Climbing Kilimanjaro
About 30,000 people climb Kilimanjaro each year and about three-quarters of those reach the summit. It is a relatively safe climb, and most climbers who fail to summit experience altitude-related issues or harsh weather near the peak. Temperatures at the peak can be 0 degrees F (minus 18 C), and if the winds are blowing, the wind chills reach dangerous levels.
The climb can be done any time of year but the rainy winter season make the summer and early fall a popular time to climb.
Kilimanjaro has five climbing routes to the summit: Marangu Route; Machame Route; Rongai Route; Lemosho Route; and Mweka Route. The popular Machame and Lemosho routes are scenic, while the busy Marangu is the easiest until the difficult final ascent to the rim of the crater.
In 1861, the German officer Baron Carl Claus von der Decken and British geologist Richard Thornton made a first attempt to climb Kibo, but had to turn back at 8,200 feet (2,500 meters).
Von der Decken tried a second time the following year, and with Otto Kersten got as far as 14,000 feet (4,280 meters).
In 1887, during his first attempt to climb Kilimanjaro, German geology professor Hans Meyer reached the base of Kibo, but was not properly equipped to handle the deep snow and ice and retreated.
On Oct. 5, 1889, Meyer, Marangu scout Yoanas Kinyala Lauwo and Austrian Ludwig Purtscheller were the first team to reach the summit. They were the first to confirm that Kibo has a crater, which was filled with ice at the time.