MM Guide Ben Mality Takes You To the Roof of Africa

You can say it takes a vil­lage to climb Mount Kil­i­man­jaro. This is very true as you climb with Moun­tain Mad­ness; with well trained guides, hard work­ing porters, and pro­fes­sion­al cooks, it is pos­si­ble to reach the roof of Africa.

Trip brief­ing at Itikoni spe­cial camp lounge (6,500ft.). Ben Mal­i­ty photo

I (Ben Mal­i­ty, Trip Leader) do a trip brief­ing before the climb. Every­one con­cen­trates deeply and lis­tens. It is very impor­tant to under­stand every­thing about the entire climb. 

Maio Water­falls. Ben Mal­i­ty photo

Maio Water­falls is a famous place we vis­it to accli­ma­tize on our sec­ond day at Itikoni camp. It is a very beau­ti­ful place that you do not want to miss.

Sun­down­er above Itikoni camp. Ben Mal­i­ty photo

Behind us you see part of the ridge on Mount Meru; fur­ther behind the clouds where you can­not see is Kilimanjaro.

The rain has stopped and it is time to shed lay­ers. Ben Mal­i­ty photo

If you ask me, is it going to rain today? My answer is always YES! This held true and we had some rain in the for­est on day one of the climb. 

Dome cave. Ben Mal­i­ty photo

Just behind our Crater camp we have dis­cov­ered a new small vent. There might be some tem­per­a­ture change with­in the area though you can­not feel it. The only way to tell is how the Glac­i­er has melt­ed and made this pret­ty dome cave. It is my favorite place; it’s nice to camp in the crater and get a chance to see this. You nev­er know how long it will last.

Sep­a­rat­ed sec­tion of Furt­wan­gler Glac­i­er. Ben Mal­i­ty photo

This part of the Furt­wan­gler Glac­i­er in the Crater used to be part of the big glac­i­er but now it is sep­a­rat­ed. Behind it is where the vent is locat­ed. It is sad to see how the glac­i­ers are melt­ing so quickly.

[

Kil­i­man­jaro Sum­mit. Ben Mal­i­ty photo

This is the Top of Africa with Moun­tain Mad­ness. 100% success!

Porters and guides singing after the climb at Mwe­ka camp. Ben Mal­i­ty video

After the hard work of climb­ing in freez­ing wind and rain, every­one deserves to relax, sing and drink. Moivaro is the best place for that.

Relax­ing after the climb. Ben Mal­i­ty photo

Jokes after the climb sound good at this loca­tion and I am good at that. Be care­ful and do not get drunk as you still need to drink more water. I say, ​“Save water, drink Beer!” and ​“If you can’t climb it, drink it.” It is KILI TIME!

Those who do a safari with Moun­tain Mad­ness have the best oppor­tu­ni­ty to see lots of ani­mals with very expe­ri­enced dri­ver guides and trip lead­ers who are well trained with the longest experience.

~MM Guide Ben Mality