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Published: March 12th 2008
I thought about starting this one right from the time I landed in Tanzania. If I did, I could talk about how a thousand jumping, cheering, arm-waving people were at the airport to greet some politician guy...then piled into/onto cars & trucks and drove away while blasting Ludacris ("Move! Get out the way...") in a brutally-slow moving procession that blocked the whole road into town. I could talk about the oppressive heat and humidity of Dar-Es-Salaam that was reminiscent of Vietnam in the summer. I might even talk about how one of the other guys in the 4-bed dorm came in at 5am after having been mugged by his taxi driver (Mom's glad I'm home by the time she read that one). I could talk about how the Ubungo bus station outside Dar had the most annoying/deceptive/coordinated/numerous touts of anywhere I've encountered yet. But I'll skip all that and get right to why we're all here reading this entry.
Why Are We All Here Reading This Entry? A long, long time ago on a continent far, far away...a particular vent in the earth had repeated episodes of spewing lava and pyroclastic material. Over the passage of time, this eventually accumulated
into a substantial bump (5895m or 19,341ft) on the earth's surface which is now the world's tallest free-standing mountain - and Africa's highest peak -
Mt. Kilimanjaro.
When word first reached Europe in 1848 that there was snow on (near) the Equator, it was quickly dismissed as a mistake. What kind of fool would claim such a thing? I think the debate has been settled over the years, but Dad and I decided to find out if these reports of snow have indeed been greatly exaggerated or not. Thus follows the tale of our adventure.
REI Customer Of The Decade Apparently if my Dad is given 6 months to plan hiking on of the
Seven Summits, there's a chance he might get a tad carried away with the preparations. His luggage took the slow route getting here, so he arrived initially with
only his carry-on backpack and handbag...which (in my opinion) already had him nearly fully equipped for the trek. I couldn't wait to see how he managed to fill up 2 suitcases with more gear.
The reception desk called at 2am the next night to let us know that the other bags had arrived. We each
took one and pulled the zippers open so we could start to sort stuff out. I'm not certain, but I think the combined contents qualified as a mobile REI shop. (For the non-Americans out there...REI is a major outdoor gear shop in the States). It looked like he had raided everything from every section of the store. Gloves/mittens for each of us for every potential climatic situation...multiple long underwear of varying thicknesses and materials...3 sets of hiking poles (for the two of us)...the list goes on. There was also a small mobile grocery store inside. Powdered Gatorade, M&M's, peanuts, energy bars, energy drinks, etc. We were certainly well equipped...perhaps the best ever equipped duo in the history of Kilimanjaro...the trick was choosing what to leave behind.
The next day we sorted through it all, got packed, and ready to go. Kili...bring it.
Note - Before Dad had arrived, Mom had sent me an email with a plea for us to not push it and to turn back if we weren't feeling completely up to it...because we don't have anything to prove. A noble plea and completely understandable. True...we don't have anything to prove...but c'mon Mom...you know that we
won't give up easily. I didn't give up in Tongariro until I was reduced to sliding around on all 4s on sheets of ice in gale-force winds. Kili's going to have to bring its full game to stop this stubborn (and well-equipped) father-son duo.
The Kili Gig Doing Kilimanjaro is unlike any of the other treks I've done so far. Here it's a requirement to go through a tour company, there is a 1:1 ratio for guides to hikers, there are limits to how much each porter can carry, and it's a much faster rate of ascent.
The guide & porter rules added up to our support team being huge (see the photo). We had two guides (Anderson and Alfred), a cook, an assistant cook, and a bunch of porters to carry all the gear (tents, food, cooking equipment, luggage, etc). Compared to being on my own in NZ or with Santa in Nepal, this was a bit of a change.
There are several route options to choose from. We chose the Rongai route due to the fact that it's less crowded and takes one day longer (6 vs 5) than the main route - thus allowing
for better acclimatization. We also chose to add an extra acclimatization day to further improve our chances of making the summit.
