Kilimanjaro 2020

Dmitry Kuranov, member of the 7 Summits Club group:

...it's all over now. The moment of euphoria when you stand at the top and the whole continent is at your feet has already passed. How many doubts, preparations, and anticipations there were!

And now it's all over, just memories... and choose a new height and summits!

And it was amazing, indescribable, magical, fantastic! Kilimanjaro will always remain in my heart!

Photos and emotions from Dmitry Kuranov, who successfully climbed Kilimanjaro.

Dmitry managed to make the ascent in a unique time – almost alone with the mountain! During the entire ascent and at Uhuru Peak itself, they were  only one group, which is absolutely impossible in normal times.

In addition, Dmitry managed to capture unique footage of the traces of the fire that took place in mid-October in the Kilimanjaro National Park.

On the one hand, it is very scary to see a burnt-out forest, on the other hand, these shots are unique.

After a successful ascent and descent from the highest peak of the African continent Kilimanjaro (5895 m), the whole group is in a state of mild euphoria.

According to Igor Moshchuk:

It was sometimes a little heavy, but in general it was easier than I was afraid and I sooooooooo much liked it. Directly of the cosmic sense and unreal emotions. I only had a headache, which was quite bearable, and when it got worse, I took ibuprofen. Also took diacarb. Physically, I was well prepared and had no problems in this regard. It's not my first time living in a tent, so I got used to it quickly and slept well for the second night. From the point of view of the organization, everything was at high level in terms of care, nutrition, and camp organization. The local team is just super pros. In short, only positive!

And Yes. I've mapped out the next point. Orizaba.

Instead of 500 people who ascend Kilimanjaro peak (Uhuru peak, 5895 m) every day at normal times, now according to the National Park administration, an average of 8 people per day register a successful summit ascent.

Dreams come true sooner or later, one way or another! Many climbers, before deciding on the route, express their wishes to go along the least crowded path to enjoy the beauty in solitude and merge with nature!

Now it is possible!

You can go along one of the routes and not meet a single person!

A small group of the 7 Summits Club had just climbed the highest peak in Africa on the Marangu route.

According to them, it was amazing! Just you and mountains, and not a single person in any camp!

 The weather was beautiful. We enjoyed nature and solitude! We saw a lot of animals.

In addition, our climbers encountered traces of a fire in the Kilimanjaro National Park, many videos of which could be seen on YouTube a couple of weeks ago. The fire raged in the forest at an altitude of about 3500 m (between the camps of Mandara and Horombo, in the area of unique dendrosenecia).

The ashes of course are terrible, but  it is a unique sight! It's awfully interesting.

And the forest has already started to recover and in six months everything will be back as before.

Kilimanjaro is open and wait for you!

   A little positive news from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. Two of our groups made successful ascents on Uhuru peak (which means "freedom" in Swahili), which is the highest point in Africa and crowns the Kilimanjaro volcano massive.

 The weather was different, there was also fog,  they have been rising among the clouds, but during the summit assault it was a clear night and the sun! Visibility from the top was excellent! The crater of the volcano is covered with intricate snow forms of weathering. Trails on the routes are free, there is no queue to take a cherished photo at the top!

 Now two more groups of the 7 Summits Club are starting on the Kilimanjaro climbing route.

A new group of the 7 Summits Club has arrived safely in Tanzania and is now climbing the slopes of Kilimanjaro.

  Before flying to Kilimanjaro and starting to climb, the team hung out for a couple of days on the Indian ocean in one of the hotels in Dars-es-Salaam (the former capital of Tanzania). There, in addition to the beach, they also managed to see several museums and plunge into the flavor of a large African city.

If you want to spend more time on the coast, you can also find something to do there. In addition to the ocean itself, you can visit the southern national parks and go on a luxury Safari.

The group ascends Kilimanjaro via the Lemosho route. This is the Western traverse with a high throw of up to 3500 m on the first day of the ascent. Then you will have to walk to the first camp for another 1-2 hours and from there you will see magnificent panoramas of the Shira plateau (one of the cones of the Kilimanjaro volcano) and mount Meru (the second highest in Tanzania).

In Tanzania, all travel restrictions for foreign tourists have been lifted. There are only some additional requirements for compliance with hygiene standards. And temperature control at the airport. It remains only to wait for us to be released from our country. So far, the Russian government has allowed travel abroad only for work, study, treatment or care of sick relatives. But the overall pace of release is encouraging and we are confident that we will soon resume work on all our main tourist destinations!

Artyom Rostovtsev, a guide of the 7 Summits Club: Hello from our team, while still from the mountain! Now we are heading down. Today, despite daily rainfall, in fine weather  we climbed to the summit  of Mount Kilimanjaro. Everything is according to plan - we met dawn on the border of the crater. With our local friends at the top, we recorded congratulations on March 8, and hurried down. Now we again come to life in the rain at Camp Millennium (3800m). Tomorrow we go down completely.

And of course, congratulations on the holiday of spring for our lovely ladies from the top of Kilimanjaro from our local team! Enjoy it!

