First, enjoy a beautiful breakfast buffet at the hotel to kick things off for the day.

Then it’s time to do something really special. In 2025, the Race2Adventure and Summit2Adventure Staff visited The O’Brien School for the Maassai. 420 students attend this school daily.  They are the children of the Maassai, a people in Kenya and Northern Tanzania focused on herding goats and cows, as well as growing crops.

Get ready to be greeted with beautiful singing as the children, teachers, and administration welcome us in with a beautiful ceremony. In 2025, we played soccer with the children, taught a few playground games, and got to walk around the impressive school grounds. Race2Adventure donated enough money to fully fund the school’s “Poultry Project” including curating a new space for the project, building new coops, purchasing chickens, and being the foundation for a program that teaches the children how to take care of and get the most from their chickens. We’re excited to come back in 2028 and see how that program is progressing. 

We’ll also look forward to making a significant donation thanks to all of you. We will be contributing $100 per participant, so if 100 attend, that's $10,000! We will celebrate the day at a big luncheon with the children and staff. Giving back before we embrace all that is Kilimanjaro is the absolute best way to begin this journey in Tanzania.

Tonight, we will have final bag checks, weigh our bags to ensure they’re not too heavy for our porters, rent any necessary equipment from our tour operator (e.g. trekking poles, sleeping bags, sleeping pads), and get a good night’s sleep before heading out the next morning.

HERE WE GO! This experience that will be with you for the rest of your lives is about to begin. Not only will you be embarking on this journey with a friend or family member, you’ll be joined by Race2Adventure staff who have already had the ability to summit Kilimanjaro, fellow R2Aers turned S2Aers, skilled guides, talented chefs, and strong porters. 

So who are porters? Porters are AMAZING! They are the group responsible for putting up your tent and taking it down, setting up your dining tent and taking it down, carrying your big bag from camp to camp, setting up our camp bathroom every day, handling waste management, and on and on. This is glamping at its finest, and it’s downright awesome.

We will trek through FIVE climate zones on our way up to the top.  Today starts with jungle and rainforest vibes. Trekking in shorts, gazing upon monkeys, and kicking off your first day of “Pole Pole” (pronounced Polay, Polay) is what it’s all about. “Pole Pole” means “Slowly Slowly” and man does this strategy work. Physically exhausting ourselves at a fast pace is not what gets 100 of us to the top.  It’s “Pole Pole” for the win! Embrace this first climate zone and the ultimate strategy designed to get us all to the top.

When you arrive at the first camp, your tent, dining tent, bathroom, and all the fixings of a comfortable night’s stay will be waiting for you. Maybe you sleep like a baby through the night. Or maybe you’ll just be super-cozy in your down sleeping bag, smiling at the sounds of nocturnal monkeys swinging through camp. You’re one day down with four to go before you reach the top. NICE WORK!

Every morning you’ll be greeted with a gentle tap on your tent. A porter or chef will ask if you would like a warm cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate to start your morning. Let the warm fluids fuel your packing and get you ready for the day.

Next up is breakfast with your core group of 10 people, checking vitals (oxygen level and heart rate), and then we’re off for another stunning day of scenery and climate zone change.

Core group of 10 – Although we are absolutely a larger group of 100+, setting out to break the world record for “Most amount of people to summit Kilimanjaro together”, you will have a group of 10 that is your unit for the week. You will eat, have meetings, and stick together throughout the week. You can pick your group of 10, a few friends that are part of a team of 10, or come alone and we'll match you up. No wrong answers here.

Vitals – This is simply a super-smart way for the guides to check in with their clients on how they’re feeling. We will be slowly acclimating on our way up to the top, and this vital check ensures your body is giving all the signs it is good to go. This is a ritual at every breakfast and dinner throughout the week.

Camp Shira 2 is our home for tonight. 2 days down, 3 to go until we reach the top!

What a gorgeous day this is! It’s likely the first day you’ll catch a glimpse of the top of Mount Kebo (aka Kilimanjaro). It’s exhilarating to look up and say with confidence, “That’s where I am going!”

As we trek our way along the trail, before we reach the Lava Tower, a beautiful “tea” set up will be prepared for all of us. It’s like a short outdoor picnic with warm drinks and snacks. This team really knows how to treat you right, and you’ll feel it every day. This example is just one of those many moments.

Today we will ascend higher than the place where we camp (Barranco). We go up, give our bodies a taste of that elevation, and then come down. There is science to meeting or exceeding the 92% success rate on this Lemosho route, and this strategy is all part of that. 3 days down, 2 to go until we reach the top!

Make no mistake, the photo you see has no photoshopping.  Not much further now! 

When you wake up today, you’ll get a great look at the famous “Barranco Wall”. It’s a necessity to go up and over this wall, which stands in the way of you and the summit. It does entail a few moments of not looking down, but ultimately, it’s just an exciting hour-long scramble up and over. There’s even a fun three-step-section called “Kissing Rock” as it’s better to hug (and kiss) the wall versus lean back. Rest assured, it’s all part of the journey and incredibly safe.

