I had always wanted to climb Kilimanjaro; it seemed so quintessentially Africa, its snow capped peak rising above the serengeti plain. Since I knew I would be traveling to Africa, it was an absolute must that I make climbing Kili part of my itinerary. It’s hard to say whether it lived up to expectations; the trek itself was very much what I expected, from a physical and environmental point of view, but the climb was much more about the destination than the journey. The summit day was physically demanding, though less than what I had expected, but I had the advantage of being an experienced hiker/backpacker and at high altitude. Below is a brief account of my days on the mountain.
Day 1: Big Tree Camp 2300m
Today was a day of “hurry up and wait” after an early morning wake up call, we spent some time just waiting around the hotel lobby for the trucks to be loaded. Then it was sitting in gridlock Arusha traffic for an hour; as Tanzania's second largest city, it still only has a one lane road going through town. Then it was a stop at a local market/overpriced tourist trap to pick up last minute supplies (probably a store owned by one of the guides’ relatives), before we were finally on our way to Londorossi gate to sign in. We spent another 2hrs here, just waiting around with the dozens of other tour companies, before having a simple lunch. Then it was back on the road again, for a 40 min bumpy drive over dirt roads before arriving at Lemosho gate. 20 mins to unload the truck, then hooray we were finally on our way. The celebration was short lived however, as the pace the guides set was so slow (pole pole in swahili) we initially thought it was a joke. I understand the need to conserve energy, but this was just ridiculous. At one point we went by an ant colony, and the ants nearly passed us. I tried walking ahead and was told rather sternly I was not allowed; this was going to be a long trip I thought. Despite the painful pace, the trail was scenic, rising sharply through the rainforest; the air thick with moisture and oxygen, so typical of jungles everywhere. The first day was a short and easy 4hrs, and we arrived into Big Tree camp in the late afternoon. It was absolutely packed with other climbers, the tents practically stacked on top of each other; it was a small space and felt very crowded. We were all a little disappointed in the state of the equipment provided by Climb Kili; it was a mid-priced outfitter, but looking around us, clearly fell into the realm of dodgey budget. One of the items lauded on the website was the “private toilet”, which was constructed of ratty tarpaulin and looked as if it might fall over at the slightest wind. Our dining tent was a 4 person dome style tent with a tiny table, and a large round opening on one side that had to remain open to allow the porters to bring us food. In the warmth of the rainforest it felt pleasant, but we would come to despise that tent with its gaping hole open to the elements and look with envy at every other group on the mountain who had large rectangular style tents, with flaps that closed.
Day 2: Shira Camp 1 3500m
It was an early breakfast and we hit the trail ahead of most the other teams. After a chat with the lead guide, we came to an arrangement that I could go ahead at a faster pace with one of the assistant guides once we broke the tree line. So myself and Adam, the youngest member of the 6 person team, left the group. Our pace was not too much faster, but we stopped infrequently and only for short periods of time, which worked best for our level of fitness. We left the rainforest behind and headed steeply up into the heather zone. The day was sunny and bright and we were able to see some great views of the area’s surrounding the mountain. We made it into Shira Camp 1 around noon; the path leading to the camp looked like the yellow brick road, with the orange dirt contrasting sharply against the gray/green shrubs. The camp was situated along a large open plateau with a creek running right through the center, and the tents were spread out giving it a more remote feeling than the previous camp. I used my backpacking filter to pump deliciously fresh water straight from the stream and enjoyed a moment of quiet solitude by its mossy banks. Once the rest of the team arrived an hour later, we had lunch together, then spent the rest of the day at leisure. This would be a recurring theme as most days we would get into camp in the afternoon, then spend the rest of the time relaxing in our tents. I found the down time to be quite boring as the cold weather prevented us from socializing in the dining tent, and I hadn’t brought any reading material to fill in the white space.
