Trip Reports

Kilimanjaro - 26 Dec to 8 Jan '07

Written by Leader Allan Gibbs, January 2007

On Friday 5 January the Jagged Globe Kilimanjaro party visited the summit of the African continent. Of the group of eight, seven actually climbed to Uhuru Peak at 5,896m. They were: Sam, Jackie, Steve, Nick, Ken, Gordon, Manolo (Manny) and the team leader, Allan. One member unfortunately fell ill but still reached Stella Point, sometimes called Gillmans Point. At over 5,700m and being on the crater rim, it is effectively a summit in itself and is no mean feat. The seven who carried on to the summit reached it by 8.30am, all the team having witnessed a spectacular dawn. Daniel, having reached his own personal highpoint at Stella made a swift and complete recovery after being escorted down by two guides to the lower camp. This result effectively made the expedition extremely successful in all respects.

Previous to this famous continental summit the whole party made a completely successful ascent of Meru Peak, some distance away. This mountain, a fine peak in its own right, is often underestimated. A progressive but carefully monitored system of acclimatisation ensured all members were prepared for high altitude. A lengthy but enjoyable trek and a climb up "Little Meru" was accomplished before the actual ascent. The summit day on Meru was quite lengthy with the team finding the mountain a significant challenge. The weather, too, was not essentially very kind to us. Nevertheless, Daniel, Manny, Gordon, Ken, Nick, Steve, Jackie, Sam, African and British leaders all made the summit high point. The peak is sometimes called Socialist Peak after Tanzania’s flirtation with communism back in the past.

From Meru it was back to the Keys Hotel, this being our base camp for food, drink and lashings of hot water. The next day was New Year's Day. Despite the stay in luxury, celebrations were subdued with the whole party having much to eat but less to drink – a very fit, focussed and determined party. Next day, the first of 2007, saw us heading for our main objective – the roof of Africa.

Some challenging trekking in weather that varied as much as Britain saw excellent progress made. Finally we were poised at out high camp, Barafu. Here snow lay on the ground and nights were cold. Already we had spent nights at Forest Caves, Baranco Hut and Karanga. Again this was part of the acclimatisation programme carefully worked out by the Jagged Globe team.

As previously mentioned seven of the eight reached the main summit, one sadly being ill but still attaining Stella/Gillmans Point. All members arrived very well prepared for this challenge and entered the whole experience with tremendous enthusiasm and energy. Our carriers – KLM, did not exactly cover them selves in glory, making rather a mess of the beginning of the expedition. Ever adaptable our team made a magnificent recovery and did not let this hiccup affect them in any way.

Leaving the UK on Boxing Day and not celebrating New Year meant sacrifice for the team. Rewards were rich, however, with a magnificent dawn and a wonderful summit day on Kilimanjaro. The rain that had so beset us lower down fell as pristine snow upon the crater rim. As we walked around, approaching nearly 6,000m, the views through 360 degrees were astounding. In the far distance Mount Meru, a previous accomplishment, could be viewed. Nearer to hand the stupendous glaciers of Kilimanjaro swept away in an impressive ice field. Certainly global warming is affecting this amazing sight but it is still most definitely present in all respects.

A fantastic conclusion then to a varied and intense expedition. All members put a great deal into the enterprise and a very special team resulted. Their success was considerable and very well deserved. A tired but happy crew ended the trip at the Keys Hotel. Some retail therapy combined well with belated celebrations before flying back to the UK.

Allan Gibbs, expedition leader« Previous report | Next report »

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