Will I be warm enough?

[Jo]

I’m  trying to sort out some of my packing needs for my Kilimanjaro climb this summer and REI has a sale now.

i don’t have any down or athletic winter coats. Dh has a down sweater (Patagonia) that I could borrow and layer with my fleece (lined with the new silver heat retaining fabric) and my running rain shell, plus lots of base layers. Is that enough for the summit of Kilimanjaro, or should I go and buy the down and polyester parka that’s currently on the clearance rack at my local REI? I kind of hate to buy a single-use item, but freezing up there would be awful.

[sadlebred]

Buy the parka. You won't regret it, you will be warm, and you can always sell it on ebay later to upcycle it.

[Wines Not Whines]

I’m tagging thebulldog, who recently climbed Killamanjaro.

[thebulldog]

thanks Wines Not Whines ...when is your climb? the time of year will make a huge difference. We went in September and had ZERO snow on the summit. I ended up taking an outer layer off because I was getting way to hot. I had on fleece lined leggings, compression running tights and fleece lined hiking pants. On top I had a sports bra, base layer long underwear shirt, another shirt and then a silver lined fleece like you mentioned as part of a two piece coat. The outer layer was more for wind resistance. We went during dry season so had no rain or snow during the climb at all. Super gloves, a hat and a muff or some type of face covering are key.

Meawhile a friend did the same route in January and had a ton of snow on summit day so was significantly colder. So it depends. Personally, I would not buy a down parka for this as it is one thing you have (or your porter) has to carry when you can do it with other layers or a different layer you may get more use out of. I had a Patagonia down puffy jacket for a part of the trip and then the two layer columbia coat. I was happy with what i wore. photo below.

FWIW Summit day was the hardest thing I have ever done. It is worth it in the ended but it is a long long slow walk (pole pole!) I put my old ipod in my backpack last minute before leaving our house and i swear to god it saved my sanity there. I didn't use it a lot during the whole trip to conserve battery but having some type of music during that long day made it bearable.

have a great trip -it is an awesome experience.

[Jo]

Thanks, thebulldog, your response is really helpful! I’m climbing at the beginning of June, so just after rainy season. I gather it was cold, wet, and icy all last summer som I’m a bit worried about that, but there’s not much I can do about the weather.

I think I’ll have enough layers so I won’t necessarily need the parka, but I’m still a bit worried that the down sweater isn’t quite enough - dh, who runs hot most of the time, wore it fully zipped for a cool-ish day (40s) at the Grand Canyon last week and he didn’t think it was too much.

I’m planning on thermal tights, long underwear, and these super-thick fleece pants on the bottom, plus 3 thermal tops, a vest, bra, and 3 jackets (down, thermal fleece, and a windbreaker) on top. I hope that’s enough.

[thebulldog]

that sounds like a lot of clothes and it is easier to peel off layers than have to deal with a big coat on top of all of that. Whenever I describe our trip to someone, i am always surprised that "cold" and "blisters" are never something I experienced - although our water did freeze on summit day (again Summit day SUCKS - you can do it, but holy shit i really wish someone told me before that it was going to suck that bad). I was so paranoid about being freezing all the time, but because we were dressed for it and you are constantly moving (slowly, but moving) I was not cold. I ended up peeling a lot of layers during the day and putting them in my bag. we also got sock liners and heavy socks. i put vaseline all over my feet each day and with the liners and socks, and proper boots, I didn't have a single blister for the 40 or so miles we hiked.

allow some extra time before your trip to pack. We packed and repacked a bunch to get things organized into the duffels. I HIGHLY recommend a compression bag of "nighttime clothes" - these fleece tights, a fleece pullover, a knit hat and socks only stayed in the tent and I only changed into them right before getting into my sleeping bag. they were "clean," dry, and were not covered in ash. It just made sleeping that much better and something to help wind down at night.