Kilimanjaro !

Hey ! I'm back ! This time , it's about Kilimanjaro ! Well , many of u noe , 'Kilimanjaro' is tha title of a song in a forthcoming Tamil science fiction film , Enthiran. But there are some out there who doesn't noe tat Kilimanjaro is actually a mountain (Yes ! It's a mountain !).

Kilimanjaro , is an inactive stratovolcano (I have no idea wat's stratovolcano) in north-eastern Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at 5,893 metres or 19,334 ft above sea level (the Uhuru Peak/Kibo Peak). Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest freestanding mountain in the world. ( Freestanding mountain is a mountain on sea level, meaning it is not in a mountain range)

9 Interesting Facts about Mount Kilimanjaro !

• Kilimanjaro has three volcanic cones, Mawenzi, Shira and Kibo. Mawenzi and Shira are extinct but Kibo, the highest peak, is dormant and could erupt again. The most recent activity was about 200 years ago; the last major eruption was 360,000 years ago.
• Nearly every climber who has summitted Uhuru Peak, the highest summit on Kibo’s crater rim, has recorded his or her thoughts about the accomplishment in a book stored in a wooden box at the top.
• The oldest person ever to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro was 87-year-old Frenchman Valtee Daniel.
• Almost every kind of ecological system is found on the mountain: cultivated land, rain forest, heath, moorland, alpine desert and an arctic summit.
• The fasted verified ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro occurred in 2001 when Italian Bruno Brunod summitted Uhuru Peak in 5 hours 38 minutes 40 seconds. The fastest roundtrip was accomplished in 2004, when local guide Simon Mtuy went up and down the mountain in 8:27. (A roundtrip takes 5 days !)
• The mountain’s snow caps are diminishing, having lost more than 80 percent of their mass since 1912. In fact, they may be completely ice free within the next 20 years, according to scientists. (Earth is getting hot! We are responsible!)
• Shamsa Mwangunga, National Resources and Tourism minister of Tanzania, announced in 2008 that 4.8 million indigenous trees will be planted around the base of the mountain, helping prevent soil erosion and protect water sources.
• South African Bernard Goosen twice scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro in a wheelchair. His first summit, in 2003, took nine days; his second, four years later, took only six. Born with cerebral palsy, Goosen used a modified wheelchair, mostly without assistance, to climb the mountain.(Impossible is Nothing !)
• Approximately 25,000 people attempt to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro annually. Approximately two-thirds are successful. Altitude-related problems is the most common reason climbers turn back.

So , tat's Kilimanjaro ! I hope to ascend it & reach Uhuru Peak one day ! (Long term plan!) :D

I guess u noe wat they mean in tha song now !

Over & Out

- M. Night Thilagan-