The best advice on Kilimanjaro is slowly slowly or pole pole (pronounced poley poley)

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As I lay panting on the floor in the dawn light with my friend Owen, heaving last nights food into the crater rim, I realised that our crack at the summit of Kilimanjaro was over as hoards of excited trekkers skipped over our boots on their way to the peak, only a km away.

A decade later, I returned with my wife Fran for trek 2, opting this time for the Machame route, as it gave us the option of isolation, another night on the mountain to acclimatise and the possibility to camp rather than stay in the designated cabins I had used ten years earlier on the Marangu route.

Both climbs were memorable, but very different. The Marangu route seemed to be a short sharp ascent, with the crowds to suit, but was a fun frolic on the mountain, except for the final day when my body declined to go further.
The Machame was more intimate, more expensive and colder (only because we had purchased cheap sleeping bags from the Arndale shopping centre in Luton 2 days before departure).

The best advice by our guide, was pole pole (slowly slowly). There really is no hurry, as your tent or cabin will be ready when you arrive. Your blood cells and body will thank you for being patient.
During our final two days, we were overtook by a German couple who were young, fit and friendly, but as they skipped past us each morning our guide would mutter "they are not going pole pole"
Each afternoon, we would head into camp to find them stretched out on their foam mats enjoying the distant views of the summit.
On the final morning, as we shuffled in silence up the steep scree in darkness towards the waiting peak they overtook us at speed once more.

As dawn approached, I felt a sense of emotion at their lost cause, as we stepped over their boots as they lay vomiting into the crater.
Our guide pushed us on, past the creaking glacier towards the empty peak of Uhuru, where we slowly, slowly found ourselves standing alone on the roof of Africa.

happy travels.

amc

www.thecreativenomad.co

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