The Vertical Sky Journal

Vertical Sky
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The Vertical Sky Journal is a podcast about Kilimanjaro and the people who climb it. Stories, surprising facts and honest conversations about Africa's highest mountain, the journey to the summit, and the Tanzanian guides and porters who are its true heart. Brought to you by Vertical Sky, an ethical Kilimanjaro climbing company. Whether you are dreaming of the climb, planning it, or simply love a good mountain, pull up a chair. Pole pole.

  1. Sep 1

    Climbing Kilimanjaro with teenagers

    There's a window when your kids are strong enough for a real adventure and still young enough to want one with you. In this episode of The Vertical Sky Journal, part of our Is Kilimanjaro for Me? series: the honest guide to the family expedition. In this episode: The age rules: the park's minimum, and the sweet spot we've watched workWhat teenagers are surprisingly brilliant at, once the phone-mourning endsThe one risk parents must know: teens hide symptoms, and how guides catch itRoutes, school holidays, family training and why private climbs suit familiesSchool Expeditions, for parents who look at their teens' whole year group and think biggerThe summit is the receipt. The real product is watching your kid become capable in real time. The Vertical Sky Journal is brought to you by Vertical Sky, an ethical Kilimanjaro climbing company that climbs the mountain the right way, looking after the guides and porters who make every summit possible. Prefer to read? There is a full written companion to this episode over in our Journal at vertical-sky.com.

    Climbing Kilimanjaro with teenagers

  2. Aug 25

    Climbing Kilimanjaro as a couple

    The most romantic thing you'll ever do, and the least glamorous, at the same time. In this episode of The Vertical Sky Journal, part of our Is Kilimanjaro for Me? series: the honest guide to climbing Kilimanjaro as a couple. In this episode: The case for climbing together: seven undistracted days and a sunrise owned by twoThe honest bits: day-three intimacy, the 3am kindness test, and packing extra gentlenessThe pace question answered: why different fitness levels stop mattering up thereTents, packing and the romance of a shared duffelThe proposal section: guide-assisted, ring warm, crater rim at sunriseA story that belongs to both of you, told for the next thirty years. The Vertical Sky Journal is brought to you by Vertical Sky, an ethical Kilimanjaro climbing company that climbs the mountain the right way, looking after the guides and porters who make every summit possible. Prefer to read? There is a full written companion to this episode over in our Journal at vertical-sky.com.

    Climbing Kilimanjaro as a couple

  3. Aug 24

    Solo Climbing on Kilimanjaro

    More Kilimanjaro dreams are killed by other people's calendars than by altitude. In this episode of The Vertical Sky Journal, part of our Is Kilimanjaro for Me? series: the honest guide to climbing alone, and why nobody who books solo actually climbs solo. In this episode: The park rule that makes going alone simple: guides are mandatory for everyoneOpen groups versus private climbs, and how to choose your kind of tripTents, supplements and the evening ratio solo climbers loveThe social alchemy: why people who arrive alone leave with friends for lifeSafety for one, which is exactly the same as safety for everyoneThe dream is yours. It doesn't need a committee. The Vertical Sky Journal is brought to you by Vertical Sky, an ethical Kilimanjaro climbing company that climbs the mountain the right way, looking after the guides and porters who make every summit possible. Prefer to read? There is a full written companion to this episode over in our Journal at vertical-sky.com.

    Solo Climbing on Kilimanjaro

  4. Aug 20

    Kilimanjaro for beginners

    Never trekked. Never camped. Never been higher than a ski lift. In this episode of The Vertical Sky Journal, part of our Is Kilimanjaro for Me? series, we answer the question behind the mountain's famous promise: can a complete beginner really climb Kilimanjaro? Short answer: yes, and here is the honest version of the catch. In this episode: What "no experience needed" genuinely means, and why your suspicion of it is sensibleThe honest gap: a serious physical undertaking that requires no experience, both halves trueThe beginner worry list, answered: the pace, the tent, the gear, the altitude lotteryThe one strategic decision that decides everything: route lengthThe twelve weeks that turn never-trekked into readyYou do not climb the mountain because you are ready. You get ready because you decided to climb the mountain. The Vertical Sky Journal is brought to you by Vertical Sky, an ethical Kilimanjaro climbing company that climbs the mountain the right way, looking after the guides and porters who make every summit possible. Prefer to read? There is a full written companion to this episode over in our Journal at vertical-sky.com.

