Drygalski Glacier

The Drygalski Glacier is one of the outlet glaciers flowing from the Northern Ice Field on the summit of Kibo, Mount Kilimanjaro’s highest cone. Descending the northwestern flank of the mountain beside its neighbour the Credner Glacier, it carries a name drawn from the great age of polar exploration — and a place in the early climbing history of Kilimanjaro.

Set on the remote, quiet northern side of the summit, the Drygalski Glacier is one of the mountain’s most historic sheets of ice, and today a marker of its rapid retreat.

Overview of the Drygalski Glacier

The Drygalski Glacier is a plateau outlet glacier fed by the Northern Ice Field, the largest surviving ice body on Kilimanjaro. It spills from the northern summit plateau down the northwestern slopes of Kibo, sharing that flank with the Credner Glacier.

Because it lies on the cool, shaded northern side of the mountain, the ice here has lasted longer than on the sunlit southern and eastern aspects — but like all of Kilimanjaro’s glaciers, the Drygalski is thinning and retreating, its edge marked by the sheer vertical ice walls typical of the summit’s plateau glaciers.

Where Is the Drygalski Glacier Located?

The Drygalski Glacier descends the northwestern flank of Kibo, flowing from the Northern Ice Field above 5,700 metres. It sits on the remote northern side of the summit, away from the busy climbing routes, in country seen mostly by trekkers on the long Northern Circuit Route.

Key location details:

• Mountain: Mount Kilimanjaro (Kilimanjaro National Park)
• Position: Northwestern slopes of Kibo
• Source: Northern Ice Field
• Neighbouring glacier: Credner Glacier
• Elevation: from about 5,700 m down the northern slope
• Status: historic, retreating outlet glacier of the Northern Ice Field

Named for a Polar Explorer

The Drygalski Glacier is named after Erich von Drygalski (1865–1949), the German geographer and geophysicist who led the first German expedition to Antarctica — the famous Gauss expedition of 1901–1903. Honouring him with a glacier on the highest mountain in Africa was fitting tribute to a scientist whose life was devoted to the study of ice.

The name ties Kilimanjaro’s summit to the wider golden age of exploration, when polar and mountain science were advancing together and Europe’s explorers were mapping the last unknown corners of the Earth.

A Place in Kilimanjaro’s Climbing History

The Drygalski Glacier is more than a name — it is part of the mountain’s early climbing story. In 1912, the climbers Oehler and Klute made the third recorded ascent of Kibo by way of the Drygalski Glacier, pioneering a route up the northern ice in the earliest years of Kilimanjaro mountaineering.

That ascent came in the same era that saw the fourth ascent of the mountain and the naming of the Furtwängler Glacier in the summit crater — a period when the mountain’s ice was both far more extensive and being explored for the first time.

An Outlet of the Northern Ice Field

Kilimanjaro’s summit was once capped by a single continuous ice sheet. As that cap thinned and fractured, its margins divided into separate outlet glaciers. The Drygalski Glacier is one of these — a tongue of ice fed by the Northern Ice Field and flowing down the mountain’s northwestern side.

Its edge is marked by a vertical ice wall — a sheer cliff of layered ice recording centuries of snowfall, and the leading edge of the glacier’s retreat as the intense equatorial sun erodes it even where the air never rises above freezing.

Climate and Conditions on the Glacier

The Drygalski Glacier lies in Kilimanjaro’s arctic summit zone, where the air stays permanently below freezing while the equatorial sun is intense.

Conditions on the ice:

• Surface temperatures remain below freezing year-round, from a few degrees below zero by day to well under −15 °C on cold, clear nights.
• Its shaded northern position has helped it survive longer than glaciers on the sunlit southern and eastern sides.
• Precipitation falls as snow and graupel and often disappears within days.
• The glacier has no active accumulation zone, so it loses more ice than it gains.

