Evacuation on Kilimanjaro

Evacuation on Kilimanjaro, sometimes happens that customers can’t continue. In such instances, you will be assisted by our Karibu Adventures Medical Trained Guide head or assistant guide to return back to the gate.

Evacuation on Kilimanjaro

Air Ambulance

Karibu Adventures has an agreement with Intensive Care Air Ambulance (ICAA) AMREF Flying Doctor who can evacuate you in case of any severe problems arise up to an altitude of 4000m are included in our offer. If you are above that height, you will be taken down to where the helicopter is by our chief guide and evacuated from there to the hospital in Nairobi. For more information about the Air Ambulance please read this website: http://www.amref.org

We usually use the following four areas which have helicopter landing pads on the site:

  • Shira
  • Barranco
  • Saddle
  • Horombo

There are two possible evacuation sites; BARAFU at 15000ft/4570m amsl and KIBO at 15,500ft/4724m amsl. Please note that these sites are very high and can be extremely dangerous during evacuation.

As such, an evacuation out of the two sites will be conducted on pilots discretion and exceptionally good weather.

Stretcher evacuation: Evacuation on Kilimanjaro

Mountain evacuation is always complicated, and Kilimanjaro is no exception. Thankfully, it is rare that climbers need to be evacuated from Kilimanjaro due to severe altitude sickness or injury. Much more common is mild altitude sickness triggering a precautionary evacuation.

Evacuation from Kilimanjaro is initially on foot (if able) or by stretcher, until the highest point that can be reached by a rescue car or helicopter.

Rescue Car: Evacuation on Kilimanjaro

The National Park authorities provide a rescue car for these situations, and there are ranger posts on the mountain with radio contact to the park authority headquarters. Once in a vehicle, the sick climber can then be transferred directly to a hospital (KCMC Hospital in Moshi or ALMC Hospital, AAR Clinic or Aga Khan Clinic in Arusha).

If no need hospital

In the case of more minor conditions that prevent a climber from continuing further up the mountain but that do not require hospital treatment. The climber will return to the closest gate with one of their guides and will be transferred back to the hotel in Moshi for rest and medication if necessary.

Mountain Safety

Kilimanjaro is a comparatively safe mountain trek. No technical climbing skills are required to reach the summit, the trails are well-trodden, and the evacuation procedures generally well-understood. A staggering 40-50,000 people climb Kilimanjaro every year, and cases of serious illness or death are very rare.

Risks

Altitude – Altitude sickness is the most obvious and most important risk to be aware of when planning a Kilimanjaro climb. Indeed, there’s a case to be made that altitude is more of a risk on Kilimanjaro than on most other high altitude climbs, as several of the popular routes to the summit encourage a rapid ascent (far faster than what is the norm on most climbs in the Andes or Himalayas, by way of comparison).

Weather – Kilimanjaro receives very heavy rainfall during the long (March-May) and short (Nov) wet seasons, which can easily end a climb early. Sun, too, can pose a risk on Kilimanjaro – sun burn and even sun stroke is not uncommon at altitude.

General injury – As on any mountain climb or remote adventure, there’s a risk that you’ll suffer injury on Kilimanjaro. While the typical climbers’ hazards – crevasses, ice walls, rock fall – are much less of a risk than they are on other high altitude climbs, injury can still occur even on Kilimanjaro’s less-hazardous trails.

Drops and exposure – we’re occasionally asked by prospective climbers if they will encounter any steep drops while climbing Kilimanjaro.

There’s actually very little exposure (mountain parlance for drops) on Kilimanjaro, unless you actively seek it out. Some of the more remote, technical routes do involve some precarious climbs, but not the well-established trekking routes. A partial exception are the western wilderness routes (Shira, Lemosho) and Machame, as these routes require you to climb the infamous Barranco Wall.

KILIMANJARO GEAR
Kilimanjaro Climbing Gear
“Highly recommended”
PREACHING THE GOSPEL