British Comedy Guide

Status report Page 5,250

10. Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain on the African continent and the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

9. Kilimanjaro has three volcanic cones, Mawenzi, Shira and Kibo. Mawenzi and Shira are extinct but Kibo, the highest peak, is dormant and could erupt again. The most recent activity was about 200 years ago; the last major eruption was 360,000 years ago.

8. Nearly every climber who has summitted Uhuru Peak, the highest summit on Kibo's crater rim, has recorded his or her thoughts about the accomplishment in a book stored in a wooden box at the top.

7. The oldest person ever to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro was 87-year-old Frenchman Valtee Daniel.

6. Almost every kind of ecological system is found on the mountain: cultivated land, rain forest, heath, moorland, alpine desert and an arctic summit.

5. The fasted verified ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro occurred in 2001 when Italian Bruno Brunod summitted Uhuru Peak in 5 hours 38 minutes 40 seconds. The fastest roundtrip was accomplished in 2004, when local guide Simon Mtuy went up and down the mountain in 8:27.

4. The mountain's snow caps are diminishing, having lost more than 80 percent of their mass since 1912. In fact, they may be completely ice free within the next 20 years, according to scientists.

3. Shamsa Mwangunga, National Resources and Tourism minister of Tanzania, announced in 2008 that 4.8 million indigenous trees will be planted around the base of the mountain, helping prevent soil erosion and protect water sources.

2. South African Bernard Goosen twice scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro in a wheelchair. His first summit, in 2003, took nine days; his second, four years later, took only six. Born with cerebral palsy, Goosen used a modified wheelchair, mostly without assistance, to climb the mountain.

1. Approximately 25,000 people attempt to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro annually. Approximately two-thirds are successful. Altitude-related problems is the most common reason climbers turn back.

I'm very aware that I might not make it to the top.... but it won't be my fitness that lets me down.

Quote: L.E. @ August 28 2013, 4:39 PM BST

I'm very aware that I might not make it to the top.... but it won't be my fitness that lets me down.

In my group, most people made it. Have you ever had altitude issues before? If not, you should be fine. We got very philosophical about it - you can't control altitude sickness. If you have trained and feel fit, you have done all you can to prepare.

Such an amazing experience - for an excellent cause too.

Not had altitude issues before... not sure I've been high enough to get it.

Ben is atop an exercise bike.

Good luck to the L.E.

EJP will climb every mountain, ford every stream till she reaches her dream.

Is Mr Ellie doing it too?

Quote: L.E. @ August 28 2013, 8:31 AM BST

6 months from now I'm going to be flying to Africa to climb Kili! Eeeep.

Will you keep your toes in a box if they get frostbitten?

http://fiverr.com/robertocarlos/create-video-testimonial-as-the-plastic-bag-man

I am this man's writer.

If you ever go to Corbridge, don't, under any circumstances, eat at the Angel Hotel. Overpriced shite. I was tempted to ask for a sick bag on the way out. Plus the staff had eaten too many soor plooms.

I wasn't planning on going to Corbridge.

But thanks for the headsup....

Quote: keewik @ August 28 2013, 10:14 PM BST

If you ever go to Corbridge, don't, under any circumstances, eat at the Angel Hotel. Overpriced shite. I was tempted to ask for a sick bag on the way out. Plus the staff had eaten too many soor plooms.

Oh no! Stay healthy Keewik and family :(

I am eating crunchy nut cornflakes and drinking a glass of wine. I am nothing if not classy.

Would it not be easier to pour the wine over the crunchy nut cornflakes?

Sootyj is tempted to use his
"teach yourself to sing karaoke app, but its after 9 and he doesn't have a soundproof bunker"

Quote: sootyj @ August 28 2013, 10:23 PM BST

Sootyj is tempted to use his
"teach yourself to sing karaoke app, but its after 9 and he doesn't have a soundproof bunker"

https://www.gov.uk/how-to-resolve-neighbour-disputes/complain-about-noise-to-the-council

Share this page