Erin Ton set two women’s supported Fastest Known Times on Mount Kilimanjaro on September 6, 2026, climbing and descending Africa’s highest peak in a single push. Her round-trip time of 8 hours, 33 minutes and 42 seconds dropped the previous mark by over an hour and a half. The ascent alone took just 5:47:50, cutting more than an hour off the prior record.
A start by headlamp, a finish with flowers
Ton began at Mweka Gate at 5 a.m., climbing through the forest by headlamp for the first ninety minutes. She chose the early start on advice from local guides to avoid trekking traffic around Mweka Camp on the return. Guides Dao Kapela and Marcel Sarwatt accompanied her throughout the effort, a requirement on the mountain.
She hit her planned splits through Mweka, Millennium and Barafu camps and felt strong. At Barafu, perched at 15,330 feet, altitude began to bite — dizziness and nausea set in. Kapela joined her there for the remainder of the ascent, as Ton kept moving steadily toward the summit.
The route was the Mweka out-and-back, roughly 26 miles with almost 14,000 feet of elevation gain. Sarwatt rejoined at Barafu on the way down, and the small team worked through the camps together. Ton crossed the line back at Mweka Gate to a bouquet of flowers and a finish celebration.
One mountain, a collection of records
The previous women’s supported round-trip record of 10:06:00 had stood since Fernanda Maciel set it in 2017. Ton took one hour, 32 minutes and 18 seconds off that time. Kristina Schou Madsen’s ascent mark of 6:52:54 from 2018 fell by one hour, five minutes and four seconds.
Ton has now logged 220 verified FKTs across countries including the United States, Nepal, Austria and Chile. Earlier in 2026 she claimed the women’s unsupported record on Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. Kilimanjaro became her second Seven Summits speed record.
“When I became conscious of the fact that I was no longer feeling as good, I reminded myself to just not stop,” she told reporters afterwards. “Even if I was moving slow, I had plenty of time in the bank, and moving slow but consistent is better than taking pauses.”
The volcano stands as the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 19,341 feet. With two continental high points now marked by her name, five summits remain on a list she intends to complete.
