Talk to me about climbing Kilimanjaro please!

[SteggySawUs]

My 8yo has decided that he really wants to climb Kilimanjaro, having read about it in a book (and after I said no to Everest!) little knowing that this has been on my bucket list for years.
So I'm just wondering, is this something we could actually achieve together in the next few years?! (Once international travel bans, lockdowns and social distancing are a thing of the past of course, so DS will probably be secondary age).
I'm fairly fit for a middle aged mum, run a couple of times a week, love a good cardio workout, but how fit do you really need to be?
How old does he need to be? How young do I need to be?!
I'm guessing it's best to go as part of an organised tour, but where do I even begin to look for one of these?
How much money would we need to raise? How long would we be away for?
Basically is there any chance that this could ever become a reality?!
All advice and reality checks gratefully received, thank you 😊

It’s really big (nearly 20000ft high.) 8 is far too young. Being realistic the climb to the summit should take at least 5-6 days. The standard minimum age is 10, but younger children have climbed Kili with permission from the Tanzanian authorities. I’m all for getting kids out doing stuff (I do unsupported multi-day riding adventures with mine and my son completed his first long trek aged 8, carrying all he needed for 3 days in his saddle packs, so I am not entirely averse to adventure) but I’d find something smaller to climb as a first mission with an 8 year old! Altitude sickness is a real risk - your son might be fine but how would you deal with a situation that saw you being evacuated from the mountain with altitude sickness?

We plan to climb all the UK peaks in the next couple of years, and work our way up.
Kilimanjaro wouldn't be until he's at least secondary age (3 years away) although I'm worried that I'll be too old by then!
Helpful to know that it's 5-6 days to climb.
Just wondering whether this is a ridiculous plan that will never come to anything and we should stop talking about it, or whether one day, we really could actually do this...

What an amazing experience for you both. I'm not sure of the logistics of it steggy however the best place to start would just be googling 'Kilimanjaro tours children' or something along those lines. I think the age limit for him is 10-12 and I doubt there is an upper age limit, it probably goes on fitness levels.

It would be a great goal for him to with towards as it'd probably take a year or two to get the current coronavirus situation out the way and then all the planning and saving up. Not to mention building up your fitness levels.

Have you done much travelling with him before? I'm an avid traveller but pregnant at the moment so I am gutted that those days are behind me for quite some time yet.

Thank your for your encouraging message! We've taken him away once and it was a great success. I was a big traveller pre children, and I'm excited that one of my children at least seems to be heading the same way! I'd love to do something like this together before he's an adult going off on his own adventures (as I did from age 17). The virus means this idea can't become a reality for a couple of years anyway, which gives time for fundraising, training, planning, and for him to be above the minimum age! I just have no idea how much money/time the whole trip could take?
I'll get googling, I was just hoping someone might have some tips to at least point us in the right direction!

Hi @SteggySawUs - your ds may be fine in 3 years but you’d really need to do will quite a bit of training and prep. We completed this in January and did it over 8 days. It was physically and mentally exhausting but one of the best experiences of my life. We had other young adults with us and the youngest 20 found it quite challenging and she’s quite fit so doing some 3 peaks training will be really advantageous.

Happy to give you more details if you’d like to pm me.

I've done guided tours before and have always used the likes of Intrepid/Gadventures. Maybe check them out as a starting point. But again, I'm not sure of age limits. If you're on Facebook, there are lots of pages such as The Travelling Mummy, Travelling Mummy, Mummy travels etc. I've joined them a wee while ago but haven't checked them out yet. They might be able to give you some insight.

I'm very excited for you haha, I'm always excited when anyone announces travel plans! I'm going to have to live my life vicariously through others for the next year or two

So DH climbed Kilimanjaro last year. He thought maybe 13-15 would be the minimum age for it. He reckons to be fit enough to do it, you'd need to be able to hike up and down Snowdon twice in a row - camp - and then do it again the next day .

Price wise it cost £2.5k for the organised trip including accommodation- hotel first and last night , camping the rest, plus everything else. Mind you he and his pal also climbed up Meru so that might have added to the cost. Flights separately were about £600.

Apparently a lot of people don't make it to the very top due to altitude issues, so if it's not just a passing fancy for your DS it would be a great hobby for the next few years to gradually up the intensity of hill walking to mountain climbing.

I did it a few years ago and never again! I did the Machame route which is approx 4 nights and the ascent is too fast; I had horrendous altitude sickness despite taking meds. Many tour operators sub contract to Zara Tours so you can cut them out and book direct with them and save a fortune. That's what I did and they were great overall.

8 is far too young.

I've seen some amazing stories, quadriplegics completing until the summit
Physical training for a year
Support team
Huge inner strength
I'm assuming the weather was fairly stable

Their stories would give some information

Walking a couple of peaks

Is not the same as walking for several days in a row. That's where injuries or illnesses start to occur. Not necessarily for yourself, but perhaps someone else in your team

Also unpredictable things that occur

That's really helpful everyone, thank you again!
I'm definitely going to keep it in the back of my mind, and if it's something that he keeps talking about then we'll have to have a reality check on the level of training that is required to be fit enough. He definitely has the right personality to see it through if it's something that he still wants to do in a few years. I think age 13-15 sounds good, puberty will build his muscles up a bit!
Helpful tips wrt companies to look into too, thank you.

I did it at 18, years ago. There are various routes, we went on the easiest one, and we only carried a day pack as there are porters who took your main bag (and you need to tip/pay for this) Doing it at the same time were a family with three children, I'd say the youngest was maybe 10. They were fit and outdoorsy types.
The walk felt ok, like a normal day hike but obviously 5-6 days in a row, the altitude seemed to effect people differently, not sure how you'd prepare for that.
We slept in shared dorm type rooms

Goodness knows how Tanzania will cope with Coronavirus

Altitude sickness is completely unpredictable and not based on your fitness. However you'll enjoy the trip more if you are fitter

However the longer you take to ascend the more chance you have of getting up and down ok.

Did it aged 30ish over about 5 days, it was quite tough but walk all the way no mountaineering required. Enjoyed it a lot!

@Notabadger

Goodness knows how Tanzania will cope with Coronavirus

By ignoring it completely and saying it has gone away.
There is a lack of tourists, some people wear masks and there are hand washing stations.
That's the only difference in Moshi anyway. Apparently Dar is deserted but there are more cases there. I know of one case in Moshi.
Schools closed in March but have reopened for the equivalent of year 13 so they can do exams.
Flights were cancelled but are starting up again. Quarantine for people arriving wasn't strictly enforced. Kenya has closed the land border.
There have been no tests since April and no reports either. But we should pray.

@marcopront
That's interesting. Mainstream news here seems to be interested only in how the UK and USA are dealing with things imo. Hope things are ok.

Did you make any decisions OP?

@SteggySawUs You might enjoy "A Table on Kilimanjaro" by Janice Coy, available on Kindle. It's the story of a woman attempting the climb with her elderly Dad.