The trip was organized by Paraglidekilimanjaro.com and the paragliding guide with 25 years of experience followed.
Flight permits are required and I paid it via paraglidekilimanjaro.com. Nowadays, it is allowed to fly from Kili and you can pay for permission on site.
It is not allowed to hike without local guides and it is forbidden to carry more than 20 kilograms of equipment. Everything is weighed before passing the entrance. Guides also need to wear their clothes, tent, food ...
The hike to the summit takes from 6 to 9 days to acclimatize. We chose to go the Rongai route and were on summit after 3 days and 18 hours.
Top night was tough. I almost gave up. Had cramps in my legs and froze my fingers even though I had double gloves and hand warmers. One of the porters got altitude sickness in the middle of the night at 5500m.
Day before, we have gone from 3900m to 4700m not slept and gone all night to the top but we were still fine and happy at 07 at the top.
The wind was not good. Weak northeast, coming from crater. It was difficult to breathe and hard to walk around at the top. I tried to start from 4 different places, but for each try it was harder and harder. Paraglider did not act at all as at sea level and the wind was very difficult. We had 2 windsocks with 20 meters between them. They showed two different wind directions with 90 degrees difference.
After 8 hours at the top and without oxygen we decided to take a flight to Crater.
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*** There are many who ask why reserve: ***
I was at an altitude of over 4000 m and there you fall much faster than at sea level.
I was only 186 m above the ground and in the national park Kilimanjaro.
I had twist and flew backwards.
And most importantly, I survived and could go down to the mountain myself. I think it's better to be safe than sorry :)
https://youtu.be/CFWbF6aOtss?t=630
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*** Are you falling faster at higher altitudes? ***
Yes.
I've been helped by a physicist to calculate it.
For example. Items fall 33% faster at an altitude of 5000 masl than at sea level.
Link to the calculation (in Swedish): http://fragelada.fysik.org/index.asp?id=20885
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