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Published: September 24th 2006
We made it!
Joe, Mike and I with Solomon, Edison and Moses (our guides) just after sunrise on September 2nd 2006We did it! Kilimanjaro at 5,895m conquered by Merryn, Joe and Mike at 6:24am on Saturday 2 September 2006.
And here are the details.......
After I had been away from Australia for 4 months, Joe was finally able to join me in my world adventure, even if it was for only one week. But what a great week it was. Mike, Joe's best mate, also joined in for the challenge.
We met up in Nairobi, took a bus to Moshi, Tanzania and waited at our hotel to meet our guide and find out a little more about what we were in for over the next 6 days.
Our guide was Solomon. I thought from the outset that he was a little shifty, but was told that I was being a little harsh. First impressions are usually right....
After a briefing, we had dinner and rested in preparation for the big days ahead of us.
Next morning, our bus arrived, Solomon was there with a
Day 2
Joe and Mike trailing behind Ameri (porter) and Solomon (guide) couple of other guys (our cook, another guide, and assistant guide) and then we went in search of porters. Not a nice life for these guys, standing on the side of the road waiting to see if they will be selected for duty. And, of course, once selected, they have to lug all the mzungu's (white man) gear up the mountain. Not one of my career change preferences at this stage!
After a very long bus trip, including being subjected to 'Jambo, Jambo' continuously for over an hour, we finally got to the start of the Rongai route. This route is otherwise known as the 'fanta' route, not as popular as the Marangu ('coca-cola') route and not as difficult as the Machame ('whiskey') route. There are other routes, but not with such nicknames.
We headed off after being told that we had the maximum number of porters possible - and that was meant to make us happy! However, the staff of 13 to accompany us was never actually in one place at the one time (with the exception of the final morning) - a definite Solomon scam. It was really about ensuring that our tip
Early morning sun on Kili
The sunrises were fantastic and the early morning light, just brilliant. This taken from 'thirdi' camp (practically everything in Swahili ends in "i" so translations by guides into English often suffer the same fate!) was large with the logic being, the larger the crew, the more cash that would be paid out.
Those first 3 days walking were easy. It was a steady ascent but 2-3 hours only. At camp, our tents were pitched for us, most evenings a bowl of warm water and soap was provided for a quick wash, and we were fed 3 good meals a day.
We did get bored on the afternoons of days 2 and 3 so headed out for additional short climbs to pass the time and further acclimatise to the altitude gain.
The landscape was magnificent. The first day started through a small village and surrounding farms, then forest, then by day 3, only the hardiest plants and trees remained, and then ……. nothing but rock and dust. There was an abundance of flora that I had never seen before in addition to some I had including impatiens, proteas, and ericas (heath) .
On Day 4, we arrived at Kibo Huts early in
Flora
Heaps of great wildflowers on both sides of the mountain. These are an example of the hardier ones found relatively high on the climb. the afternoon. After lunch and a brief rest, we had dinner and went to bed about 7pm. Wake up time was 11pm. After a cup of tea and a biscuit, we headed off at 11:50pm. Our goal was to make Uhuru Peak in time for sunrise. Moses, a guide, was in the lead, then Mike, me, Joe, Solomon and Edison (the assistant guide).
'Pole pole' ('slowly slowly') was how we went. After about only 10 minutes, the guides carried our packs - much appreciated by all. My headlamp went dead after a less than an hour. I changed batteries but they lasted less than 3 hours (damn supermarket in Chamonix - can't trust those home brand batteries!) So basically, I walked for over 2 hours without a headlamp, relying on my memory of where Mike had stepped and what little light Joe's lamp gave me from behind.
It was also very cold. I had on a long sleeve thermal top, a sleeveless t-shirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, a polar fleece, a windstopper jacket and my goretex jacket, 2 hats and my jacket hood, polar fleece gloves, goretex overgloves, thermal pants, hiking pants, waterproof pants, gaiters, 2 pair of
The porters
One of the porters making his way to camp...these guys are truly amazing. under socks, hiking socks and hiking boots. Even with all this gear on, to stop for more than a few minutes would have been disastrous.
