Trip Reports

Kilimanjaro - 19 Sep to 1 Oct '05

Written by Leader, October 2005

It must have seemed like being deserted on the moon to Jonathan as the group slowly but surely disappeared above him on the long summit ridge of Meru. Although he was accompanied by Tanzanian guide, Robson, our cohesive little team was now being split up. From where I stopped to wait for 20 minutes at 4,300m no-one appeared below me and I assumed that the ridge had become too much for him and that Robson had begun to take him down. Above me several team members were starting to feel rough as they approached the summit. Lowri's hair was nicely speckled with green peas and Richard and John could only manage 10 or so steps before needing another break. The front runners accompanied by Matthias, the Mauser 401-bearing ranger, had been sitting at the summit for a while when finally we all grouped up there. The conditions were the warmest I have ever experienced and for once the summit was a pleasant place to be. We shared chocolate and smiles as the cameras rolled and had a jolly time of it when someone mentioned that there was still someone coming up. We looked down and there was Jonathan moving at a snail's pace, but still heading up. A warm rain began to fall and a number of rainbows appeared over the ridge. Jonathan's appearance was almost as impressive as Moses coming down Mt Sinai except that Jonathan was in uphill mode and carrying nothing more than himself. He reached the summit in very different conditions to what we had enjoyed, but nevertheless he stood on top of Meru.

Now the cat and mouse game we were playing with the east African giants was beginning to change to us being the mouse. How casual the walk in to this lofty spot had been. Lots of big beasts and amazingly diverse forest. All very lovely and a great surprise to those who had expected to getting straight on with the rocky, icy bits. Now we had made the top and had to reverse the process. Mike, Richard and Colin had given "the up" their all and now were completely done in. They stumbled and grumbled their way back to the lower forest camp and arrived completely done, unable even to contemplate a session of "uno " cards. Gate procedures were thankfully smooth on Kilimanjaro as within 24 hours of having returned from Mt Meru, we were on the way back up the even larger Kilimanjaro. Naturally, the two Kefford brothers who had recently run the marathon de Sabe and their new mate JJ were bouncing along. They had only needed a few beers and a couple of hours sleep to recharge their engines, but the guys who had suffered on Meru were beginning to think hard about what was laying above them: a very high peak, more slogging and some of the world's smelliest toilets.

The ladies on the team were particularly taken aback by the long drop system as is "mode normal" on Kilimanjaro. They successfully employed a short drop system within the confines of their tent and never ventured anywhere near the nearby dunnies. For waste removal, they employed unsuspecting local porters and on one occasion the guide. Dude! It is amazing what one can get away with just by trembling one's bottom lip.

So up we went, the camps getting more and more spectacular and the air thinner and thinner. At Barranco it became apparent that not everyone might summit as particularly Richard and Mike who were starting to feel the strain of both non-stop uphill exercise and the altitude. Mike went down from Barranco Camp after finding the acclimatisation day up the Barranco Wall a bit too much. And Richard headed down the Shira route from half way up the Western Breach. Both had given Kilimanjaro their all but Meru had taken a lot from them.

From the Arrow Glacier camp, the rest of the team started early and everyone felt the strain of climbing at this altitude, but each felt more determined to make it now that some of our friends had descended. Even Lowri, who was feeling particularly rough and had suffered from painful headaches during the day, felt she was able to go on. She had even tied her hair back so that it wouldn't collect any more green peas as it had done on Meru during the inevitable sick spell. Upon reaching the summit rim, we were blessed with unbelievably mild conditions. Sure it was not the Bahamas, but still once on top we were able to remove a few layers and take off gloves hats etc. The views were fantastic and as the sun was still well below Kilimanjaro's bulk, we could see it's giant shadow line up neatly next to the faraway Mt Meru. A great big bear hug for everyone. We were standing on Africa's highest point and were able to actually remain for a while as the mountain gods were laying on the best of conditions. It had been tough, but everyone felt that the rewards outweighed the efforts by far. The best combination of people to climb with ever. Let's hook up and do more guys. The world beckons!

Rolfe Oostra, expedition leader« Previous report | Next report »

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