Hikers tend to eat when hungry and drink when thirsty. It is too late when that happens as it takes 30-45 minutes for any food to digest and for the nutrients to be extracted and circulated around the body. It takes a shorter time for the body to rehydrate but it is still too late

Tips

• Create a regime of eating and drinking continuously throughout the climb
• Eat and drink on schedule, even if you don’t feel hungry or thirsty
• Prepare your food in small bite-sized chunks
• Keep these bites within reach so that you don’t have to stop and remove your backpack to eat
• Carry enough food and water for the descent. What goes up must come down
• Hydration packs require discipline as the contents are hidden from the hiker. Use water bottles instead but if you prefer hydration packs, ensure that you keep to your drinking regime

#4. During overnight hikes (summit nights) water freezes in the pipe of hydration pack and in bottles and the hiker runs out of drinkable water

Tips

• Hydration pack – Blow back the water from the drinking pipe and suck up the residual water from the mouth piece. Do this after every sip
• Hydration pack – Drink continuously so that the water moves around and flushes the drinking pipe which breaks up any freezing
• Water bottle – Store water bottles upside down. Although the water still freezes, it freezes from the top (which is now the bottom), allowing the hiker to drink
• Water bottle – Carry large mouthed bottles. Sip type bottles and small opening bottles may reduce your ability to have a drink if the top starts to freeze

#5. Rushing between camps as one ascends into higher altitude, preventing proper acclimatisation

Rules

• Obviously, walk slower to maximise the time that you spend walking into altitude
• Spend very little time sitting around at camp
• Down time at camp should be limited to taking in sustenance and getting some sleep to allow the body to recover

The Tanzanians have great phrases that capture this essence of walking slowly into altitude and not rushing to camp.

They say “haraka haraka haina baraka” “moving fast has no reward” and of course the ever popular “polepole” which means “slowly”. You will hear these phrases shouted throughout your trip on Kilimanjaro. Listen and adhere to their calls

This, I take so seriously that when I am in a group and someone wants to take a group photo of the human train, I will stop the group, allow the photographer to walk ahead (polepole) and when the photographer is ready, the group will start up again. No one runs ahead of the group or runs up and down the length of the human train.

Note: Energy lost unnecessarily during the lead up to the summit may come back to bite you on summit night and the descent.