No details required, but I had a very nasty experience after about one hour of hiking - I'll simply call it 'food poisoning'. At that point, I did not think I would make it to the top - I was feeling very weary. However, after a few words with the boys, we decided that I would simply call for rest stops, as required, and we would all make it up together at my pace. That was really all the encouragement I needed, because we did all make it.
After battling switchbacks that were primarily scree (one step forward and seemingly half a step back), we made it to Gilman's Point around 4:40 am. According to the literature, the hard part was over and the ascent to Uhuru would be relatively simple from here.
By this time, it was -10 degrees celcius and almost all of our water was frozen. The exceptions were my 1 litre platypus which I had wrapped in a polar fleece vest and Mike's thermoflask!
After a snack
Our last camp before ascent
Our tent at Kibo Huts, looking out towards Moshi???? (can't see for the beautiful cumulus cloud) and some liquid, we headed off for Uhuru. At 6:24am, with the sun just peaking over the clouds, we made it. Mike was suffering a little nausea and light-headedness from the altitude at this stage, so we had a quick photo shoot at the sign and down we went as quickly as we could.
It was not until much later that day, maybe even the following day, that any of us felt elation at the achievement. We were all so exhausted, we just wanted to get back to camp and rest.
I enjoyed the descent from Gilman's to Kibo as, instead of hiking back down the switchbacks, we charged straight down through the scree - sort of sliding down the mountain. Usually my knees dislike descents, but the scree seemed to cushion them, so it really was quick and fun. The downside of this little venture was that we were completely covered in dust at the end. Oh well, we were already dusty, this just added to it!
A little after 9 am, we got to camp. Straight into the tents for a rest. Just over an hour later, we were up and having brunch. Gear back
Glaciers
Just one of the sensational views from Uhuru Peak on, and down to the next camp we went via the Marangu route. (It was great to walk up one way and down another rather than re-tracing our steps). It was a little over 11km away but seemed much longer. It really was a long day. Rest, dinner and bed followed.
Next day, another long one to get to the Marangu gates. We were a little cheerier than the previous day and chatted with other climbers heading down as well as well wishing those on their way up. Mike spent most of the day fine tuning his Swahili, which was a most enjoyable diversion.
Finally, we were done, had our certificates and tips were provided to Solomon. I did not like this form of tipping because it assumes that the lead guide is going to share the tips fairly with the crew. Not sure if that did or did not happen. And with how many porters did he share the tip? The 9 he said we had or the 6 we actually had???? Regardless, I had a bag of clothing from Shannon (Serengeti tour) which I gave to Ameri, our porter/cook, who seemed to do more than anyone
Glaciers II
Not a great look but will probably be the only time I get to stand in front of Kili's glaciers! else and was a slight man about the same size as Shannon so at least I know he got something out of the trip.
Back at our hotel, we were finally able to wash off 6 days of dirt, had big smiles of satisfaction on our faces, downed a few celebratory drinks, shared a few tales, and witnessed a beautiful sunset with Kili in the background.
The story did not end there, as we had to get back to Nairobi. Transfers on my 2 tours in Africa were not always logical nor timely and our return to Nairobi was no exception. Taxi to a bus station, one mini-bus to Arusha (the trip from hell - over-crowded and sitting in front of an obnoxious Englishman), another to Nairobi, and then a tip to the driver to drop us at our luxury hotel.
A great dinner at 'Carnivore' followed. It is a restaurant where you are fed all different meats (camel, beef, chicken, ostrich, lamb etc) until you 'surrender', that is, can eat no more.
Next day, I bid a sad farewell to Joe and Mike as they went on a safari through the Masai Mara and I
Marangu Route
Looking back at Kili on our descent through some interesting vegetation - late afternoon on ascent day. later flew to Cairo.
Climb highest freestanding mountain in the world - tick.
Pyramids, Valley of the Kings, Red Sea - here I come!
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Alex
non-member comment
CONGRATS!!
A big congrats on getting to the top. Have been following the trip with envy!! Look forward to seeing you home soon. cheers Alex.