Kilimanjaro Tragedy

The trekking community in Tanzania and around the world was saddened when 3 American trekkers died during a rockslide on Kilimanjaro that occurred a couple of weeks ago. Several others were seriously injured (See Americasroof News). The route they were taking, Umbwe, has since been closed. See my January 2 posting for a map. This had been considered one of the most dangerous routes, mainly because of the possibility of rockslides like the one that occurred earlier this month. Some climbers prefer this route because it is less traveled and thus more peaceful. In addition, the final acsent to the summit is a more direct route, although it requires a tough scramble up the steep Western Breach/Arrow glacier. This can provide more time to explore the volcanic caldron that forms the summit of Kilimanjaro. The accident occurred at Arrow Glacier camp, when rocks the size of small cars broke loose and tumbled through the camp below.

Our route, Machame, actually crosses Umbwe route lower on the mountain, but avoids the tough scramble up the Western Breach by circumnavigating the southern slope of the mountain to reach the volcano rim at Stella's point. It's a longer hike, but obviously safer.

Although it is apparently difficult to obtain very accurate statistics, it is estimated that there are approximately 10 deaths per year on the slopes of Kilimanjaro among the 20,000 trekkers that attempt to reach the summit.