Taking Ubuntu to new heights (literally) in Africa

[tribaal]

Hi folks,

I think I now hold the record for the highest stuck Ubuntu sticker (5895m ASL) :)

My girlfriend and I just finished climbing Mt. Killimanjaro, and since I use Ubuntu exclusively, I though it was logical to put an Ubuntu sticker up there. I actually had an ISO image while climbing (in my backpack), but couldn't take a full computer unfortunately (it's cold, there is low pressure, and well... you have to carry it :) )

For the technical details:
- We climbed in 5 days, got down in another two.
- Temperature was +35°C on the first day, -12°C on summit day.
- Going up there involved 8 local staff (porters, guides, cook...)
- The company we booked with has the best working conditions for its staff.
- While we suffered altitude sickness, none of us had headaches.

Let me know what you think, and please don't hesitate to post or PM me if you want any further information or if you consider climbing Kilimanjaro yourself (we planned this trip for month and can provide advice as to what to expect / who to book with etc...)

A huge thanks to Mamarok (of AmaroK / KDE fame) for providing me with the sticker :)

Now if anybody wants to sponsor a trip to Nepal... :)

Have fun,

- Trib'

PS: Yeah, that dude on the picture is me.

[koshatnik]

You climbed a fabulous mountain and all you could think about was your operating system? It means that much to you?

[Swagman]

Awesome

Kudos

[kellemes]

Great adventure.. thanks for sharing!

[tribaal]

You climbed a fabulous mountain and all you could think about was your operating system? It means that much to you?

Of course not!
That's only one minute of Ubuntu for months of preparation, and several days of actually... you know... getting there? :)
This post in on an operating system centric forum... Kind of makes sense, no?

- Trib'

[dragos240]

Awesome!

[RichardLinx]

That's pretty rad.

[LasherHN]

That's really cool.

How much did the whole thig cost? Someday I think I should try that.

[NoaHall]

Why did you have a LiveCD with you?

[dragos240]

Why did you have a LiveCD with you?

For teh lulz.

[tribaal]

That's really cool.

How much did the whole thig cost? Someday I think I should try that.

Well it's a pretty expensive adventure really...

To climb, you need a guide and a crew.

Guides are certified by the state of Tanzania, and since tourism is one of the main (only) source of revenue, it's taken very seriously. So while there's a wide range of offerings, you should expect to pay at least 1000 to 1500 US dollars for the climb itself.

Cheaper companies mean saving on gear, comfort, and time. Food especially is very important, since you basically have to force feed yourself all the time because of altitude sickness, you might as well have decent food. Our cook really had a gift for cooking, and that really made a difference compared to other groups we talked to.

You need time to get there, especially since you need to acclimatize to altitude. You can, technically, make it in as few as 5 days, but your chances of success drop significantly compared to say a 7 days trip like we did.
Our reasoning was that the 150 dollars of difference would seem very cheap and insignificant if you have to turn around because you were too fast...

You need gear to get there. We have our own, so while buying that gear should be taken in consideration, it was already used lots and will be used again in the future. We live in Switzerland, so mountains aren't hard to come by. I'm not sure I would like to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with rental gear, but I know it's possible (but probably expensive).
The only gear we rent were sleeping bags (the thermal ones we have are very bulky and wouldn't fit in the backpack we packed for the plane), and tents. One sleeping bag was broken and wouldn't close properly (a problem when it's -15°C at night), and the tent's zip was a PITA to close (you hate to spend 20 minutes closing the tent when you're coming back from a night trip to the bathroom and it's -15°C)
While it's touristic, it's still Africa, so expect gear there to be second hand and not to work 100%.

Finally, you need to pay for the transfer from wherever you live to Moshi or Arusha, in northern Tanzania. Flying from Switzerland cost us about 1000 dollars per person, but we also took the opportunity to travel around Tanzania a bit... You really should, it's a very very nice country.

So overall it's a pretty expensive expedition... But climbing mountains in general is not a cheap way to spend time... :)

Let me know if you ever want to get into specifics (list of gear we packed, companies we tried, places to visit in Tanzania... whatever)

Cheers,

- Trib'

[tribaal]

Why did you have a LiveCD with you?

Hehe that's because I packed one "just in case" and pretty much forgot to remove it from the backpack before climbing.

It turned out to be handy during the trip for other reasons however since cybercafes are sometimes... well.. you don't want to type your email passwords there. I also used it to diagnose a RAM problem in a hotel computer (Ubuntu got me a free beer! Yay!)... You never know :)

- Trib'

[LasherHN]

Thanks for the information!
I don't think I'll do that in the next couple of years tho. Being a grad student means you are broke all the time.

But I'll keep it in mind for the next time I start saving to travel.

[Sporkman]

Awesome, thanks for posting! 8)

Cool that you were able to help out with a computer problem in the hotel.

[samh785]

This is really cool, but I can't help but feeling that someone is going to do exactly what you did... but place it higher on the sign than you did and thusly denying you of your glory. ;)

[tribaal]

This is really cool, but I can't help but feeling that someone is going to do exactly what you did... but place it higher on the sign than you did and thusly denying you of your glory. ;)

If they go all this trouble just to beat me, well fair enough, they'd deserve it ;)

- Trib'

[kostkon]

Nice dude!!

[Sam]

Excellent, comrade! ;)

However, you have been beaten on showing Ubuntu there; this happen less than a month ago:

http://annarybacka.com/remotesites/uhuru-peak.jpg

Source (http://blog.omma.net/?p=32)

[tribaal]

Excellent, comrade! ;)

However, you have been beaten on showing Ubuntu there; this happen less than a month ago:



Haha, and they have more charm than I do, that's for sure :)

I still win the stickers thing however ;)

Thanks for the link, I'll send them a little kudos.

- Trib'

[Kenny_Strawn]

Considering Mount Kilmanjaro was created through volcanism, how many thousands of years ago did it last erupt?

[Old Marcus]

Why did you have a LiveCD with you?

To test if it would run on Kilimanjaro of course!

(I know, poor joke.)

[tribaal]

Considering Mount Kilmanjaro was created through volcanism, how many thousands of years ago did it last erupt?

From Wikipedia: "The last major eruption has been dated to 360,000 years ago, while the most recent activity was recorded just 200 years ago"

:)

Hope this helps!


To test if it would run on Kilimanjaro of course!

Hehe :)

- Trib'