Mount Kilimanjaro

Andy Pearson on 05 November 2019
Jambo - A dream for some and now a reality for myself and my wife Marie. Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest stand-alone mountain in the world and the tallest peak in Africa

We can proudly say we conquered it!

I can't even remember when we came up with the idea to climb Kilimanjaro but what seemed at the outset a crazy idea soon became an actually planned trip. Before we knew it we were on a plane landing at Kilimanjaro airport. These kinds of trips always start with a night in a hotel before setting off usually the next day on the climb. We however decided on two nights in Moshi to give us the chance to explore the city. It was our first time in Africa and the experience had already started.

We spent a day walking around the city exploring the markets and shops with a couple of breaks thrown in for coffee and to try the local cuisine. My first impression of the place was just how friendly the people are and how incredibly sweet the young children are. They were always coming up to us wanting to touch and hug us.

Then it was time to get down to the business of the day and get ourselves up that mountain. Sounds easy right? That's what we thought and to be honest, as we arrived at the start point of the Machame Route (1800 meters) we were excited and nervous at the same time.

Day 1 - A nice gentle pace up to the first camp Machame at 2835 meters. The guides were always saying to us 'Pole Pole' slowly slowly and that is exactly the way to approach it. On this day spirits were high and there was lots of chatting and laughter as we had met another couple starting their adventure too. On arriving at the camp after around 6 hours we were amazed to find our tent had been set up with a table and chairs plus hot water waiting for us to refresh ourselves. We didn't really know what to expect but this was a great surprise. They even make us tea with popcorn.

Day 2 - Up early and keen to get on the way again. A fantastic breakfast of porridge, soup, fruit and coffee to send us on our way. This day started already to show us how quickly the weather can change the higher you go. We were on our way to Shira Cave Camp at 3750 meters and the weather just changed to heavy rain and a lot colder. This was the main reason why there were not many people on the mountain with us because we were in the rainy off-season. But this didn't deter us and we had come prepared. Upon reaching the camp, cold and very wet all we wanted to do was sleep and Marie will freely admit the altitude was starting to give her a headache. I will freely admit she was also a bit grumpy because of it but completely understandable.

Day 3 - The sun finally came out again and we were able to quickly dry our clothes from the day before. One thing we quickly realised is the power of the sun in that part of the world being so close to the equator plus the thinner air can burn you very quickly. Off we set for the day and this was to be a tough one because the plan was to go up to Lava Camp at 4600 meters have lunch and head down again towards Baranco Camp at 3900 meters to spend the night. This was to give us a short experience of the high altitude but the lower altitude camp would be better for sleeping at. Baranco Camp was amazing. Set in a valley flanked on one side by the Baranco Wall. I remember sitting in the late afternoon with Marie and talking about how we go around this wall because obviously, we wouldn't go over it. How wrong we were!

Day 4 - This was the big day and we had already realised the magnitude of our task. Starting at first light we set off towards the wall. This was to be the first 'real' climbing we had done and if you see the pictures it looks fairly extreme but actually, it wasn't too bad and quite exciting. Once we were at the top of the wall the view from above the clouds was just breathtaking! After a brief stop for lunch, it was the last push to the Barafu base camp at 4673 meters. It was here that we could really feel the lack of oxygen in the air plus we only had a few hours of a break before we had to start the overnight ascent to the summit.

Night 4 - We had to be up, ready and dressed for 11 pm and it was time to lay up the clothing because it was biting cold. The ascent started just after 11 pm and was expected that we reach the summit at around 6.30 am. The distance was 'only' approximately 5kms with around 1300 meters of altitude to navigate but we weren't fooled by it sounds easy. This was one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life and I've run marathons before. In the previous days, Marie had struggled with the altitude but she found her mojo on this night, whereas I struggled a lot. It was the first time in my life I had hallucinations, that was weird not just for me but for Marie to see me like that. However, we carried on and reached the Stella point just before 6 am expecting to see a lovely sunrise. This however was not the case as we were battling through a snowstorm and -15 degree temperatures.

Once we reached Stella Point poor Marie thought we were finished and I had to break it to her that there was another 45-minute climb to the summit. She had to be 'gently' persuaded to carry on. At just after 6:30 am we finally reached Uhuru Peak at 5895 meters, an incredible feeling even though we were absolutely exhausted. This feeling was quickly replaced by our guide informing us that we couldn't stay up there and we had to go all the way back to the base camp again. That was a feeling that I still can't describe to this day. All I can say about the journey down because I don't remember much of it is that it was really a battle of will to find the mental and physical strength to fight through the wind, snow and then rain but we did somehow make it.

Day 5 - Arriving back at base camp at 10 am totally drained of all energy we could only rest for 2 hours before we had to make our way down the 10km descent route to the last camp Mweka at 3060 meters. This was quite challenging however the weather had brightened up and with each meter, the air improved and we slowly began to feel the energy coming back. All I can say about that camp as we arrived and within an hour were asleep and slept like babies.

Day 6 - Was an easy stroll for a couple of hours down to the start point where we could collect our certificates and be driven back to the same hotel we stayed in before we started. I certainly enjoyed a nice cold bottle of Kilimanjaro beer that evening.

Karibou