According to most things I've read, the recommended maximum rate of ascent for a human to avoid altitude related problems is about 300m (1000ft) per day. The main Kili route over 5 days (up days 1-4 & down 4-5) results in an ascent that is about 4x the recommended max rate. Thus our decision to do the other route with the extra day. It's still fast...but more reasonable, I think.
The Ascent To Kibo The Rongai route comes up the north-west side of Kili, so the drive from Moshi (south of the mountain) was a long and dusty one. Unlike my Annapurna blog, I won't give a detailed account of each day since my journal entries each day only consisted of "hiked 2hrs and gained 1400ft". But I'll add a few more comments to go along with the photos and I will go more into detail on the summit day.
The short summary of each day is:
Day 1 - Hiked 2:45 for a 2300ft gain from drop-off point to Simba Camp. We started off
in a pine forest and saw some black&white monkeys. The forest ended abruptly and we were then walking on a path through some rather thick bush. The European explorers were right...I can see snow on the mountain.
Day 2 - Hiked 3:30 for a 2700ft gain from Simba to the 2nd Cave Camp. Apparently an African Buffalo was hanging around our tent last night having a snack on the bushes...I slept through it all. Still below the bush line today, though it's thinning out. Great views of Kili.
Day 3 - Hiked 2:00 for a 1400ft gain to the 3rd Cave Camp. Anderson said he hear a lion roaring last night...I slept through that as well. I have a bit of a headache from the altitude and sun...Dad is fine, but hasn't slept at all yet. Bush is really thinning out.
Day 4 - Acclimatization day. Hiked 2:45 up for 2400ft gain and then 1:00 back down to 3rd Cave Camp. Had some snow flurries at our highest point. Had another headache earlier in the day, but all was well by bed time. Dad is still fine...but still hasn't slept.
Day 5 - I didn't write
down the time and altitude for this day, but was something like 3-4hrs and 3000ft(?) up to Kibo camp - the launch point for the summit attempt. I think I found out why Dad hasn't had any altitude problems...he's been drinking the
5 hour energy stuff. I tried one today and didn't feel any effects of altitude. It's magic in a bottle. We're completely above the bush line now and it's just rocky desert wasteland. Kibo is at 4700m (15,400ft)...which is well above the altitude at which I can sleep. But that's not really an issue because we "get up" again at 11:30pm to go for the summit.
The Summit Try - Pole Pole In the book, Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer writes about how he's standing on the top of Everest and due to all the suffering he's going through (-100F, up for 60hrs, limited food & drink, etc), he couldn't care less about being there. I can't quite fully relate, but after this day I can see where he's coming from.
11:30 pm came and Anderson came to tell us that tea was ready. We snacked, got dressed (one of us took about an hour to put on
all his REI-bought gear...but I won't say who that was) and were off by 12:30am to follow the serpent-like trail of headlamps leading up the mountain.
You may recall my complaints in my Annapurna entries about how there's no oxygen at these high altitudes. Well...apparently the same condition applies in Africa, no O2 here either. For that reason and the fact that we needed to go up 1200m, the order of the day (morning) was "
pole pole" - which means "slowly slowly" in Swahili. The next 8 hours consisted of steadily making progress by taking mini-steps (usually about 6-8" long).
Hours 0-2 - Up, Up and Away!: Feeling fantastic. No altitude problems, plenty of energy, not too cold, nice slow & steady pace...all is well.
Hour 3 - Slowing Down: Approaching a cave at 5150m that is used for a break point. Snow is picking up and I'm starting to feel the altitude a bit...minor headache...a tad lightheaded...but mostly just rather winded. Some people at the cave are in rough shape already - complaints of headaches, nausea, etc. Dad and I affix some mini-crampons to our shoes for better traction in the snow & ice (could have
Walking The Crater Rim
Half-way between Gilman's and Uhuruused these back in my Tongariro adventure, eh?)
Hour 4 - Diminishing Mental Functionality: Since the cave Dad has left me in his dust. Not because of his pace...but because I'm really, really slow at this point. At times I take 10-20 steps and rest for an equivalent number of breaths. I'm breathing as if I'm running hard, yet I'm seemingly going nowhere.
