bucket list

7 fact you didn’t know about Elbrus

Darren Elbrus #adventureseeker, #adventuretravel, #Kilimanjaro #Adventure #Hiking #Trekking, #mountainscape, 7 summits, bucket list, Caucasus mountains, elbrus, Elbrus expedition, highest mountain in Europe, Highest peak in Europe, mount elbrus, mount kilimanjaro, russia, seven summiots, seven summits, Tallest mountain in Europe

7 facts about Elbrus

Whether you are looking to climb the tallest mountain in Europe or are intrigued about Elbrus, these 7 facts about Elbrus will help.

Stay a while, check out all 7 facts and if there’s some detail not listed and you’d to like to find out how to climb?

Why not reach out and we’d be only too happy to help with your next adventure.

1. Europes tallest mountain

Elbrus is the tallest mountain in Europe at 5,642m (18,510ft) and has two very distinct summits. The east summit is 5,621 metres (18,442 ft) in height and the higher west summit is 5,642 metres (18,510 ft).

2. Dormant volcano

Mount Elbrus is a dormant volcano, much like Kilimanjaro and was formed over 2.5 million years ago. The two summits were once active volcanic domes, which last erupted around 2,00 years ago. You can still see signs of volcanic activity, including hot springs. The longest flow extends 24 kilometres (15 mi) down the northeast summit.

3. In Asia and Europe

Elbrus is situated in the Caucuses mountains, southern Russia and borders with Georgia. The range straddles Europe and Asia, stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Balck Sea.

4. Fifth highest mountain

Elbrus is the fifth highest mountain of the seven summits, which are the highest mountain on each continent. The current list stands below, due to political and region changes some mountains have fallen off the list, notably Mont Blanc, France 5,771’/4807m and Mt. Kosciuszko, Australia – 7,310’/2228m

Everest, Nepal/Tibet- 29,035ft/8850m
Aconcagua, Argentina – 22,902’/6960m
Denali, Alaska – 20,320’/6194m
Kilimanjaro, Africa – 19,340’/5896m
Elbrus, Russia – 18,513’/5642m
Vinson, Antarctica – 16,067’/4897m
Carstensz Pyramid, New Guinea – 16,023’/4884m

5. Glaciers x 22

Elbrus glacials move at around 25cm per day, so glaciers do “creep” downwards towards the glacial rivers below. Therefore it will take around 100 – 200 years for a snowflake which fell on the top of Elbrus to reach the foot of the mountain, resulting in fresh, clean water.

6. No technical skills

Everest, Nepal/Tibet- 29,035ft/8850m
Aconcagua, Argentina – 22,902’/6960m
Denali, Alaska – 20,320’/6194m
Kilimanjaro, Africa – 19,340’/5896m
Elbrus, Russia – 18,513’/5642m
Vinson, Antarctica – 16,067’/4897m
Carstensz Pyramid, New Guinea – 16,023’/4884m

7. The climate

The climate on Elbrus can be extreme and the weather can change in an instant. Therefore the mountain is renowned for its high winds, which can delay or cancel summit attempts. As a result, most expedition companies building a contingency day to help increase the chances of success. The reason for the extreme weather is the location of the mountain, which is between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. As a consequence, these two large bodies of water have an impact on wind and precipitation, which makes Elbrus one of the windiest in Europe.

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Day 2 – ‘32 days in HaRVey the camper’

Darren 32 days in HaRVey the camper, Lifestyle bucket list, Campervan, dreams, goals, lifestyle, YOLO

Wednesday 1st August –
The simple life!

Loving this Campervan lark! Should have done it 25 years ago. It’s liberating to only have a few possessions with you, surprising what we really need! No stress, just relaxation, meditation and a free spirit

Early start, awake before the sun today to catch the early ferry. A steady sea meant a smooth crossing to France. I waved to The white cliffs of Dover, seeing where I had run last night and said goodbye to the England and the UK for a month!

Nice to be back in France, good roads, no potholes! Headed to Dunkirk to visit the Operation Dynamo museum. Popped into a motorhome service point to top up HaRVey’s onboard water tank.

Headed along the coast towards Belgium, stopping for some supplies. I found a great little spot to park for the night, only 10 min walk from the beach, where I headed to for a swim and sunbathe.

After waking myself up, snoring I think, I was still in the blistering sun, thankfully I’d put on suntan lotion so I didn’t look like a lobster.

Time to head neck to HaRVey and a gentle 3 mile run along the beach. Washed and fed I’m now chilling with the citronella tea light candles burning to keep away the bugs.