A Retreating Glacier: Ice Loss on Kilimanjaro

The Drygalski Glacier is part of one of the world’s most studied examples of tropical glacier loss. Almost 85 percent of Kilimanjaro’s ice cover disappeared between 1912 and 2011 — the very year of the historic ascent — shrinking from about 11.4 km² to under 1 km².

Key facts about the retreat:

• Average annual ice loss was about 1.1 percent from 1912 to 1953, rising to 1.4 percent (1953–1989) and 2.5 percent (1989–2007).
• Of the ice still present in 2000, nearly 40 percent had gone by 2011.
• The northern glaciers, including the Drygalski, have thinned and retreated along with the ice field that feeds them.
• One 2013 assessment estimated most of Kilimanjaro’s ice will vanish by around 2040, and that it is highly unlikely any ice body will remain after 2060.

Why the Drygalski Glacier Is Retreating

The causes of Kilimanjaro’s ice loss are subtler than simple warming. Research points to a decline in atmospheric moisture — lower specific humidity following a sharp climate shift at the end of the 19th century — rather than rising air temperature as the main long-term driver. No clear warming trend was found at the elevation of these glaciers between 1948 and 2005.

Because the summit air stays below freezing, the ice rarely melts from the top. Instead it is lost mainly through solar radiation striking the vertical ice walls and through sublimation, where ice turns directly to vapour in the dry, sunlit air. Once the vertical margins are exposed, there is little to stop the glacier’s slow retreat.

Seeing the Drygalski Glacier

The Drygalski Glacier is one of Kilimanjaro’s more remote glaciers, best seen from the northern side of the mountain.

• The Northern Circuit Route traverses the quiet northern slopes beneath the Northern Ice Field and its outlet glaciers.
• Climbers who reach the crater rim near Gilman’s Point and continue to Uhuru Peak can view the northern glaciers across the summit.
• The neighbouring Credner Glacier shares the same northwestern flank.

Why the Drygalski Glacier Matters

The Drygalski Glacier holds a special place among Kilimanjaro’s ice. Named for a pioneering polar scientist and climbed in the earliest days of Kilimanjaro mountaineering, it links the modern trekker to both the exploration of Antarctica and the first ascents of Africa’s highest peak. Its retreat, alongside the rest of the mountain’s glaciers, is a clear and sobering measure of how tropical ice is responding to a changing climate.

What the Experience Feels Like

To stand within sight of the Drygalski Glacier is to feel the weight of Kilimanjaro’s history. On the remote northern slopes, far from the crowds, the ancient ice that pioneering climbers ascended more than a century ago still clings to the mountain — quieter, smaller, but no less moving beneath the vast African sky.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Drygalski Glacier

Where is the Drygalski Glacier on Mount Kilimanjaro?

The Drygalski Glacier descends the northwestern flank of Kibo, flowing from the Northern Ice Field above 5,700 m, on the remote northern side of the summit.

Who is the Drygalski Glacier named after?

It is named after Erich von Drygalski (1865–1949), the German geographer and geophysicist who led the first German expedition to Antarctica, the Gauss expedition of 1901–1903.

What is the Drygalski Glacier’s place in climbing history?

In 1912, climbers Oehler and Klute made the third recorded ascent of Kibo by way of the Drygalski Glacier, one of the earliest routes up the northern ice.

Is the Drygalski Glacier retreating?

Yes. Along with the rest of Kilimanjaro’s ice, it has retreated sharply — nearly 85 percent of the mountain’s ice was lost between 1912 and 2011, and most is projected to be gone by around 2040.

Can you see the Drygalski Glacier when climbing Kilimanjaro?

It is best seen from the northern side of the mountain, especially along the Northern Circuit Route, and from the crater rim between Gilman’s Point and Uhuru Peak.

Need help with Kilimanjaro National Park?

If you’d like help understanding Kilimanjaro National Park, choosing a route that explores the quieter northern side of the mountain, or planning a safe and well-paced climb toward historic features like the Drygalski Glacier, we’re happy to guide you through the options and logistics so you can experience the roof of Africa at its most remote and rewarding.