I start focusing on either song lyrics or simple math because I can feel my brain losing functionality. Not in a major dramatic way...but I definitely feel like I'm entering into a mental haze. In fact there's a 20 minute period during which I thought I was behind Alfred when I was actually behind Anderson (they're 6" different in height, wear different clothes, and look different). He turned around to ask me how I was doing and it took me a few seconds to process the fact that he wasn't who I thought he was.
I'm also starting to wonder what it will be like when I fall over due to not being able to keep my balance any more. If this dizziness progresses as we get higher, I'll find out.
This all
can't be good.
I see two people coming down from above. It's Dan (an American guy from Boston and his guide)...he informs me that they made the summit in 3:52 and are on the way back down. Crap.
I've surpassed 5416m (my max height in Annapurna) and now every step I take sets a new personal altitude record. I can't decide if this is good or bad at this stage.
Hour 5 - Reunion & Attitudes: At some point during this hour I catch up to Dad. Though I still am breathing like there's not oxygen (there isn't), the dizziness isn't getting worse and I'm still making progress. Dad, however, seems to be fading a bit.
We're both in semi-rough shape by this point and begin to be a bit playfully (I think) snippy with each other. He rips me for having this stupid idea and I criticize him for setting it up and coming all this way to meet me. And honestly...at this point (in the dark, cold, snow, exhaustion, dizziness, uncertainty of making the summit, etc) it doesn't really seem like it was such a good idea and I can see what Krakauer was
talking about.
Please God, just make it end.
Hour 6 - Gilman's Point!: It's steep. It's cold. It's slippery. But we no longer need our headlamps as the sun has illuminated the overcast sky enough to see where we are going...which is
Gilman's Point. This is the point at which we reach the volcanic crater rim at
5681m. After 6 hours of plodding along in the dark and seemingly not getting anywhere, it's good to feel like we've accomplished something. The downside is that now we need to get off our asses and back to it for the final 200m of ascent.
It's cool to be able to see into the crater...though it's cloudy and foggy in places so the views aren't too clear.
I've semi-caught my breath and am ready to do this final bit.
Hour 7-8 - This F'ing Mountain...Summit Within Reach: Yeah, so I thought I had caught my breath and was ready. That ended after about 10 steps and I was breathing hard again as I trudged through the snow along the rim.
I didn't see Dad much during this period as it was now his turn to lag behind.
From time to time the clouds would pass in certain ways that would reveal pretty cool views...but again...at this point I didn't really care much. The summit was my sole focus.
I'm now at the point where every time I stop I'm nearly collapsing...only my walking poles are keeping me upright.
The summit is finally within sight. I pick up the pace - determined to make the final push in one go (rather than 20 step bursts). My steps are longer. My lungs are burning. My face is grimaced and teeth are clenched (have been for hours) from pain and anger at this stupid mountain. Snow and ice flies with each violent stab of my walking poles into the skin of this beast of a mountain. People coming down clear the path and look at me like I'm mad as they see me storming up to the summit. I'm sweating all over...and I realize that I started this silly effort too soon...I'm dying. I keep going though.
I eventually get within 30m (walking meters...not vertical) or so of the summit and decide to stop to wait for Dad...we've come all this way & I'd prefer to
finish it off together. He's really hurting now, but eventually comes around the turn and we both take our triumphant final steps to
Uhuru - the peak of Kilimanjaro at the staggering (literally) altitude of 5895m (19,341ft)!!!!
I curse the mountain, take some photos, enjoy the views a bit, bask in the glory of our achievement...and realize it's time to start the descent - over 2000m today and 2000m tomorrow. We've been up since yesterday morning, have hiked for 8 hours already, and still have a 2000m descent. Yikes. Knees, get ready.
Re-Entry Into The Atmosphere I'll be really brief about the descent. It's long, hard on the knees, and great to be done with. Dad's lack of sleep really caught up with him and his descent turned out to be quite an adventure...but that's his story to tell.
Naturally, there are details that I could go into about the descent...but as I love to say, I've rambled enough. Suffice to say that we're down in one piece and I really enjoyed my celebratory Kilimanjaro Beer.