Call back tomorrow for further blog updates on our adventures through France

Goal setting in your training preparation for Kilimanjaro

Clare Kilimanjaro Tips adventure, bucket list, fitness, fun, Goal setting, hiking, kilimanjaro, trekking, walking

So you want to get fitter to climb Mount Kilimanjaro? What are you going to achieve this? How are you going to train?

It’s a common fact that those who set themselves goals are much more successful in life. Why?

Setting targets gives you something to aim for. It’s motivational and provides focus.

When setting yourself goals, you need to set them at the right level to be effective. Too challenging and you won’t complete them so they will have the reverse effect and be demotivational. Research indicates that when setting goals they should be moderately difficult to achieve, thus providing a challenge, but not too easy that you achieve your target quickly without any effort at all.

Goals should focus on the positive such as what you are aiming to achieve rather than focusing on the negative that is what behaviour you want to give up.

If you are unfamiliar and have never set yourselves any training goals previously, you need to ensure that they are SMART.

Specific – your goal shouldn’t be vague. It should target what you want to achieve.
Measureable – the goal should have some measureability in it so you know when you have achieved it.
Achievable – your goal should be challenging but not beyond the realms of reality.
Realistic -it should be real and meaningful. Don’t set yourself up for failure.
Timebound – your goal should indicate when you want to achieve it by.

If you are unfamiliar with trekking and want to set yourself targets to getting fitter, set yourself some SMART goals. These should be progressive and linked to each other. Examples are given below:

1) to walk three days a week for 30 minutes for the first 4 weeks;
2) to walk three days a week for 1 hour and climb a mountain every Saturday for the following month;
3) to walk four days a week for 1.15 hours and to climb two mountains at the weekend for the next month.

This provides you with an action plan and a progressive set of SMART goals to help you achieve your objective of getting fitter to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. These are an example. You can adjust your goals accordingly to increase your own personal levels of fitness.

3 interesting facts about Everest, the name

Darren Everest Base Camp, Nepal adventure, bucket list, everest, everest base camp, fun, Nepal, trek

Mount Everest, as it is commonly known, has three names:

1. Mount Everest was named in honour of the first Surveyor-General of India, Sir George Everest, by the Royal Geographical Society.

Radhanath Sickdhar, was the brilliant mathematician who used his skills to calculate the height and discovered that in 1852 that Peak XV (as it was known then) was the highest mountain in the world. It took until 1856 to ratify that the mountain was actually the highest.

2. Sagarmatha is the Nepalese name for the mountain and means ‘Goddess of the Sky’

The mountain is located in the Sagarmatha National Parkm which was established in 1976. The Nepali region is home to the Sherpa people and as you trek to Everest Base Camp you stop at the Sherpa capital, Namche Bazaar.

3. Chomolungma is the Tibetan name and commonly means ‘Mother Goddess of the Earth’ although there are other translations. It is believed that this is the oldest name for the mountain although there is debate about this. The Tibetans had reserved the name for the highest mountain in the world but this was only confirmed after the British survey.

What training do I need to climb Kilimanjaro?

Darren Kilimanjaro Tips adventure, africa, bucket list, kilimanjaro, mount kilimanjaro, Mountains in mind, trek kilimanjaro, trekking

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is classified as strenuous trek so you will need a good base level of fitness if you want to be successful in gaining the summit.

Terrain

The terrain on the ascent of Kilimanjaro is varied. On the lower slopes it’s easier trail, good underfoot and reasonably wide paths. It’s all too easy to set off too fast as you have the momentum and are raring to go. However, it’s crucial in order to acclimatise that you don’t over do it and take it very slowly. The guides have a number of tactics to inadvertently make you slow down! A favourite phrase you’ll hear alot is Pole Pole, which means slowly in Swahili.

It’s important that if you’re not familiar with walking on steep, rocky ground that you take a few walks in the UK mountains to familiarise yourself and to feel more confident. The higher you get, the paths become more rugged and technical. Mountains in Mind offers a Kilimanjaro training weekend where you can experience the delight of walking in the mountains and experience the kind of terrain that you can expect on an ascent of Kilimanjaro.

Back-to-back days

The ascent of Kilimanjaro is strenuous, there’s no getting away from that! Our standard trek takes 6 days to reach the summit and a further day for your descent. It is important that you are fit enough to be able walk over consecutive days for up to 5 or 6 hours each day. Although, you will be going slow on the climb, you will need to have built up your stamina to be able to keep going. The summit push day is particularly strenuous and combined with the altitude, lack of sleep and cold weather, you will need to dig deep with sheer grit and determination to get to the summit. You will be rewarded with magnificent views and the exertion will all be worth the effort when the endorphins kick in. You’ve earned bragging rights too!!

