Mountain Trekking Preparation

1. Route Selection| Choice for your trek. Pick a minimum of 5-7 days trekking either Mt. Kenya or Kilimanjaro. If you are signing up to a group trip with random people you need a minimum of 7 days on the mountain. Really everyone should have a minimum of 7 days on the mountain. Any less and you run the high risk of getting AMS (high altitude sickness). Your chances of success go down drastically if you spend less days on the mountain. Having the best acclimatization should be your number one concern.

2 .Strength and endurance are so important for success. Specific physical conditioning are really important, since are not running a marathon, you will be hiking up and down the mountain with weight on your back where some days are longer others short. Therefore you need to train both on endurance and leg strength which far more valuable than fitness-At least put on a weighted back pack, building up the weight you will carry and train 4 to 5 times a week.

3. Knowledge| Know about daily elevation gain: Understand the elevation gains so that you can prepare correctly. You need to understand the elevation gains for each day of the trip- think about this a little more. The higher you go your body will be losing more oxygen, this means your muscles will be exposed to more pressure and strain.

4. Training program: Build the right training program. So this is just a follow up on number 3. You need to be building up your preparation 3 to 6 months ahead of your climb. If you do not have access to hills and mountains you need really focus on how you are going to get the strength and conditioning for the climb.

5. Gear Selection: Make sure you have the right clothing. Having the right sleeping bag and air mattress is really important on the mountain. You will need to be getting as much sleep as possible. You will spend a lot of time in your mountain hard wear Trango 4 tent, so it is really important to be as comfortable as possible. You need the right layers, down jacket, gloves, trekking boots, back pack and smaller key items.

6. Be very comfortable in your trekking boots: It is really important to buy the right trekking boots early and then break them in. We recommend the La Sportiva Trango GTX trekking boots. The Trango boots are lightweight warm, water proof and really solid all round.

7. Diet Watch to fuel your climb: Having the right food is really important. On both Mt. Kenya, Kilimanjaro and Meru treks we serve you 3 meals a day (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner). We have an amazing chef who works with us on all our climbs. The chef and his support team of 4-6 staff produce amazing balanced diet meal for each day. We therefore recommend you also try and watch your eating habit pre trek.

8. Vaccination & Medication: You need to have some shots and be protected against malaria. Your doctor will recommend certain medication that you will need to bring with you on your trek. We normally do a brief and go through each ones medical history if any and get to know if any of the group members is on medication before the start of the trek.