    Kilimanjaro for beginners

  5. Aug 17

    Why Your Age May Be Your Advantage - Climbing Kilimanjaro over 50

    It is the question people only ask quietly, at the end of an email about something else: honestly, am I too old for Kilimanjaro? In this episode of The Vertical Sky Journal, the first in our new Is Kilimanjaro for Me? series, we answer it properly, and the answer might be the best news you hear all week.In this episode:* The facts: no upper age limit, and records held by climbers in their late eighties* Why the mountain quietly favours experience, and who really struggles with pole pole* The medical conversation: trip planning, not permission-seeking* Knees, poles and the descent nobody talks about* The training runway that lets a 58-year-old out-climb a 30-year-old* Why the guides quietly rate the over-fifties among the strongest on the mountainWarm, honest and quietly liberating: if the mountain keeps visiting your thoughts, you are not too old. You are exactly on time.The Vertical Sky Journal is brought to you by Vertical Sky, an ethical Kilimanjaro climbing company that climbs the mountain the right way, looking after the guides and porters who make every summit possible.Prefer to read? There is a full written companion to this episode over in our Journal at vertical-sky.com.

    Why Your Age May Be Your Advantage - Climbing Kilimanjaro over 50

  6. Aug 13

    Kilimanjaro - Summit Night - From Midnight to Sunrise

    It is the night the whole climb points at. In the finale of our Life on the Mountain series, The Vertical Sky Journal walks Kilimanjaro's summit night honestly, hour by hour, from the eleven-pm wake-up at Barafu to the moment the sky catches fire over Mawenzi.In this episode:* The evening before: the briefing that matters most, and why nobody sleeps at Barafu* Midnight: the comically slow pace that gets everyone to the top, and why to trust it* The long dark, the three-am doubt that visits everyone, and why it lies* The guides' craft: tea stops, adjusted pace, and a song at exactly the right moment* Stella Point, the sunrise, and twenty permanent minutes at Uhuru Peak* Why the mountain is climbed at midnight, and how to make your night easierThe hardest night of the trip, the reason for the trip, and the finale the whole series was walking towards.The Vertical Sky Journal is brought to you by Vertical Sky, an ethical Kilimanjaro climbing company that climbs the mountain the right way, looking after the guides and porters who make every summit possible.Prefer to read? There is a full written companion to this episode over in our Journal at vertical-sky.com.

    Kilimanjaro - Summit Night - From Midnight to Sunrise

  7. Aug 12

    How to sleep on Kilimanjaro

    Where exactly will you sleep? How cold does it get? And will you sleep at all? In this episode of The Vertical Sky Journal, part of our Life on the Mountain series, we answer the three quiet questions behind every Kilimanjaro daydream, and introduce the bedrooms with the best views on earth.In this episode:* The moving village: how your camp is built before you arrive, every single day* Premium expedition tents, proper mattresses, and the four-season bag that rules them all* How cold the nights really get, camp by camp, and why cold is a kit problem with solutions* Seven tricks the guides swear by for sleeping warm, including the hot water bottle move* The honest truth about sleep at altitude, and why broken sleep still does its job* The 2am compensation: the Milky Way at 4,000 metres, with no light for a hundred milesCosy, honest and quietly magical, this is the episode that turns the coldest worry about the mountain into something to look forward to.The Vertical Sky Journal is brought to you by Vertical Sky, an ethical Kilimanjaro climbing company that climbs the mountain the right way, looking after the guides and porters who make every summit possible.Prefer to read? There is a full written companion to this episode over in our Journal at vertical-sky.com.

    How to sleep on Kilimanjaro

  8. Aug 11

    A day in the life on Kilimanjaro

    Everyone can picture the summit photograph. Almost nobody can picture Tuesday. In this episode of The Vertical Sky Journal, part of our Life on the Mountain series, we walk you through one whole ordinary day on Kilimanjaro, hour by hour, from the first hot drink handed through the tent door to the last look at the stars.In this episode:* 6:30am: the tent unzips, and the gentlest wake-up call in adventure travel* The pole pole mornings, the singing crew, and why nobody is ever rushed* Lunch at a table someone genuinely carried up a mountain* Popcorn, chai, and the art of doing absolutely nothing at 4,000 metres* The twice-daily health check, and the only wrong answer at one* Early nights, impossible stars, and the days that break the patternThe secret of Kilimanjaro is that the days are simple. This is what they feel like.The Vertical Sky Journal is brought to you by Vertical Sky, an ethical Kilimanjaro climbing company that climbs the mountain the right way, looking after the guides and porters who make every summit possible.Prefer to read? There is a full written companion to this episode over in our Journal at vertical-sky.com.

    A day in the life on Kilimanjaro
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About

The Vertical Sky Journal is a podcast about Kilimanjaro and the people who climb it. Stories, surprising facts and honest conversations about Africa's highest mountain, the journey to the summit, and the Tanzanian guides and porters who are its true heart. Brought to you by Vertical Sky, an ethical Kilimanjaro climbing company. Whether you are dreaming of the climb, planning it, or simply love a good mountain, pull up a chair. Pole pole.

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