Kilimanjaro Calls David Up !

Kilimanjaro Climb

Well this mountain has been calling to me since we first arrived in Tanzania in early January.  From those first views from the Moshi YMCA and it’s omnipresence at Kilema Hospital, I have been looking and observing its various moods and routes.  

The day arrived on Friday, January 20 when we were picked up by the Marangu Hotel driver to be taken for our equipment outfitting and climb briefing.   I was greatly relieve to hear that I would have company on my climb as when I had checked in earlier in the week, I was the only client !  I now had 3 young Swiss hikers with me. (2x20 yr olds women and 1 22 yr old guy).  My three swiss companions were from a small Dorf (village) about 45 minutes from Zurich.  Raphael (22 yrs old) and Monika (20 yrs old)  were cousins and Sybil (20 yrs old) was a long time friend.  Raphael was a carpenter and farmer and the young women worked with disable children.  They spoke Swiss-German so my hike would also be a cultural language experience as I would be learning some Swiss German expressions on this trip.   Needless to say, I was a bit concerned that this old guy may have his work cut out for him to keep up with these “kids” when we reached the trailhead.

I outfitted myself with some final equipment items and had my gear “inspected” by the equipment manager.   A somewhat earnest Dora (initial impression is that she had a bit of the Equipment Nazi in her|) had a look at my sleeping bag and other cold weather clothing carefully to ensure that I would not suffer from the affects of the colder weather as we ascended to the higher camps.    I assured her that both my sleeping bags and other cold weather equipment and withstood the extremes of West Coast mountain conditions but she was unperturbed and pointed to a few missing items that she felt I should have in my backpack.    She helped me pick out a balaclava and some warmer long underwear/gloves, which would prove to be great suggestions as we moved further up the mountain.

Dora checks out my gear to see if it will pass.

Seamus gives the Swiss Group the low down.

We had a great briefing from one of the family members that owns the hotel. Seamus provided us with great insights from someone that has climbed the mountain many times and  he emphasized a motto that would be a refrain echoed throughout the trip – pole pole (slowly slowly), drink lots of water and eat as much as you can force down at each sitting.  Afterwards, we went to meet our support crew of guides, cooks and porters.  They totalled 13 and I must admit that I felt as though I was heading out on major Himalayan expedition.   We left our Kilema support crew behind as we headed out on the road to our trailhead with the the climbing group and support team.   As we had chosen the Rongai route, it required us to head around to the Kenyan side of the mountain.   After a 1.5 hour drive, we arrived at the trailhead to our first camp, Simba Camp.

It was a nice and relaxed 3 hour hike which gave us time to get know each other and get familiar with the pace of the group.   We quickly noticed that both the cook and porters moved at a significant faster pace than the guides and hikers.   This would allow them to get out ahead of their clients so that both their accommodation and food would be under preparation well before we arrived.   With being accustomed to both packing food and shelter and  setting up and breaking camp when I go in the outdoors in Canada, this was a guilty pleasure that I could get used to !

After a our leisurely hike through a lower forest, we found ourselves at our first camp, Simba.  We were introduced to our first full course meal on the trail, complete with a soup appetizer, main course and dessert !   We realized that we would not go hungry on this trip !    The guide gave us our nightly briefing on the next day and had us prepare for a slightly longer hike on the next day.

We started our hike towards Kikelelwa the next morning at 8:30am.  At this point, the terrain become slightly steeper and the forest canopy disappeared and was replaced by low bushes and rockier and more exposed terrain.    Pace and distance on this leg of the trip gave us a good test and was well paced by our intrepid pace setter, Ernest.   An interesting character with quiet and determined demeanor and physically strong like a bull.   We are quite familiar with the pace attributed to Swiss Guides whereby the stride does not change whether the guide is ascending, descending or on flat terrain.   Ernest carried this motto to Tanzanian and established his own Tanzanian guide pace.  Quite remarkable as he did not walk particularly fast but was the hallmark of consistency under tougher conditions (as we would learn later in the trip).  He managed to keep this pace while carrying multiple items in a backpack, over his shoulder and on his head !