Day 3: Shira Camp 2 3700m
Was just myself and an assistant guide (Joseph) today. There was very little elevation gain and I made great time to Shira 2. It was an easy trek across the mostly flat expanse of the Shira plateau, with clear sunny skys and a great view of the summit in the distance. I loved the stark beauty of the moorlands; it gives a greater sense that you are on a remote mountain. Our pace was such that we passed many of the porters; who were quick to call encouragement, and I was the first hiker to arrive into camp, much to the surprise and I think a little awe of the camp officials. Camp 2 was more rugged and rocky than Camp 1, and since the porters were still setting up camp, I found a large flat boulder and lounged in the sun like a lizard, while a light breeze tickled my bare feet. There were a number of large birds in the camp; a species of Raven, they were all black but for a white collar and had large almost curved beaks. Their wingspan must have been nearly 3ft and I immediately thought of Hitchcock’s the Birds, though they were not aggressive thankfully. When the rest of the team arrived we had lunch, then went for a 1hr walk to the Shira Caves. The caves were completely unspectacular, more like a rocky overhang then a true cavern, but it was better than just sitting around camp; though I think my teammates would have disagreed as they were starting to feel the effects of the altitude. I was the only one not on Diamox and so far hadn’t felt any symptoms; in fact I felt great other than the general lack of a good night's sleep which was quite normal for the insomniac I am.
Day 4: Barranco Camp 3960m
My Birthday today! No fanfare, just a steady uphill climb to Lava Tower at 4,500m, where we had lunch, then a steep descent into Barranco Camp at 3960m following the path of the river as it carved a rift in the mountain. As we lost elevation, we gained vegetation, passing through a forest of giant Senecio with their strange finger like forms. There was a heavy fog which lent a very mystic quality and I felt like I had stumbled into the Land of the Lost. The camp was situated at the edge of a cliff, with the river separating one side from a towering rock face, known as the Barranco Wall. From that valley you could see all the way down the mountain to the city far below. After the alpine desert of Lava Tower, Barranco felt like a lush oasis. It was a clear night with low winds and I was able to get an amazing shot of the summit lit up under the glow of moonlight. I think I’m finally starting to get the hang of the SLR.
Day 5: Karanga Camp 3990m
In the morning we scaled the Barranco wall; like little ants, we scrambled up its 300 vertical meters. Though not truely technical, it did require some rock climbing techniques, and at one point you had to pass a very narrow ledge by hugging the rock face (known as the kissing rock). From the top of the wall there was a spectacular view of Mt Meru as we were nearly level with her peak. The rest of the hike was lots of ups and downs and although we gained only 30m at finish, we must have covered at least 1500m accumulatively. The camp was located on what felt like a 30 degree slope and it was a challenge getting in and out of our tents and the dining tent without falling over on our faces. During the nights my tentmate and I would find ourselves sliding down to the bottom of the tent which only made my insomnia worse. I was surprised I felt as good as I did considering I was only getting a couple of hours of sleep per night and was only worried that the night I finally crashed would be the night we needed to summit.
Day 6: Barafu Camp 4660m
We had a relaxed morning, heading out as a group around 8am. It was mostly uphill with a 700m gain. Though the grade was steep, it was not brutally so, and we kept an easy pace with just a few short breaks. I stayed with the team today since it was a short distance to cover and I wanted to conserve energy for the summit that night. We left all vegetation behind and entered into Kili’s arctic zone. Barafu camp was by far the worst camp, the tents haphazardly scattered along a rocky outcropping with loose shale just waiting to take the unwary climber down. Additionally there were a number of car sized boulders held only in place by small rocks, that were poised to take out half the camp should they lose their precarious perch on the mountain face. In fact, a few years ago an American climber died in this very fashion; crushed in his tent before summit night. Maybe it was the camp, or the lack of oxygen, or the really crappy food; but all of us were at the end of our tolerance. We wanted to stop dicking around and just get up the damn mountain. Certainly not thrilled about getting up in the middle of the night in -15 degree weather; the idea of camping one more night, of having dirt permanently embedded into our fingerprints, of blowing your nose and thinking there might be some brain matter in the tissue, of having to eat more carbohydrates covered in ubiquitous orange colored sauce, was enough to make us want to get the summit over with most desperately.
