Kilts on Kilimanjaro

[Stratherrick]

In June next year I'm climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, see my blog below.

I'm thinking of wearing my kilt on the trek and would welcome any advice about hiking in two of the five climate zones one passes through en route.

The bottom starts off in rainforest while, at the 19,000 feet plus top, it's glaciers all 'round. The three mid sections are brush that leads into ever more desolate alpine rock areas.

Has anybody ever been through conditions like that before in a kilt, or have any words of advice anyway?

Slainte

Bruce

[CDNSushi]

The people to ask would be any of the group who have done just that for charity. The Abelour Child Care Trust held their "Kilts to Kilimanjaro" event in 2008, and all the info can be found on their website here: http://www.k2k2008.co.uk/

If anyone could give you any pointers, I would say they would likely be the best place to start.

[Stratherrick]

Thanks, CDNSushi!

I had wondered if anybody had ever been on top of Kili in a kilt! The Abelour guys were lucky with the weather looking at their photos. It can be feet of snow and minus stupid at times up at 19, 340 feet!

Still, good on them for their fundraising efforts. I hope I raise a good figure too!

Slainte

Bruce

[tetley88mark]

i climbed kili about 6 years ago, what route are you taking?

if i remember correctly its not all that cold until the final section to the summit just so long as you're comfortable you should be fine

big thing i remember about it is how invaluable a decent hat is, the sun burns so much easier up there then you'd think and protecting your neck is vital cause it'll burn without you noticing

[McClef]

No expedition should be undertaken without watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46btEgKmCTo

[wildrover]

I have only worn my kilt to slightly above 14K'. Some things to keep in mind, about altitude and training...maybe you have seen or heard this stuff before, maybe not, but I'll be brief since there are volumes written beyond my single paragraph.

19K' is no joke. If you are coming from barely a couple grand above sea level, anything above about 12,5 is serious business, and it is not uncommon for people who live at 5K' and are in reasonably good shape compared to the rest of the population, to experience altitude sickness starting anywhere from 11K' on up. IMHO, You need to train considerably more than a couple hours of cardio a week, to lower the risk of injury and possibly death due to the effects of altitude sickness. A buddy of mine recently came to visit, he lives not much above sea level, and is in extremely good shape. We got to 13,5 and he was pretty trashed...had to drop altitude, then bail, only 500' from the summit and almost seven miles in, on the best weather day that mountain had seen all year. It's disappointing, to him, and to us, for all none of us would ever come out and say it. Do your best not to be that guy, first because it is critically dangerous, second because it slows down the group, and third because if you do it in a kilt, it will look real bad. Kili, like Mt Rainier here, has a reputation for being a tourist mountain...anybody with time and money can get a piece. Don't let that fool you, the issue is oxygen, not distance or grade or funding or gear, and lack of oxygen affects people regardless of their net worth. How you overcome this is up to you and your trainer, but absolutely do not overlook it.

If you were doing it later in the season, or it were earlier in the year, I'd go so far as to suggest that you fly out here for a couple weeks and climb a bunch of 14ers, just for the altitude experience and the training.

On to the good part! I can only give my experiences to 14K', like I said, but I suspect based on conditions that I would've been ok, assuming fair weather conditions, to go higher. I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH HIGHER...not sure what the weather is like at Kilimanjaro.

It is exceptionally comfortable, until the chafing begins. Sort out a solution to chafing around your groin and upper inside thighs, and you will be set. The longest I've been kilted in a day was about 12 miles, IIRC, and I was using Gold Bond cream on the way up and down...something either more protective (moleskin, or shorts) or more lubricative (oil) would have been preferable. Personally I am leaning toward short, tight athletic shorts of the kind sometimes worn under soccer or running shorts, because they provide support for your landing gear as well as protection against chafing.

The longest I have been comfortably unchafed was about three or four miles, but that will vary with build, and how much sweat you're building up on the relevant bits.

Walking big uphills, and running in general, result in less chafing per step than walking on flat ground. It's just the mechanics of it, and the ground covered per step.

A durable leather sporran is a handy thing to have. It'll hold camera, gloves, hat, chapstick, and other small stuff. If you need/want to run, put it in the pack and hoof it. A hundred bucks got me an excellent sporran from Custom Celtic, so far it's been worn in a few solo piping comps, out and about, up a few mountains, and through the backcountry. Worst that ever happened was one of the snaps separated...big deal. Great product, no complaints, simply awesome from color to construction and durability.

WOOL socks. Real, honest-to-god kilt socks. I have a pair of these:
http://www.scotyard.com/product.sc?p...&categoryId=13

And I cannot recommend them highly enough. They are 100% wool, surprisingly durable, very comfortable, and they look sharp as well. Until recently, they were my only kilt socks...if you see a picture of me on this forum, for example the one where I'm hiking through about two and a half feet of water, I'm wearing those socks.

First time you wear them, check how loose or tight they are. If loose, dunk JUST the foot in warm water, dry with a warm hair dryer until damp but not totally dry, and put them on. They will change their shape to match your foot, it's awesome.

To keep the socks up, use (again) WOOL garters...the ones from the Tartan Museum have been great, and honestly I'm not likely to ever wear elastic with flashes, unless my wool socks are out of hand as they are now. Learn to tie the wool garters securely, flat, and without leaving a pressure point on your calf. Mine generally last 8-10 miles of hard hiking, then I gotta adjust or simply re-tie.

In heavy brush and weeds, the yarn will pick up seed pods. Bring your short gaiters to keep rocks out of your shoes, but bring a tall pair as well for brush, to keep the seed pods off your socks...picking them out is tedious.

