John Harris - About Kilimanjaro

One of the reasons for this blog, was to fulfill a number of requests John has had to tell school and college students (as well as friends, families and fellow Paralympic athletes) all about his charity climb of Mount Kilimanjaro. Having given a little information on the initial training, we thought it was about time to say a little about the challenge.

Mount Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania, a country in East Africa. The country is bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. On its southern border are Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. The country’s eastern border is formed by the Indian Ocean.

The population of Tanzania is 46 million with over half of the population being under 15 years of age. Whilst Swahili is the official language, Great Britain’s long-term involvement in Tanzania means that English is also widely spoken.

 

Kilimanjaro is the world's highest free-standing, equatorial mountain. At 19,336 feet, snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest peak. Pictures of Kilimanjaro’s towering snow-covered cone, rising majestically from fertile green foothills, is a most amazing sight. When climbing Kilimanjaro, John and his team will ascend through five different ecological zones to reach the summit.

Kilimanjaro is a giant stratovolcano, which is not currently active, but has fumaroles that emit gas in the crater on the main summit. A stratovolcano is a tall, conical volcano composed of one layer of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash. In 2003 scientists concluded that molten magma is a mere 400 meters below the summit crater. Although new activity is not expected (thankfully), there are fears the volcano may collapse, causing a major eruption similar to Mount St. Helens. Stratovolcanoes are characterised by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions. The lava that flows from them is highly viscous, and cools and hardens before spreading very far.

To get an idea of the height of Kilimanjaro (19,336 feet), it might be worth comparing with Abergavenny’s Sugar Loaf (1,955 ft), Snowdonia (3,560 ft), Ben Nevis (4,409 ft – highest point in the UK), Mont Blanc (4810 ft – highest point in the Alps & Europe), but is still dwarfed by Mount Everest at 29,029 feet.

There are several different routes available to climb Kilimanjaro. In planning an ascent with John, our climbing guide has had to give a lot of consideration about the best route for his wheelchair. With that the main consideration, we have decided to use the Marangu Route for our climb. Regarded as the most popular route until recently, it also has the highest failure rate, primarily due to climbers spending less time acclimatising.

On the way up, John and the team will go through several ecosystems, including rain forests, moorland and alpine meadows, rocky ravines that will provide a significant challenge for the wheelchair, and lunar landscapes. Much of our equipment will be ported by local guides who form our support team, along with a cook who prepares the meals.  

We hope to take many photographs to capture the wonder of this remarkable place, and John’s incredible climb. In the rain forests we hope to capture some of the monkeys, and Kilimanjaro is home to plants that are unique to this mountain.


If you would like to discuss a sponsorship opportunity for John's Training or actual climb of Kilimanjaro please email Simon at simondeacy@pjs-speakers.co.uk or telephone 01600 729180.

You can also make a donation to John's Kilimanjaro Challenge through the Just Giving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/fullcircleltd/