March 7th. There is one road from Baranco camp to the top, but you can choose options. Go immediately to the Barafu assault camp or with an intermediate overnight in Karanga camp. We are following the second option. It’s more reliable and more likely to reach the top. And the beginning of both paths is the wall of Baranko, for some reason everyone is scared before, and "difficult - good" after. We passed. We reached the Karanga camp with the slogan“main thing is not to get tired”, and before the rain.

March 8th. The group climbed to Barafu camp. We have everything according to plan, at night the team goes to the top, we plan to be at the highest point by dawn. That's just the weather is rainy. But precipitation does not affect our progress in any way.

Artem Rostovtsev, guide of the 7 Summits Club: Hi 7 Summits! Last evening and night there was some unusually windy and rainy weather.  It pour a lot, blew hard. In the morning, all calmed down. We go according the plan further, we had lunch near the Lava Tower. And we hope that during the night everything is blown out and spilled out, and there will no longer be bad weather. We climbed the Lava Tower, had lunch, and already went down to the Baranco camp. As before, we eat well, sleep, and gently acclimatize.

Artem Rostovtsev,  the 7 Summit Club guide: Greetings from Mount Kilimanjaro from the Shira camp! Yesterday we reached the camp of Machame, rising at a pleasant, not fast pace - without crowds of climbers and without rain. Both last points surprised. Today, according to the same surprisingly comfortable program, we moved higher to the next camp, 3800m. We gently acclimatize, eat well and walk.

Hi, 7 Summits! The next expedition to the summit of Kilimanjaro begins. We are following our favorite route of Machame. On the eve, some kind of tremendous amount of precipitation fell, even a little washed out roads. And today is the sun. And the forecast for the coming days is rather optimistic, which is what we hope for. Hakuna matata!

And the other day we ran the Kilimanjaro marathon (someone half marathon), which traditionally takes place on the last Sunday of February.

Group of the 7 Summits Club successfully completed the climbing program on Kilimanjaro. Everyone went down, everything is in order. See the final portion of the climbing photos.

Entry in the diary of Artyom Rostovtsev, the group’s guide: For a week I went to work on the slopes of the mountain, it was cold and snowy at the top, a little tired. Tomorrow I will rest in the hot Kilimanjaro marathon.

Artem Rostovtsev, the group guide:  Hi, 7 Summits, from the climbers of Kilimanjaro! Today the weather was atypical. We even suspected a blizzard of it. 12 of 13 members of our team climbed in difficult conditions on the highest point of Kilimanjaro - Uhuru peak. We started climbing by the whole team, but, unfortunately, not everyone reached the mountain. Feeling weak, one woman decided to turn around at an altitude of 5550 meters. Now we have already started the descent from the assault camp, all with our own feet. Fatigue of course, but the joy of a fulfilled dream gives strength.

Sunny greetings for everyone!

Artyom Rostovtsev, super-guide of the 7 Summits Club o from Tanzania: Hello, 7 Summits! Kilimanjaro in touch. It turns out that our group has no name. Today we will definitely come up with it. Otherwise, everything goes according to plan.

Today our path ran through lunch on the Lava Tower, we had to get 850 meters. And then a picturesque descent led us to the camp of Baranco. Everyone feels well. From tomorrow, we go only up.

Artem Rostovtsev, guide of the 7 Summits Club from Tanzania: Warm greetings from the slopes of Kilimanjaro!

Today, our large and fun group starts climbing Kilimanjaro on the Machame route. It's hot down the valley, which we're not used.  We hope that it will be cooler on the route, which is better for us. So we'll go up.

The group of the 7 Summits Club “Omichi” safely went down and is now in the hotel, enjoying the benefits of civilization. We congratulate all participants on their first climbing ascent in their life!

 We also congratulate Ekaterina Karamova on her birthday! She celebrated it on the day of the assault on Kilimanjaro!

7 Summits, hello! This is Dmitry Ermakov and the Omichi group. Today, at about 11 a.m., two  our members, two Mikhailas and a guide stood on the main summit of Kilimanjaro Uhuru peak. The rest of the members reached the summit of Stella Point. Now we are all going down together. All is well.

A message from the slopes of Kilimanjaro from the guide of the 7 Summits Club Dmitry Ermakov:  "We are in the Mandara Hut. Everything is fine. The weather is wonderful. All members feel good”.

  Mandara Hut is the first camp on the way to the summit of Kilimanjaro. The Mandara Shelter is located on the upper border of the forest, at an altitude of about 2700m, as a rule, already above the clouds. It offers magnificent views of sunsets and sunrises.

Seven Summits, hello! This is Dmitry Ermakov from Africa. Today, our new group named Omichi arrived at Kilimanjaro region, in Moshi, at the hotel. Everyone feels great, all things have not been lost. The weather is wonderful too.

Members of the group  today went to the local market, got acquainted with the local flavor. We rented all the necessary things. So we are ready to climb. Tomorrow we are moving up to the Marangu route. Everything is fine with us and a best regards to everyone!

7 Summits, hello! This is a guide of the 7 Summits Club Dmitry Ermakov from the slopes of Kilimanjaro. Today, our group climbed to the highest point of Africa at a very fast pace. The weather is cold, but  wind is not as strong as the last time. At the top we stayed for 20-30 minutes, probably even less. We took photos and now going down. All is well!