The descent into Karanga Valley has us passing by rivers, waterfalls, and weaving and bobbing rocks along the trail. Then it’s up and over to Karanga Camp and BOOM, 4 days down, 1 to go!  

You’re doing it! We’re doing it! You’re giving your body the time it needs to adjust to all of the elevation gains. Temps are dropping a bit due to the higher altitude, but you’ve come prepared with all the necessary gear so all good there.  

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate in the tent? Yes please! 

Typical breakfast with porridge, sausages, and crepes per usual? Of course! 

No big rush today as the hike from Karanga to Barafu is the shortest and simplest of the week. A little more elevation gain Pole Pole style, and we’re there.

After arriving at Barafu Camp, it will never become more real that you’re doing this thing!  Today is all about rest. Naps are recommended between lunch and dinner, as well as dinner to the start of our summit, which begins at midnight. Get ready to be nervous, tired, ecstatic, wide awake, and plain ol’ ready to do what you’ve set out to do – GET TO THE TOP!

As we settle in at our final camp before the summit, we'll see some groups coming down from that morning's summit with big and accomplished smiles on their faces. A sign of what is to come for us. THIS IS IT! WE ARE NEXT! 

You’re on a nickname basis with this mountain now. Kili is ready to welcome you to the top!

We depart at midnight with our headlamps and moonlight leading the way. Oddly enough, between the stars, moonlight, and lots of climber’s lights, it never really feels dark. And tonight, even more so, as we have perfectly and purposely timed our summit under a FULL MOON!!! Three years in advance, we made sure to check the lunar calendar and nail this just right. 

The idea is to leave camp at midnight, so we can reach Stella Point (last checkpoint before the tippy top) in time for sunrise and hot ginger tea. You'll gaze in awe of the stream of light debuting above the horizon. It’s enough to make a grown person shed tears of joy. We're so excited to experience this moment with all of you.

When the sun comes up, it’s clearer than ever – YOU ARE GETTING TO THE TOP! WE ARE ALL GETTING TO THE TOP! What was once a dream is about to become reality. One step at a time and we’ll be there, corralled around the sign, with the Summit2Adventure flag, rejoicing in what has been the most exhilarating experience of our lives!

What comes up, must come down! After a glorious photo shoot, hugs, and high fives, it will start to set in that this surreal week has never been so real. Based on time of year, and us choosing the dry season for Summit2Adventure Kilimanjaro, the idea is you can see for miles and miles. It’s so hard to describe – you’ve just got to see it for yourself.

After taking it all in, it’s time for the longest day of your life to continue. The first part of your descent is 4000 feet and it is straight down, back to Barafu Camp. The good news is your tent has not been taken down, and you were not asked to pack up before your ascent to the top. What does this mean? It means nap-time + lunchtime before we continue our way down. It’s a much-needed break from all the going up, going down, and emotions that come with it.

After lunch, it’s time for the final push of another 6000 feet down. Your legs will be put to the test as we descend to our final camp, back down to the rainforest zone of the mountain. Temps will warm up and you’ll be surrounded by lush green forests before you know it. It’s important to note - the entire descent on this day is the longest one you will have ever accomplished in your lifetime.

Per usual, all of the porters will have passed us along the trail. This means the tent you just napped in and dining tent you just ate lunch in will be all set up and waiting for you at our final spot on the trail - Camp Mweka. Time for dinner and a good night's sleep.

This final push to our buses pales in comparison to the days before. YOU DID IT! YOU’RE A TOTAL ROCKSTAR! Your mind will be racing. You’ll never have felt so accomplished. You’ll check out of the park and beautiful personalized certificates will be printed, right there and then. They are undoubtedly frame-worthy. 

This afternoon we will celebrate at the hotel with a huge luncheon, singing from our guides and porters, and the “tipping ceremony” for your team (Note - see the registration page and Q&A page for more information on how and what to tip). 

The love you will feel for your guides, chefs, and porters is immeasurable. They are the wind in your sails from start to finish on this journey. Get ready for that forever-thankful feeling.

That big bag of yours will likely be sealed up, never to be opened until it’s inches from your washer/dryer at home. Smart strategy – Leave a small and clean bag of clothes back at the hotel on Day 1, so you can complete your adventure comfortably and odor-free. 

Understandably, for a number of you, it’s time to go home. For those that have budgeted even more time in Tanzania, a Serengeti Safari is only a 4-hour drive away and Zanzibar is only a 1-hour flight away.  So maybe it’s time to jump in a Jeep and see tons of animals, or melt into a beach chair and experience Africa’s version of the Caribbean. It’s entirely up to you.

Is this the one and only Summit2Adventure? Heck no! Is this replacing Race2Adventure? Heck no!  We have so much in store for you in the coming years. We can’t wait to keep exploring this beautiful planet with you, whether it’s running through it, or slowly slowly (aka Pole Pole) walking up it.