How hard is it to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro?
If you’re in good shape, exercise regularly, hike and jog and stuff like that, you should be able to do it. I think a healthy, fit 65-year-old should be able to make it to the top. At the time I was 34, not very athletic, and I only made it to the third hut (at 4740 meters, still higher than California’s Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the U.S. minus Alaska). Even though the mountain is 5895 meters high, it is not a technical climb. You don’t have to know how to use climbing ropes, or have any mountain climbing experience. However, the altitude gets to some people, even fit young people, and in my experience there is no way to tell who it’s going to hit. Maybe 1 in 10 have severe reactions to altitudes above 4000 meters or so. Taking it slower and acclimatizing usually isn’t an option, because you’re on a schedule, and have to camp at the right hut each night. My climb was 5 days round trip, and this is what people do, but there are other itineraries which take an extra day or two or
