Kilimanjaro via the Marangu Route: Tourist Route My Ass

by Phil Gray

I needed a break. I needed " an off-the-wall dalliance An all-boys' adventure in a faraway land. An adventure far away from telephones and faxes and lawyers. An adventure with an abundance of humor, serious physical exertion, and danger nominally short of life-threatening." After a little research and a few phone calls, I decided that a climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, with four friends, via the "Tourist Route", would fit the bill.In this book, the author tell the story of the climb-four days up, and two days down-with a humorous yet sensitive slant, describing the perils of altitude, the vicissitudes of Mother Nature, the enjoyment of multi-generational and multi-ethnic collaboration, the travails of disappointment, and the exhilaration of success. And where it suits his fancy-and does no harm to accuracy-he embellishes an observation or encounter to illuminate the pure joy of the experience. After all, it was about good fun, and the telling of it should be too.

54 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2006

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

This is a very quick read. It lightly covers most aspects of climbing Kilimanjaro and does give a little food for thought, but it does not come near the top of my list of good books to read when preparing for Kilimanjaro, but if you don't want to invest much time and just want a sense of what it is like to climb Kilimanjaro, then this book might be for you.

[Jeimy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not useful in telling me how to prepare for the trip or what I'll encounter once I get to Kilimanjaro. It does, however, provide some humorous tales of what the author and his friends encountered on this spur-of-the-moment trip to the highest mountain in Africa.

[Robert Carman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and very brief account of one man's ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

[Cia · Rating 2 out of 5]

First "book" I've read in months! ("Book" Because it's only 36 pages.) Getting ready for my Kili hike. I'm getting nervous!!!

[Lisa Houlihan]

How does shite like this get published? I'm flummoxed by that question as much as by wondering why someone so uninvolved chose to do this.