Once down it was straight to the internet cafe to send the all-clear message to Mom. Her son and husband
Kili Glacier
Unlike the Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier in NZ...this one is indeed receding. survived so we can eventually find yet another adventure that will keep her up at night...whatever & whenever that may be.
The Others There are many who didn't make it that day and there are many who had a much easier time of it than we did. For those that didn't make it...good choice to stop - it can literally be deadly to push through serious altitude issues. I met a guy who stopped at the cave at 5150m because he had cerebral edema (
HACE). He honestly would likely have died if he kept going up. For those who thought it was a walk in the park...you're hard-core.
The Hardest Thing Ever? Some may not think so, but I'll claim that summit day was the hardest physical thing I've ever done in my life. Let me qualify that a bit because I think I've done some fairly challenging things.
I've run a marathon that was actually a mile too long (thanks to the organizers messing up the route...oops). It was tiring and painful.
I've done Olympic distance triathlons (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run). They all hurt as well.
I've completed a 1/2-Ironman triathlon (1.2mi
swim, 56mi bike, 13.1mi run). This would easily be my previous most challenging thing. I was at high effort for nearly 6 hours (not a terribly impressive time...but I'm happy with it), had a variety of painful muscle cramps along the way, and was a mental challenge to keep going. It was really hard.
But I still think that those were all easier than summit day on Kili. Nearly 8 hours to get up...fatigue...dizziness...slippery...no oxygen...etc. It all bundled up into a very very challenging day.
I'll make a personal revelation about endurance events. They make me cry. Several times after I've finished a triathlon I'll cross the finish line and begin to involuntarily cry. Not from pain...not because I want to. It's just how my body responds to extreme physical stress/exhaustion...it doesn't know what else to do. (I know, I'm a wuss. I can live with this). So...to back up my claim about Kili being tough for me...my body briefly had the crying reaction 5 minutes into my descent. But since I wasn't done, I managed to shut that down and continue on.
The Snows Of Kilimanjaro By the looks of it from every angle, the Kibo
Glacier on top of Kilimanjaro is in full retreat and is estimated to be gone in the next 15-30 years. What's there at this point is tiny compared to what those confused European explorers had seen 150 years ago. Sad, but true.
Typically I've tried to avoid too much discussion about controversial topics on this blog adventure because that's not the purpose of my stories...and since Kili is oft-referenced in climate discussions, I'll continue to avoid making any claims at the climate topic. But I will mention the two main theories about why this is happening.
Al Gore and his camp will say it's due to human-driven rapid climate change - at first glance this seems plausible.
Others will say it's part of a natural trend dating back to the 1880's (see the graph) - their arguments seem to hold some weight as well.
Naturally there are scientific refutations & uncertainties to each claim...that's part of the fun of the climate discussion, right?
So do we blame SUVs and industrialization? Or do we blame the sport utility ox-cart emissions (or perhaps just the ox-emissions?) that were generated by our great-great grandparents during the 1800's?
Glacial Retreat
Doesn't look good. Get there quickly. If you're interested, here are resources that handle both sides of the argument.
Discussion from the climate change perspective. Study showing the retreat since 1880. Regardless of which theory you buy into, none of it changes the fact that if you want to see Kili's glacier...it appears that you'd be well served to pencil in a trip on your calendar soon...inconvenient or not, it's going bye-bye. I highly recommend checking it out while you can.
Yeah, so I guess that's all I have to say about that. Next up...safari!
Cheers,
Marc (The Crier)
Oh, and...
"Jambo" (hello)
"Mambo" (how are you?)
"Poa" (cool/good)
"Poa kachizi kama ndizi baridi" (crazy cool like a cold banana) For the record...I tease above about all the stuff Dad brought. But it was all quite good to have considering the other challenges we had to deal with.
If you're looking to do Kili, let me know and I can suggest some guides.
Apologies for not being consistent with meters and feet. Dad's keeps his altitude watch set to "feet" and all the sign postings were in meters. I was simply too lazy to convert everything to both units.
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peterka
non-member comment
Unknown peak pic 32
..is called Mwawenzi, Wisited it in 1976.