Weekends or even better, the longer bank holidays, you should aim to walk for two or three consecutive days on the trot. This will build up your strength and endurance. Your calf muscles will probably be screaming at you on the ascents if you’re unfamiliar with walking up hill. Conversely, on the descents your quads may quiver and your knees may ache. The more training you do, the more conditioned you’ll become and therefore you are increasing your chance of success. Although, you may wake up with stiff legs after undertaking a big walk, getting up and walking for a second day will often help to ease the stiffness and build up your stamina.

Ascent

We’ve mentioned training in the hills above. It is important that you can walk up hill relatively easily without becoming too breathless. As mentioned, you will be going very slowly and there will be plenty of opportunity to stop, take in the views and chatting to your fellow trekkers but as you climb higher it will become increasingly difficult with the lack of oxygen. You will need a certain level of fitness gained from walking up hills that will make it easier for you on the trek. You will also be carrying a day pack on your ascent, with your requirements for the day, such as, extra layers of clothing, food and drink so it’s important that you also familiarise yourself with carrying a small rucksack so that it feels comfortable.

Descent

Once you’ve reached the summit you’ll be so invigorated and elated that you’ll probably forget about the descent. Although, you’ll probably not be out of breath as much as on the ascent, it’s more heavier on your legs. There is also more of a tendency to slip on descents. Therefore, as well as training for your ascent it also important that you train and familiarise yourself with walking downhill so that you feel confident when descending. After all, what goes up…must come down!

Camping

The route that we take to the summit of Kilimanjaro does not have huts so you can expect to camp. If you have not slept under canvas before, please contact us and we can discuss the sleeping arrangements with you. It is important that you have a warm sleeping bag as it can be very cold at night and combined with the altitude this can leave you not able to sleep well. Being able to get a good nights rest is an important part of the recovery process to enable you to keep going the following day.

Eating

That’s right, you need to train to eat so you can familiarise yourself with what your body likes or dislikes whilst on the go! If you live in the UK you won’t have much opportunity to practice eating at altitude when your appetite becomes suppressed, however, on your day walks it’s worthwhile getting to know what you find digestible when moving as you’ll need to eat little and often on the climb. What one person finds good to eat is different for somebody else. I personally like to eat dried fruit, nuts and a little chocolate but nothing overly sweet.

Kilimanjaro – Awesome views

Darren Kilimanjaro Tips adventure, africa, bucket list, mount kilimanjaro, mountains, travel, trekking

Trekking to the summit of Kilimanjaro is on many peoples bucket list. The popularity of reaching the roof of Africa is due to Mount Kilimanjaro’s relatively easy terrain, which involves no technical climbing! That being said, it’s not to be taken lightly as it’s not an easy trek due to the high altitude.
One of your lasting memories (and there will be many) will be sitting in awe looking out across the spectacular mountain landscape from your tent, some say reminiscent of Mars! You’ll be inspired by the knowledge that you’ll be one of the 20,000 trekkers annually who walk through five climatic zones from Tropical Rain-forest to the Arctic in less than 7 days.

People attempt Kilimanjaro for many reasons. It may be to raise money for a chosen charity, as a personal challenge to show yourself and others what you can achieve or to simply experience the thrill of climbing a mountain. Some love the sense of escaping the rat race and the pressures of modern life, drawing encouragement from the surrounding nature and enjoying the cameraderie of your team mates and the fabulous porters.

Others like me chose to trek to the summit after watching the IMAX film in 2002, unbeknown to me this would actually be a life changing event. It was the beginning of a dream, which I had no idea how to turn into a reality. After setting myself a series of goals, I was able to quit my corporate IT job, to run an exclusive outdoor adventure company sharing my passion for the outdoors and adventure with others.

If you’d like to join one of our trips to Kilimanjaro, click the link to download the brochure for more details.

http://goo.gl/KOZlXG

Be sure to live your dream and take steps to do something amazing. Remember! “Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows”

Darren – Founder, Mountains in Mind.
Darren@mountainsinmind.com

Www.mountainsinmind.com
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6 Mount Kilimanjaro facts

Darren BLOG, Kilimanjaro Tips 7 summits, adventure, africa, bucket list, everest, hiking, kilimanjaro, mount kilimanjaro, travel, trek, trekking

Kilimanjaro or Mount Kilimanjaro as it is sometimes called is one of the most popular trekking peaks in the world. A Kilimanjaro Trek requires no technical skills and any fit person can reach the summit. You can reach Kilimanjaro from the UK on flights direct into Kilimanjaro Airport, Africa.

Where is Kilimanjaro?

Kilimanjaro is situated on the Tanzanian/Kenyan border and the Mountain can clearly be seen rising above the African plains whilst on Tanzania safari. Kilimanjaro’s Weather is very different in each of the climate zones, ranging from tropical heat through the rain forest to sub-zero temperatures on the summit.