Day 7: Uhuru Peak 5895m/19,340ft
1:40am: I set out for the summit dressed in 2 base layers, 860 fill down jacket, rain jacket, 2 long underwear, rain pants, gaiters, balaclava, neck gaiter, and a fleece cap. It took 40mins just to get out of the treacherous camp to the trailhead. I felt utterly alone; the rest of the team having left around midnight. Knowing I had a faster pace and wanting to summit with the others, the lead guide and I devised a plan that I would leave an hour later and go up with my buddy Joseph. I think Joseph fell asleep in his tent, so by 1:20 when he still hadn’t shown up at my tent, I shouted out for him. I was ready to go, but had to wait around another 20min for him to be. I was the very last climber to head up the trail and was worried I would never catch up with the rest of my team. I popped in my earphones, cranked up my climb kili mix (all hip hop and dance), put my head down, and started planting one foot in front of the other. The wind was absolutely relentless and within a few hours the hose of my hydration pack had frozen solid, along with the snot on my face. Prior to setting out, I had covered every exposed area of my face with a thick layer of Vaseline to protect my skin from windburn. It was still painfully cold, but I had almost no damage to my skin, whereas my teammates were chapped and red. It was psychologically hard going up in the dark, not knowing how much ground I had covered, or how much was left, or how far ahead the others were. It felt like I was walking in place. I was so relieved when I came across one of my teammates; though she was not doing so well. I caught up to the rest about 10mins later at the base of Stella Point, but it was too cold to stop, so I continued on past them. The last push to Stella Point was the most difficult, it was incredibly steep and the loose gravel made it hard to get solid traction. The cold and not having access to my hydration pack really tapped my energy levels and I struggled to maintain my pace. The good news was I still was not feeling any negative affects from the altitude other than a slightly higher heart rate and heavier breathing. As the sun slowly rose behind me, it lifted my spirits and I was soon over the crest and at Stella Point at 7:20am, with the rest of the team arriving only 5-10mins later. We had a short celebration, took some photos, and drank hot ginger tea carried up by one of the porters. Then the packs went back on and we headed toward Uhuru Peak. We could see the peak from Stella and it looked like a fairly gentle slope along the ridge line. Despite appearing close, it seemed to take forever to get there; after every rise or every turn we would expect to see it, only to be disappointed. It didn’t help that we were the last ones going up and kept passing climbers headed down. It took about 40mins to finally reach the summit, and as excited as I was, I think reaching Stella Point had been more satisfying; Uhuru felt more like an add-on. We of course took lots of photos and reveled in the fact that we all made it.
What took 7hrs to get up, only took Adam and I about an hour to get down; since most of the path down was scree, we were able to ski down the mountain. It was actually quite fun and we passed so many people on the way down; they were literally eating our dust. We would occasionally slip and fall, but the forward momentum usually just rolled you back onto your feet; in fact you were more prone to falling by walking slowly down, than running down as we did. The downside was that everything was covered in dust and the insides of my nostrils were frightening. Once back at camp, we took a well earned nap in the warm and sunny tent. Then it was a short 2hr hike to high camp and our last (thank God) night of camping.
Day 8: Arusha
We packed up our stuff for the last time and 4 hrs later we were finally at Mweka gate - booya! It felt so good to be done; and all I could think about was how good that shower was going to feel. After a really awkward goodbye to our guides and porters; where we got a lecture about tipping and it was suggested we tip “extra” to various people in addition to the large sum that was already expected of us, we finally loaded up into the van and headed back to Arusha. The shower ended up being cold, but it didn’t matter, I was finally clean. We enjoyed one last dinner together before saying our goodbyes and heading off to our separate lives and adventures.
I’m glad to have summited Kili; but if I had the advantage of hindsight, I would have chosen a shorter route like Machame, and definitely a different company. I think I was expecting a more existential experience like the trek to Everest base camp was. But it ended up being exactly what it was: a guided tour to the summit, packaged and structured, no more and no less.