 We arrived at Kikelelwa later in the afternoon and as before, camp was setup and cooking in progress.   At this point, the sister peak of Kilimanjaro, Mwenzi, was beginning to loom large in the distance.   A spectacular peak, which although not as high as Mt.Kilimanjaro,  presents a much greater climbing challenge than it’s higher sibling.   We enjoyed another great meal, and our cook, Nico, put together the first Lasgna (& probably last) dinner above 3000 metres that I have ever had.

An example of the cooking magic that the crew worked up for us on the mountain !

As we approached this campsite, we had noticed a plume of smoke that had started back close to our first camp (Simba).  The guides had indicated that it was likely started accidently by honey farmers that light fires to smoke out the bees when the want to harvest.   With the high winds blowing across the slopes this bush fire had spread quite dramatically and we were concerned that it may blow up the hillside.  The guiding team seemed quite calm when we approached them with our concern and merely said – “Hakuna Matata”” (loose translation – it is ok, take it easy).  Sure enough, the smoke trail and fire glow were gone when we awoke the next morning.

The next day dawned clear again, and after yet another great breakfast, we proceeded onto the Tarn Camp at Mawenzi.   This camp would be at the foot of Mawenzi and provide a very close-up view of this peak.   As we proceeded towards Mawenzi, the terrain became increasingly more like a desert and low scrub brush was replaced rock and rubble and with any vegetation centred oasis type conditions (small creeks, etc).

Mawenzi Camp(our tent in front)

Prior to dinner, our guides took us up above the camp to get a closer view of the Mawenzi.   As we reached the top of the ridge, our expedition’s goal was revealed to us in greater detail than we had seen prior to this point.   At our left we could see the craggy spires of Mawenzi and at our right the open slopes of Kilimanjaro with the approach to Gillman’s Point clearly visible above Kibo Hut.   With our final destination in sight, sleep that night was going to prove a little more difficult.

Just below Mawenzi - only one more day to the summit !

After a fitful sleep likely due to nerves and the altitude, we set off across the great divide between Mawenzi and Kilimanjaro.   This moonscape terrain between the two peaks is easy walking but buffeted by strong winds and that every present dust and dirt that is part of this section of the climb.  The travel time  was estimated between 3-5 hours and our guides were even more emphatic on our pacing – pole pole – as we were to gain only 200-300 metres but this was technically summit day for us as we would setting off for the peak at midnight on this day so they were very keen to keep our energy levels up !   So what does this writer go off and do ?   Feeling good and wanting to test myself, I strode off at a slightly faster pole pole pace !   I arrived ahead of most of the group and helped with some of the camp setup in very high winds. 

After a light lunch, we explored the surrounding carmp area including Kibo Hut and had a small walk up the route to Gillman’s point that we would climbing later that evening.

There was nervousness in the group with the realization that we would be making the final ascent up to the peak in just a few hours.  We prepared the contents of our summit backpack prior to going to bed and retired at 6:00pm.

Nymon brings in the pre-summit carbo loading pasta meal

Summit Night

After dinner, the team retired to bed to try and get some sleep prior to our 11:00pm wake-up call.   The wind had calmed down so we were hopeful that we could get some sleep before starting our midnight ascent.    Unfortunately, a combination of nerves, altitude and an ever increasing wind conspired to keep me awake until the call came to get up.  As a result, I was the first one in the cook tent having my tea and biscuits as the rest of the team came in.    At this point, the wind was very strong and Dora’s warning’s of the cold came back to me.   I had dressed with just enough layers to be a little cold and was anxious to get going once we had been assembled by the guides.   A number of groups had already set out and we could see their groupings of headlamps ahead of us as we started on our ascent.

