Kilimanjaro 5895m
There must be few mountains in the world more alluring than Kilimanjaro. This snowy summit, floating above the plains of Africa, exudes an atmosphere of unparalleled remoteness and inaccessibility. The knowledge that it is far from inaccessible and can be climbed with no technical problems lures walkers from all over the world, many of them perhaps tackling their first mountain. It is sad that many fail in the attempt and perhaps go away with a quite unjustified hatred of mountains thereafter. The problem of course is altitude. The so called tourist route starting from Marangu climbs to the summit in four days which for many is too fast and results in mountain sickness and an ignominous retreat. This is exactly what happened to me in 1967, just above the last hut at about 5100 metres. 29 years later I decided to have another go and I hope that my experience may help some others to reach this rewarding summit, the highest point in Africa.
The trip was organized by Spencer Scott and sponsored by Trail magazine. It started with an acclimatisation climb of Mount Meru, a superb mountain in its own right and no mere stroll. The first day took us as far as the Marakamba hut where we set up camp. Sunrise brought stunning views of the big one, Kilimanjaro and of our first goal Mount Meru. On day 2 we continued through the forest to the Saddle Hut and in the afternoon made the easy ascent of Little Meru, a small summit on the eastern end of the ridge. Mount Meru itself looked imposing from here amid swirling cloud. The climb to the summit of Mount Meru commenced at 2am by the light of the nearly full moon. The ridge alternates between loose scree and chunky lava. A few rocky steps were quite intimidating in the dark although they appeared quite straightforward when seen on the way down in daylight. As we approached the rocky summit the sun rose behind Kilimanjaro above a sea of cloud. An impressive ash cone lies far below in the shattered crater. Although the summit of Mount Meru is only 4565m high most people felt the effect of the thin air and were glad of the guide's exhortation to take it pole pole (ie slowly). The easy descent revealed the long ridge which we had struggled up in the dark and a view back towards the top.
Our Kilimanjaro ascent started from the village of Machame, climbing through the rain forest to a camping spot just where the vegetation turns to giant heather. From the campsite we saw a beautiful sunset over Mount Meru. Next morning we climbed above the trees with Mount Meru still prominent. We climbed an easy rocky ridge into sparser vegetation dominated by the curious giant lobellia and groundsel which grow in this zone between the forest and the bare slopes of the high mountain. The Shira Plateau is a vast relatively flat high area which stretches westwards of the mountain and here we set up camp at about 3700m beside a cave where the cooking was done.
Now followed the invaluable extra acclimatisation day offered by this superior route. We climbed high up towards the steep final slopes of the mountain which rose more than a thousand metres above us into the mist. Then we descended through giant groundsel back down to 3800m and a pleasant campsite in a barranco. The crux of this route was faced next morning as we tackled the intimidating barranco wall. This was much easier than it looked, nevertheless we could not fail to be impressed by the ease with which our heavily laden porters bounded up the rocks. At the top we had a suberb view of the southern cliffs of Kilimanjaro towering up into the clouds. The route undulated along the southern slopes of the mountain, descending into another barranco for lunch and finally turning in towards the mountain, invisible in the mist, and climbing up to the Barafu Huts at 4600m. The huts were tiny, used only for cooking. We set up the tents, went to bed early and I slept quite well until the call at midnight to pack up the tents, drink a cup of tea and commence the climb.
The guide set a gentle pace - pole pole as ever. The moon, just past the full, meant that torches were hardly necessary. One of the important rules for acclimatisation is to drink many litres of fluid but it was not possible to do so on this ascent since the water was frozen in the bottles. Just as the sky lightened behind Mawenzi the guide stopped and produced a very welcome flask of hot tea. Soon we were approaching the crater rim which is reached at Stella Point. Some of the party were struggling by now but despite the sunshine a bitter wind made it too cold to wait for everybody to catch up. I was feeling unexpectedly fit and relished the gentle ridge round to the summit, taking it slowly as much to spin out the delight as for lack of oxygen. Some were not so lucky and collapsed panting with exhaustion at the top. Nevertheless, apart from one person who decided not to venture above the Barafu campsite, all our group reached Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa. The famous Snows of Kilimanjaro now consist only of a rapidly receding glacier unless there has been a fall of fresh snow. Beyond we caught our last glimpse of Mount Meru.
We returned past Stella Point to Gillman's Point which is the first point on the crater rim reached by those coming up the tourist path. Many turn back here which is a pity since they miss seeing the spectacular ice cliffs higher up as well as the true summit. The scree run down towards Kibo Hut from here must be one of the finest in the world for those with the breath to enjoy it.
We came down on the tourist path, camping at Horombo Hut en route. The little extra luxuries to be enjoyed on this route like beds, beer, coca cola and hot showers of solar heated water are small compensation for the variety we had experienced on our traverse of the mountain and no compensation at all for the many walkers who fail to reach the summit by this route.
The picture at the top of the page was taken from the slopes of Mount Meru. The one below, looking across from the lower slopes of Mawenzi, was taken on my first unsuccessful visit in 1967 when there was a lot more snow and ice on the mountain. For other pictures of the more recent climb please click on the highlighted links. Click here for a map of the route which we followed.
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