We’ve compiled six interesting facts, which will help you undertake a trekking adventure to the Kilimanjaro.

1. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain on the African continent and is the tallest free-standing volcano in the world. Kilimanjaro’s height in meters is 5,985 or 19,340 feet and the summit is clearly visible from Kenya. The classic images of Giraffe are taken from within the Amboseli national park, just over the border into Kenya. Mount Kilimanjaro is at the southern edge of the Great African Rift, a section of East Africa which is slow moving into the Indian Ocean. This creates an immense amount of volcanic activity and if you like rocks, you’ll be amazed at the size of some of the rocks which started inside the mountain and now lie strewn across the Mars-like landscape.

2. From the 5,895metre (19, 341 feet) summit of Kilimanjaro, you’ll be able to stand in awe at witnessing something amazing, the curvature of the earth. This very unique and privileged experience is often reserved for passenger airlines or Everest summiteers, this makes reaching the summit Kilimanjaro even more precious. Not only this, depending on which time of year Kilimanjaro is climbed, you could be the highest person in the world… How cool is that?

3. Kilimanjaro is known as a dormant strata volcano! The last major eruption was 360,000 years ago, the last activity was only 200 years ago, this which resulted in the creation of the ash pit, which trekkers can see today from the summit. It is said that the lava or magma is only 1 kilometre below our feet, which is pretty amazing. Due to the hight of Kilimanjaro, glaciers have been on the summit since before records began when they used to cover the entire summit, making reaching the top impossible. Unfortunately, the glaciers are now in retreat and some estimate they will completely disappear in the next 20-years.

4. Kilimanjaro has 3 volcanic cones, Kibo, Mwenzi, Shira. The Shira cone has now been eroded by the weather and the passage of time, which has left amazing plateaux, over which the views to Kibo are unbroken. Mwenzi is clearly visible from Barrafu (Base) camp and it keeps a watchful eye on us as we ascend towards Stella point on summit night. During the cold dark summit night, I keep a watch on Mwenzi waiting for the dawn glow on the horizon, when this appears I know we are nearly at Stella point and only 50-minutes away from fulling many dreams.

5. Did you know? Kilimanjaro is the only place on Earth where you can walk from the equator to the Arctic in 7-days, pretty special ah? This is only possible due to Kilimanjaro’s unique ecological system starting on the plains of Africa, starting you pass through dense rain Forrest, Heathland, Moorland, Alpine Desert until you reach the Arctic zone. Each day is different and the higher we climb the more unique the landscape becomes. If you’ve ever thought about walking on Mars, then this is the closet landscape to that experience.

6. Over 25,000 people attempt to summit Kilimanjaro each year, with approximately 2/3 being successful (we have a 100% success rate). To have a greater chance of summiting the mountain, choose treks which are 7-day’s (or longer), this will increase your chances by 21% over a 6-day trek. Check with your tour operator to make sure the working conditions, pay and welfare of your porters are well documented and they have a proven record. Also, your life will be in the hands of the guide and support team, choose wisely! and remember you get what you pay for…

Be sure to Live your dream and do something amazing today.

Remember! One day is not a day!

Have a super day,

Darren – founder Mountains in Mind.

Kilimanjaro Tips – power!!

Darren Kilimanjaro Tips adventure, africa, bucket list, hiking, kilimanjaro, mount kilimanjaro, travel, trekking

Trekking to the summit of Kilimanjaro is on many peoples bucket list. The popularity of reaching the roof of Africa is due to Mount Kilimanjaros realitvily easy terrain, which involves no technical climbing!

That being said is not an easy trek due to the high altitude and should be taken lightly.

But in a technological energy dependent world this can be difficult!!

So how to charge those smartphones, garmin watch, the electric toothbrush and the GPS tracker, especially when there is direct access to the national grid?
There a number of options available from solar panel chargers and USB power pack.

USB power packs.

There is a vast number of products on the market from the single charge to a multiple charge units. Power ratings are graded in mAh (don’t ask!), the higher the number capacity the more charges we have. For example the unit we use (purchased off eBay) has a 50,000 mAh rating which gives around 5-6 full iPhone 6 charges.

As with all battery driven products the cold will effect the battery life and its capacity to retain the charge!

Search on eBay for ‘usb power hub 50000 mah’.

Solar Panels –

The number and style of products on the market is again vast. Options available are single panel to multi panel. The more panels the faster the charge.

If you’d like to join one of our select trips to Kilimanjaro jump across to download your brochure.

Be sure to Live your dream and do something amazing today.

Remember! One day will never come!
Darren – founder Mountains in Mind.
Darren@mountainsinmind.com

Www.mountainsinmind.com

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