Hand warmer test

At around midday on March 14, we set off from Marangu Gate on our ascent to the roof of Africa: Kilimanjaro. As I get cold easily and also have cold hands all the time, the guys from HeatPaxx gave us a "complete warmth package" to take with us, which we naturally wanted to test extensively.

At 1700m above sea level, it is still rainforest and the temperatures are around 30 degrees. We saw a few small villages and walked the 10 km towards Mandara. It was fun, the gradient was ok and we were more than surprised when we came across a cute hut village at 2700m above sea level. Stephan and I were still in such a good mood that we went on the extra tour to Maundi Crater.

Day 2: Temperatures still ok, sunshine, windy. The path changed, instead of rainforest now heather and Kibo, the summit, showed itself. At around 14:00 we arrived at the destination of our next stage at an altitude of 3700m: Horombo. The accommodation in Horombo was similar to that in Mandara. Huts with 4-person occupancy and the most basic sanitary facilities.

The third day was dedicated to acclimatization at high altitude, a hike to Zebra Rocks (4200m) and a spectacular view of Mount Kibo. Kilimanjaro consists of 3 peaks: Shira, Mawenzi and the highest peak and our destination: Kibo. After these great impressions, we returned to Horombo and waited for those returning from the summit. On their return, they did not stay at the next station at 4700m, but had to walk through to Horombo. A real challenge, as we were to experience for ourselves later on.

On the fourth day, we first went to Kibo Hut at 4700m. We passed the "Last Water Point" and shouldered 14 additional liters of water. The hike went over the Saddle, with spectacular views of Kibo and Mawenzi. If you want to know what it looks like on the moon ... you can get an idea here. It was very windy and after initial sunshine and hot temperatures, it became freezing cold.

The first 10 km were great, the last two almost took our last nerve. With the ever-present view of the Kibo Huts, it felt like a mirage that was slipping further and further away. At around 14:00 we were finally able to occupy our beds in a 10-bed dorm. After a quick lunch, we went to bed at 16:00. The HeatPaxx body warmer was incredibly good and had already passed its first test on the tour. However, at 4700m you don't really get to rest anymore. Due to the altitude and the 6 liters of water we had drunk, we had to urinate every 10 minutes. Plus the slight headache. At 23:00 we were torn from our sleep: Get dressed!

What came next is hard to describe. We started walking up the mountain at 0:00, extremely slowly. It quickly became very steep. Always looking at our own feet, not looking at the clock, hardly any conversations. With our headlamps on, we walked like little dwarves in a zigzag. Looking up, we could only see other small lights that were also walking at a tip-top pace.

At around 2:00, it became extremely difficult to breathe. This meant walking 10 steps, stopping & trying to get some of the thin oxygen into our lungs, walking 10 steps again.

At 5200m we took a 15 minute break at Hans Meyer Cave. Hans Meyer was the first climber and his grave can be visited at the Südfriedhof in Leipzig. My drinking system was already frozen and our jackets were covered in hoarfrost from the outside. Temperature: -15, estimated temperature -35 degrees. The HeatPaxx hand warmers, which had served me very well in my gloves, also proved their worth here. They didn't last quite as long as stated, but they were definitely enough.

At 4:30 we heard cries of triumph from the edge of the crater: other "little gliders" who had arrived at Gilman's Point before us. The last few meters consisted of climbing and scrambling for us, but at 5:58 we had finally made it too: we were on the Kili plateau at 5685m. We then continued on to Stella Point at 5776m. Climbing the inner crater rim was tiring and exhausting. At 8:45 the time had come: we were at 5895m! "You are now at Uhuru Peak Tanzania, 5895m, Congratulations"

We would like to thank Sandra Frühlich for these great impressions from your trip to Kilimanjaro and for testing our hand and body warmers under extreme conditions at high altitudes.