Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, one of the seven summits and a bucket list experience for adventure lovers across the globe. My name's Oli France, I'm an expedition leader and the founder of Wild Edge and today I'm going to share with you my ten golden rules for summit success on Kilimanjaro. Okay, keep it slow or in Swahili, Poli-Poli, slowly, slowly. Those are the words you'll hear over and over again from your local Tanzanian crew. Why is this important? Well, keeping a slow and steady pace is absolutely essential to our bodies' acclimatization process. As we ascend up the mountain, having a slow pace will give our bodies chance to adapt to a reduced oxygen atmosphere and therefore improve our chances of summit success. You wouldn't quite believe the slowness of the pace which the Tanzanian guide set especially on the summit day but following in their footsteps, taking it poli-poli, slowly, slowly will massively increase your chances of succeeding. Aye, if you don't need it, leave it. Here I'm talking about the packing list for Kilimanjaro and if you don't have one already, please have a look in the description below. There you'll find a comprehensive packing list containing everything you need for this expedition. Have a look at that and use that resource, I'm sure you'll find it useful. Now, it's really important when it comes to Kilimanjaro not to over pack and take too much stuff. Yes, you will be getting support from the locally hired porters but ultimately all of that kit needs to be carried way up the mountain and all the way back. So, keeping way to a minimum is important and really is one of the expedition fundamentals for all adventures across the globe. Follow the kit list, don't take anything else and you'll be all set for this adventure. El, leave the booze. I'm sorry to have to say this but both alcohol and caffeine can massively impair your body's ability to acclimatise. If you know you'll be itching for an ice cold Tanzanian beer, my advice is, leave it to the end. It'll taste all the sweeter by then. I, it's colder than you might think. Yes, Kilimanjaro is located very close to the equator and yes, it sits in the middle of the Great African Rift Valley but on the summit, temperatures can be a lot as low as minus five, minus ten Celsius and you really need to be prepared for that. Night time temperatures especially can be pretty bone chilling so having that warm outer layer typically a thick down jacket will really really help. Also, a couple of pairs of gloves usually a thinner in a glove and an outer mitt will be greatly needed on the summit as well as things like a heart and extra buffs to keep all of the wind out. Dressing warm will really improve your summit jams and your enjoyment of that chilly morning up on the summit. More water. Hydration is an absolutely critical part of your acclimatisation process and the more you keep your body hydrated the better shape it's going to be for adjusting to that altitude and staying in good condition for this arduous trek. So on average you want to be drinking two to three litres of water, add a make sure that you take that in. A top tip is to drink a lot in the morning up to a liter before you even set off. That way you're hydrated for the trek ahead and your body is ready to go. A. Arrived prepared. Kilimanjaro is often known as one of the world's most underestimated mountains. It's often seen as a peak which is non-technical and an easy walk to the top but in reality that is not entirely true. This is a multi-day endurance test at high altitude and it requires a high level of physical preparation. I do strongly recommend that you follow a training plan before your expedition to Kilimanjaro. If you're looking for one I do have a free 12 week training plan in the description below just click on the link completely free and right there for your use. Do have a look at this if you're interested in the fitness levels required for Kilimanjaro. My general suggestion is to build a strong cardio vascular endurance base and really the best way you've training for Kilimanjaro is to be specific. To get out to hills, to mountains, to walk for many hours on end with a light Brooksac with friends hey it doesn't need to be a total endurance test. Enjoy it, get outdoors, get a feel for what it's like to walk up and down hills with that pack, build that endurance and you will be in much better shape for some of success. End, no trace. Kilimanjaro sees tens of thousands of trekkers hit its slopes every single year. That's a lot of humans and a lot of possibilities for waste build up on the slopes and what we really want to do is reduce that problem. So everything that you take on the mountain is really important that that comes back down with you to the base. No litter should be left on the mountain whatsoever this should go without saying. That includes things like banana peels, apple cores, everything should be brought back down to leave that mountain as we found it and to preserve it for future generations. Jay, just use suncream. Once we're at high altitude the UV rays are especially strong, far stronger than what we'd experience at sea level. So we'd need to make sure that our bodies are protected. That first layer of protection is of course a strong factor suncream. I would recommend fact to 50 plus and the other layers of protection of course are staying out of the sun by using peaked or vibrant hats, long sleeves, keeping in the shade when we possibly can to reduce that risk. And I'm not just talking about sunburn here, should things worsen to the point of sunstroke? Of course that's something we really want to avoid when we're way up at altitude in a remote place. So let's stay hydrated, let's stay predicted from the sun, let's take the acclimatization slowly and let's increase our chances of some of success. A, adore your feet. Okay, making this an A was a bit of a stretch but it's a very crucial message. Looking after your feet, your modes of transport. The two things which are going to get you up that mountain is absolutely crucial. And it all starts actually months before your expedition. What you want to do is get a pair of boots which are well fitted, which fit your feet and which you find comfortable for wearing at long hours at a time and you know that they're not going to give you blisters or any problems. And I do recommend going to an outdoor shop and getting your feet properly fitted to those boots. What's your on the mountain? We can further reduce the risk of blisters and any problems by properly lacing our boots each morning. We could even use tape on our feet if we want to reduce any of those particular sore spots that we may struggle with. Blisters may sound like a trivial issue but preventing them and looking after our feet can really make or break an expedition. Respect your local team. Your local team, your porters, your guys, your cooks, your support crew are absolutely integral to every Kilimanjaro expedition. And of course this local team needs to be respected. One huge way I think we can do this is by bringing them in to our team as a whole and to speak with them to learn some local language, to share stories and generally to involve them in our own experience. If you have extra snacks and sweets I'm sure they go down well too. But another tip of course is to have some US dollars stashed away for the end of the expedition. If you're really pleased with the support that your porters and local team have given you which I'm known out you will be then I recommend you have some US dollars and you do leave behind a tip for all those who've helped you. It will go a long way to supporting that local economy. Oh I almost forgot if you're looking to join a team of like-minded adventure travelers for this trek of a lifetime of Kilimanjaro. I hope you'll consider wild edge. All of our expeditions are expertly run with safety at the absolute forefront. You'll be looked after from the moment you sign up until the moment you're home safe from the expedition. We've got upcoming Kilimanjaro dates so to secure your place and to read more please do check the link in the description below and if you have any questions of course please get in touch. Otherwise I hope you've enjoyed this video. If you'd like more tips just like this then please subscribe to our growing channel and we'll follow up with another video very soon.