Tanzania - Kilimanjaro

Sunset looking out towards Mt Meru at about 3800m.
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After harbouring thoughts of attempting to summit Kilimanjaro for several months but always concluding that the season would be wrong I was delighted to have been proven to be misinformed and following the advice of some fellow travellers I met on the mzungu "meat wagon" I shot up to Arusha to arrange the necessary provisions.

Following a recommendation I plumped for Team Kilimanjaro as the tour group that would lead my assault which would last for 6 days. There were 12 altogether in our group; 7 porters, 1 assistant porter, 1 guide and a cook as well as Tom (a 19yr old student from the West Midlands).

Gura at Stella Point - thank @#%* we're nearly there!
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The first day of the 6 day Machame route was pretty straight forward as we hiked 3.5 hrs through a rain forest with only the screeching of blue monkeys for company. Our first camp was at Machame Hut (3000m) and we climbed 1200m to reach our camp for the night. Tom and I arrived at about 3:30pm and 1 hour later the rest of our team arrived. We were roundly admonished for not stopping at the designated picnic stop and going too quickly...hopefully this would be the only piece of information that I would miss.

Kilimanjaro - friend or foe?
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The following day we hiked to the Shira Plateau (3800m), we left at around 9am and arrived just after 2pm, "pole-pole", nice and easy. I had a slight headache but nothing too bad. Our team who had once again produced a great lunch and dinner consisted of; Naskero, Gura, Said, Ellie, Alex, Martin, Emmanuel, Guido, and 2 others I can't spell, pronounce or remember!

Apparently Kilimanjaro is spelt Kilimankyaro by the Chagga people (inhabitants of the lower slopes) but was mispronounced by a Mzungu. However the Chagga thought the Mzungu was probably right so they changed the name. Kilimankyaro means "hill" but I would have added an expletive. After dinner Guido (our aptly named guide) gave us the usual brief for the following days' activities which would involve climbing to 4400m before dropping down to the camp (4535m if we managed the Lava tower). Apparently, my body would experience some changes due to the altitude. I went to bed apprehensive as I really did not want to be sick and really wanted to see it through. Once again I was in bed by 8:30am, I have not spent this long in my room on my own since I was an adolescent!

The team
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Arrived at our 3rd camp, Barranco at around 4:30pm following approx 7 hours of walking and scrabbling over scree. This camp was at 3950m which was easy on the head and needed to be after the stress inducing clamber up the Lava tower. Once again we saw another face of the Mountain which was increasingly becoming more imposing. Today was the day I experienced my first 'turn' as fear and paranoia gripped me as I dangled my legs over a 3 metre drop. What was merely a "reach and grab" for a handhold for most people (term borrowed from weight-lifting) was a definite over-hang that would require ropes for a hobbit like me. Fortunately Guido was not fazed and coaxed me down as I swore and aimlessly searched for alternative routes. How will I cope with abseiling down Table Mountain?

The victorious summit team
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The next day we headed for Barafu (base camp) before starting the summit at midnight. I was beginning to feel more confident but still continued to take each day as it comes. I tried to remain positive by focusing on the fact that at least the sun would not sap my energy on summit night and hopefully the wind would not be too strong.

Arrived at Barafu camp (4685m) with a slight headache at around 2:30pm but again I felt OK. We were informed that we would be summiting as a group of 16-18 (including a large Scottish contingent). Already I felt a sense of achievement as today was tough -  we rose from approx 3850m to 4200m and then finally to 4685m via the Karanga valley. I tried to keep Tom's spirits up by joking around but it was difficult as he was finding the altitude quite draining.

The arctic zone where base camp was, is a bit like a quarry so the going can be tough as it is not particularly inspiring but you can really feel a sense of comaraderie at the camp...You feel like you are on the verge of something great. I spent most of the afternoon daydreaming that Becs would arrive or send a message which was bloody ridiculous when you consider it....as we did not have pringles, Cold Feet...or another incentive...at one point I dreamt that a human sized bottle of champagne was waiting for me in my tent as a good luck present...clearly altitude was not having an effect. I had another turn on the way to Karanga Valley but Guido left me to it..sensible guy...I got frustrated by the churn/daily grind but I kept telling myself that if I was succesful it would rank as one of my greatest achievements, alongside the marathon.

Summited Uhruru Peak ("freedom") at approx 8:20am on Sunday 4th June. A devastatingly hard day as I was gripped by nausea and vomiting from 5300m until the summit at 5895m. The evening started promisingly as for the first 2 hours I happily munched on Haribo and supped water. At about 2:30am I started to get faint stomach cramps and these nagged me for the next 30mins but I shoved an eclair in my mouth and redoubled my efforts, at this point we had not even reached 5000m.

Despite the waves of nausea my energy levels felt OK, I was not swaying too much or breathing too hard and certainly did not need to hang onto the backpack straps of the person in front...could I get through the next 900m?. At about 3:30am my stomach went and for the next 5 hrs it was similar to the morning after the night before when I used to raid the cellar with my friends to sample the vast reserves of home-made wine as an eighteen year old.

Previously, I had had visions of lifting a can of red bull in mock celebration at the summit, where were the bloody wings when I needed them! At around 6:00am the sun began to rise and I could see that I was not on a travelator. I could see Stella Point - from which the summit is only 143m. Briefly stopping to deposit the red bull I had consumed 30mins before I battled vainly to Stella Point and was met with a magnificent view of the glacier, I could even see the summit sign in the distance as the sun glinted off my shades. It was now around 7:00am.

When I finally reached the summit with Gura, I was overwhelmed and could not even enjoy the cup of tea and chocolate that greeted me. I was delighted to see the Scottish contingent and Tom make it up as well. The achievement has not really sunk in as it was so tough. Guido and Gura were superb as they virtually dragged us up the last 200m both verbally and physically. I practically ran down the mountain and descended in just over 2hrs to try and dissipate some of the anger that consumed me following all the pain I had been through.

Now I have had time to reflect I feel proud to have managed to summit Kilimanjaro and cannot thank nor recommend Team Kilimanjaro highly enough for giving me the means to get there and view the stunning glacier.

For anybody who thinks that Kilimanjaro is a "coca-cola" climb it is not but to those who think they can't do it...you can.