Ernest led the way with his usual steady and consistent pacing.   To resist the urge to go to fast, I fell in behind my Swiss friends and we kept a very consistent pace as we proceeded up the first section.   The wind, darkness and cold combined to make it a very eerie and surreal atmosphere for climbing.   We began to catch up with some of the other groups as we proceeded up the trail.  As we passed each other, there was a quiet  acknowledgement of the task at hand and best wishes.   After each hour, we would ask the guides on our progress as we really thought that we would be come under the expected 5 hours to Gillman Point.  Alas, we were always told that we were still on track for the 5 hour timeframe.   At around the last hour of the ascent, the girls were beginning to feel the altitude and we resting more.   Raphi and I both felt it as well but appeared to have a little more energy   After acknowledging to Ernest that we wanted to get to Uhuru Peak for sunrise, he quickly stepped in and led us to Gillman’s Point as fast a possible and left the girls with Elias and Stephan.

At this point, we were feeling fine and moved onto Gillman’s Point which we made within a 10-15 minutes.   The altitude and lack of sleep was beginning to hit me at Gillmans and when Ernest indicated that we need to hurry to reach Uhuru by sunrise, I was not sure I was able.  I felt that I could sleep standing up but once Ernest and Raphael started out, there was no way that I was going to be left behind.   We set out on the rim trail at a good pace.   It was well marked and worn but it traversed a few snow slopes that required some careful walking.    As we proceeded down the trail, I needed quick breaks to keep myself energized and as we approached the high trail, I could see the sky begin to glow red and I knew that it would be close.   As I came up on the ridge, the trail was filled with other climbers and they helped drag me along to the summit in time to see the sun begin to rise.   Ernest, Raphael and I gathered together for some summit photos.   To our surprise, just after the sun had begun to rise, the girls and remaining guides (Elias, and Stephen) arrived.   We had a great reunion on the peak with the group and took a photo of us all on the summit to celebrate our group achievement.

Sunrise summit at Uhuru with Ernest

Crater Rim Trail

Raphael "scree laufen" down the slope to Kibo

The entire group – David, guides Stephen, Elias, and Ernest (seated) Sybil, Monika and Raphael (seated) on the Top of Africa

We came away from the summit exhilarated and proceeded back along the rim trail.   We had great views of the upper glaciers (over 50 metres high), crater and surrounding peaks (Mt. Mehru, etc).   The group descended along the trail to Gillman’s and as soon as the slope permitted, we engaged in some “scree skiing” (or scree laufen auf deutsche).   Despite weary and sleepy bodies, we were able manage a few turns in our descent to Kibo Hut,

After our return to Kibo, we were allowed a few hours rest, prior to packing up and heading down towards Horombo camp on the Marangu route.

The Descent – Kibo to Horombo and back to Marangu Hotel

The descent would take us down a different route than our ascent.  We had ascended on the drier side (Kenyan side) and we would descend on the Tanzanian side down the popular Marangu route.  

We had one last camp at Horombo Camp prior to finishing the descent at Marangu gate.  It was 3-4 hour descent from Kibo to Horombo, and we could feel the affect altitude begin to fall away as we descended.   We camped next to the hut facilities at the Horombo camp and enjoyed a few more amenities in comparison to Kibo although the price tag on the Kilimanjaro beer discouraged any pre-mature celebrations.   All of us caught up on some much needed sleep from our deprivation of the last couple of days.

In the morning, we had dress rehearsal for our celebration in the afternoon, as we saw a few groups celebrating their climb by gathering in a circle and singing the traditional Kilimanjaro song

Out final leg of the descent saw the trail move through scrub brush to lush forest.    The following sequence of photos show some of the diversity in the vegetation as we made our descent.

Marangu Hotel

The weary porters, guides, cooks and climbers returned to Marangu hotel for a welcome shower and cleanup.   We had a wonderful post-climb party with the group where we celebrated and treated to a stirring rendition of the Kilimanjaro Song by the group and each of us received our official certificates.