I'm sure someone is going to be shocked at the idea of beating the hell out of a 100$ pair of socks, but #1 they can take it and #2 until someone knits kilt socks in polypropylene, they're the best damn thing out there. I didn't need the gaiters to protect my shins from brush...my buddies had torn up their shins pretty good, I did fine in the brush and so did the socks, other than picking up seed pods.

Wear a tank. "Traditional", knife pleat, eight yard, 16oz, WOOL, two buckle, well-supported, TANK. It will "breathe" when you walk. If you stand around, you'll get hot...just lift a leg. Start walking again, and you'll cool off. It's durable, it will stay warm even when it's wet, if it gets wet it's not necessarily going to soak through (it will take immersion or a truly epic downpour), and it'll work in the heat at low altitude as well as the cold and wind at high altitude. May I humbly recommend Robert MacDonald? Brush is likely to snag the free threads at the fringe, but otherwise the fabric (mine is Dalgliesh) is quite durable. I did lose about five threads from the unsupported fringe. You can certainly stitch in some support, or ask your kiltmaker. Robert did not see the shedding as a problem, and after some consideration, neither did I.

No belt, unless you like weight training. It'll only get in the way and trap heat as well as moisture. The waist of the kilt is belt enough.

If you are the type to sag your kilt, you will eventually learn the functional reason behind the recommended kilt heights discussed on this forum. Set it at the correct height...which is the height at which it does not chafe your knees. If you wear it too high, nothing really happens other than you'll look like a Japanese schoolgirl and your friends will probably laugh at you, but at least it won't chafe. The more functional concern is where the hip belt of your pack needs to rest. Testing is paramount, here.

Even in high winds on a ridge line, my kilt stayed down. It will take a strong wind directly UP the kilt to expose you.

I have worn my kilt in weather conditions down to the mid 30s F, in pouring rain, hail, strong wind at altitude, and 100*+ F with some humidity (CO is never very humid). It remains comfortable, as long as I'm not getting chafed.

What you wear on top is just as critical as all that wool...wear what you would normally wear, for an expedition like this. The long & high hikes I've done kilted involved a Gore-Tex hardshell and polypro shirts, layered and added/dropped as necessary, with a similar approach to head, hands and eyewear. What I found is that your knees get a breeze, and maybe a little wet if it's raining sideways, but nothing gets through a G/T hardshell and two layers of 16oz wool, to say nothing of the sheer bulk of the socks I linked above.

You'll want sun lotion on the exposed part of your knees. I am possessed of a rather odd tan at the moment, and did get sunburned at least once over the summer when I forgot.

You will of course be bringing a pair of shorts and a pair of pants, and proper underclothing to match, in your personal gear. There may be a situation, as I encountered with my friends during the summer's trips, where you will want or need to switch from kilt to shorts, and certainly anything can happen at altitude and you absolutely don't want to be caught out. Note that in the summit picture in the link above, there's one guy in a kilt and he's either wearing pants under it, or some seriously burly gaiters. If you must change, the kilt is almost as effective a wind block as a tent.

Enjoy, but be careful up there...anything above about 12,5 is a potentially deadly health risk, and a kilt, while a lot of fun, very comfortable, and very durable, is not appropriate in all situations! Personally, I would not wear a kilt to cross a glacier...too much inherent risk, and you will be in much worse shape should anything happen while you are essentially naked. Nor would I hike in heavy snow in a kilt, and if I happened to, I would be thinking that I had planned poorly.

As a general suggestion, I would not recommend wearing a kilt for anything above a solid Class 2. Anything listed as "2+" is certainly do-able, but you risk the eyes of the rest of the group, and anything 3 and above would be a clear stunt as the most effective gear would be shorts, or long pants depending on weather.

Last weekend, I hiked up to 11K' with my pipes and blasted out a tune (should've brought an easier reed for that altitude, but whatever). I missed my kilt, and when I thought about it, I realized that it was because I didn't have that favorite pair of socks handy and refused to wear the crappy thin blend socks I got as a stopgap while the real thing was out of hand. Don't discount those socks I linked to, they are in a completely different category than anything else I've ever seen, with maybe two or three exceptions which were custom orders associated with this forum.

If you're really gonna do this, you need to spend some time training in your kilt in the wild, as well as shorts in the gym.

All apologies if I've taken the wrong impression. Hopefully the kilt information helps, and I think you should do it! OBTW bring extra socks ...including lighter ones for lower, hotter altitudes...so far that is the only thing I've been wanting.

-Sean

[Stratherrick]

Guys, thanks for the replies and apologies from me for not replying sooner!

McClef - LOL at the Youtube! Actually, Kili has three "peaks", Kibo (on which Uhuru Point lies), Mawenzi and Shira - all volcanic vents, Kibo still blowing out of fumaroles!

tetley88mark - I'm doing the Lemosho route, the best for acclimatisation. I might PM you later.

Sean - Wow! Thanks for your efforts!

1. Rest assured, I'm gradually increasing my gym and hill-walking work as the months tick by.

2. Kili has two wet seasons, one of which will have just finished by the time I arrive mid-June. It can be 0 degrees C or minus 20 C at the summit.

3. I don't, usually, suffer from any chafing as I have small thighs being fairly wiry.

4. My only kilt is a tank, very warm and good in winds!

5. I have Icebreaker Merino wool base layers; a Rab down/Pertex jacket and a Rab Goretex waterproof. I also have La Sportive heavy boots for the scree.

All in all, I'm not taking things lightly, but thanks for the heads up! I know that 20-30 people a year die on the mountain. Being a Registered Nurse, I'm acutely aware of the oxygen problems you mention and have been talking to a doctor friend who has an interest in expedition medicine about the risks.

Thanks to everybody for taking the time to reply!

Slainte

Bruce