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Experience Counts
Our Proven Philosophy - "Slowly but Surely"
Which Trip & Route Should You Choose?
First Class Guides
 Experience Counts
When you decide to take on a challenging and strenuous adventure such as climbing Kilimanjaro, you want to make sure you are in good hands. You want to climb with a company that has experience and an excellent track record in getting you to the top - and back.
Mountain Travel Sobek has been operating treks up Kilimanjaro since 1974 (see the 1974/75 catalog copy to the right). In fact, we were the first company ever to lead commercial treks up this mountain. During our almost 30 years of climbing this mountain, we've gathered a lot of invaluable experience in how to ensure that you stay healthy and comfortable during the trek as well as planning the climb to the extent that it maximizes your chances of summitting.
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 Our Proven Philosophy - "Slowly but Surely"
As you descend into higher altitude, the air pressure falls and your body is exposed to less oxygen. To climb successfully, it is imperative that you give your body the appropriate time to acclimatize to the thinner air. Therefore, each of our Kilimanjaro climbs have slow-graded ascents allowing proper time for acclimatization. In addition, they are designed to maximize altitude conditioning in the early part of the trek. Once at altitude, elevation gains between camps are limited: you may climb higher during the day but descend to sleep. Extra nights are spent at the same elevation after each 2,000-3,000-foot gain over 12,000 feet.
Although we all know, that it's all about the journey...you've trained hard for months and you want to reach the summit. Official records in Tanzania state that about 15% of people attempting the climb make it to the summit. Our summit rate is over 90%.
But it's not all up to us - you have to do your part, too. Kilimanjaro is not a technical climb, but it requires that you be in excellent shape. See Reach The Summit for more details on how to train for this climb.
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Which Trip & Route Should You Choose?
Now that we've convinced you to climb Kilimanjaro with us, the question is - which route should you choose? The information below about each of our Kilimanjaro adventures should help but please don't hesitate to contact us at sales@mtsobek.com or 1-888-MTSOBEK (687-6235) and discuss your options with our expert sales staff.
 Kilimanjaro & Beyond: The Rongai Route
- This 6-days climb is ascending from the northeast side of the mountain.
- It is considered the most gradual route to the summit
- It is also the most remote and little-traveled route
- It offers gorgeous views across Kenyan plains and fabulous mountain vistas of the rock-crowned Mawenzi peak and glacier-covered Kibo peak
- Included in the trip is a 2-day safari in Amboseli National Park - famous for its elephant population
- Time with the Masai tribe in your safari camp and on your walks
- Three days of "old style" hiking safari in Tsavo National Park. (We are the only company authorized to camp and walk in this area.)
- Two days at palm-fringed Watamu Beach on the Indian Ocean where you can swim, snorkel, kayak, or just relax.
For more details, please go to Kilimanjaro & Beyond: The Rongai Route
 Climb Kilimanjaro: The Western Breach Route
- This 7-day climb follows the Machame route initially and then branches off at the base of the Western Breach and treks along the edge of Kibo's inner crater to the summit.
- This route does not converge with any other route to the summit and is therefore the less traveled to the summit.
- The Western Breach route is the route featured in the Kilimanjaro IMAX film.
- Two nights at Arrow Glacier Camp allows increased acclimatization, but it is a "high" camp (16,100') and can be taxing for those who do not have previous high altitude experience
- Descends via the Mweka Route - the most direct route down. (No back tracking!)
- First two nights in country are at our private camp in Arusha National Park where you will prepare with hikes on the slopes of Mt. Meru
- Visits 2 of Tanzania's finest national Parks: Tarangire or Lake Manyara (seasonally) and Ngorongoro Crater - Tanzania's Garden of Eden
For more details, please go to Climb Kilimanjaro: The Western Breach Route
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First Class Guides
There's no doubt that knowledgeable guides and trip leaders make your Africa experience come alive. We are delighted to work with the best guides in Kenya and Tanzania - all of whom have been through extensive guide education and are trained in mountain safety, rescue, ecology and leadership. On your quest for the Kilimanjaro summit you will most likely be accompanied by one or more of the following stellar leaders:
 Onesmo G. Ole Kishapuy was born into the rich Maasai culture, and lived in Maasai land until the age of 13. Because of his natural love of nature, the courses Onesmo chose in his education dealt largely with environment. He has a keen interest in conservation issues and feels that seeing Africa on foot is unparalleled in understanding the African ecosystem. Onesmo is a graduate of NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) and has completed courses in Wilderness First Responder and adventure guiding. He has worked with American students as a project manger in Maasai lands as well as a camp counselor in Vermont.
 James Makau, a Kenyan by birth, is passionate about the wildlife of Africa, especially its bird life. Makau (as he is known) participates in the annual and mid-year waterfowl counts organized by the Kenya Wetlands Working Group and organized the World BirdWatch '97 Kenya chapter. Besides birding, his other interests include zoology, mammalogy, meeting new friends, and mountaineering. Makau is extremely enthusiastic, very personable, and wins rave reviews from our clients. He is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School and has been guiding safaris since 1991. In addition to his native language, Makau is fluent in English and Spanish and is diligently studying Italian.
 Iain Allan, field director of Mountain Travel Sobek Kenya, was born in Scotland and educated in Kenya, where he has lived since the age of nine. Iain is incredibly knowledgeable about African wildlife, speaks fluent Swahili and is deeply involved in Kenya's wildlife conservation issues (he is an honorary warden of Tsavo National Park). A mountaineer of note (Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro were his playgrounds as a youth), he has pioneered new routes on both Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro and is the author of two books, Guide to Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro and Snowcaps on the Equator. Iain is also a central figure in Rick Ridgeway's The Shadow of Kilimanjaro, and was featured in the May 2000 National Geographic Adventure article "Among the Man-Eaters."
 Kambona Ole Tirra Mollel is an enthusiastic wildlife and mountain guide. He's been leading trips up Kili since 1994 with an impressive success rate. He is fluent in English and Ki-Swahili in addition to his mother tongue of Ki-Maasai. Kambona is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School training course with a specialty in walking safaris.
 Alex (Sasha) Fiksman, a native of the former Soviet Union, immigrated to the United States at a young age. He lived and was educated in New York City, where he taught chemistry for nearly ten years before meeting and falling in love with a young woman from Kenya, who later became his wife. Alex also fell in love with Kenya, where he has continued to follow his serious outdoor pursuits, including hiking and rock climbing on Mount Kenya. His enthusiasm for the bush is infectious and we're certain you'll enjoy his company on safari. "I feel the freedom here that I have never felt before," says Alex, "the freedom to camp in the open savanna, to decide what path to take in my walk through the bush. As trivial as these freedoms may sound, few places in the world offer them in the same magnitude as Kenya."
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For more information and reservations, please contact:
Mountain Travel Sobek
1266 66th Street, Suite 4
Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
Toll Free (USA and Canada): 1-888-831-7526
Phone: +1-510-594-6000
Fax: + 1-510-594-6001
Email: info@mtsobek.com |
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