Climbing Kilimanjaro
ON CLIMBING THE TALLEST FREESTANDING MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD, AUGUST 2019.
Like lot’s of people I know, I have a habit of getting tingly when I’m stuck in one place too long. Last year I was given the opportunity to visit Kenya and Zanzibar, climb the tallest free standing mountain in the world and support an amazing charity called Dig Deep… I couldn’t really say no.
My journey began on the 18th August when I flew to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. I spent a few days in Ndanai (pronounced Dan-eye), where I visited a number of schools being directly helped by Dig Deep. They work with small communities and schools in Bomet County to make clean water more accessible and train the students and surrounding families on hygiene & sanitation. Just a couple of days of visits was enough for me to know my challenge over the was going to be worth it – climbing Kilimanjaro was for the right cause. I’ve written about my trip to Kenya here.
Once the week was up, I took a 10 hour bus journey over the border into Tanzania, where I was to stay in Moshi for 2 days before my team arrived. I met them on the 24th, and we left for the Machame gate the following day. Then we began the trek.
The concept of somebody carrying my tent and all my food up the mountain for me felt a little bit too luxury…but that soon wore off. The first day wasn’t too bad, physically and mentally I felt fine ascending through the rainforest. At the end of the day, when the wonderful guides were checking our oxygen levels and piling rice and pasta onto my plate, I was quite content with the hike.
Day two, however, was quite different. Unfortunately one member of our team had to descend as the climb was becoming too much of a risk to their health. The steep, rocky scramble was tough but the views made it worthwhile. We reached Shira camp 3750m on the 26th, and a few people were certainly feeling the altitude. Through headaches and nausea, the height affects everyone completely differently. I was conscious I have struggled with altitude in the past so decided to take medication to counteract the symptoms. I felt no side effects, nor problems related to the altitude.
On the 27th we reached Lava Tower at 4642m, where we stopped for lunch (bread, potatoes, rice and pasta). At this point it was evident who was being affected by the altitude. We walked past some people short of breath or being sick. Then there were others who felt overly emotional, and crying with laughter. I was preparing for the altitude to hit me, as it was around this point when I had to descend in Ecuador a few years ago. Once again – I was fine. The expedition was strenuous and mentally challenging, but the distances we covered each day were manageable, between 8km and 12km roughly each day. This evening we camped at the Barranco Huts, a campsite overlooking the rolling clouds at the base of the infamous Barranco Wall – a steep incline that involves basic scrambling to reach the top.
So day 4 we began by tackling the wall. Once at the top, after a more demanding couple of hours trekking, we gradually made our way towards Karanga Valley Camp and onto Barafu Camp (Barafu meaning ice in Swahili). Every time we reached camp we were greeted by the friendly porters with smiles and songs, soon forgetting the strenuous journey we were on. But this evening was slightly different, we gathered in the food tent prepared to hear the plan for summit the following morning. Expecting to have to leave around 2 AM to begin the trek, we were all surprised to hear we would be leaving at midnight. Bags packed and fully dressed, we went to bed for 3 hours.
Headtorches on and poles in hand we started ascending in the dark, slowly making our way through the scree towards Stellar Point, then onto the summit. This was the most mentally and physically challenging portion of the trek, battling altitude and exhaustion to make it to the summit.
On summit night every climber is partnered with a guide, I was very lucky to be partnered with the wonderful Isaac. Although he’s not registered officially as a guide (because he can’t afford the £400 qualification and month out of work) he was by far the best guide I met. We took our time and paused every now and then. The challenge would have been significantly harder without his support. [I actually struggle to remember the last leg of the climb now, but was reminded recently of how every now and then I was stepping over the ‘black cats’ roaming around on the path. There are no black cats on Kilimanjaro… I was hallucinating.] It was tough. But at about 9am on the 29th August we officially made it to the Uhuru Peak (5895m).
The combination of adrenaline, endorphins and altitude made the trip back down a lot of fun. You aren’t supposed to spend more than half an hour at the top as you risk suffering acute altitude sickness, so Isaac ensured our descent from the top was fast.
We regrouped back at Barafu Camp, took an hours nap then met for lunch. In the afternoon we walked back down through the Alpine desert towards Millennium Camp (3820m). We were worn out, sunburnt and sore but overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment. On the 30th August we arrived back at Machame Gate early afternoon and celebrated the hard work of all our team, porters and guides with a ceremony. We gathered to give the ‘kili warriors’ as they called themselves their tips, which they gratefully responded to with songs and dance.
If it weren’t for Isaac, the high altitude porter who accompanied me to the summit of Kilimanjaro, I certainly wouldn’t have accomplished what I set out to do during the summer of 2019. Before my climb I had spent some time researching guiding companies, due to the nature of Kilimanjaro and the importance of porters and guidance. I found a company listed with the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) called Trek2Kili. With their support I had a great climbing experience, reached the summit and met some remarkable people. However, it was very clear the porters and guides that assisted my journey were supported by KPAP and their working conditions had been improved through better equipment, training and nutritious meals. This was evident in the conversations I had with mountain crew.
[It’s important to note that to climb Kilimanjaro you must go with a group of guides and porters. We climbed with Trek2Kili, a wonderful group certified by Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) as ethical & responsible for their porters. KPAP work to raise awareness regarding the poor treatment of porters on Kilimanjaro and improve the unfair working conditions. I could certainly tell that the guides within Trek2Kili were much happier to be there than other groups surrounding us, and am proud to have supported such a wonderful company. If you’re interested in finding out more about Trek2Kili check them out here, or if you’d like to find out more about KPAP’s work on the mountains here. A PDF report of my experience on Kilimanjaro is available here.]