Trip Reports

Kilimanjaro - Western Breach 27 Dec to 8 Jan '10

The southern aspect of Kilimanjaro, looking directly at the Western Breach. Shot from Meru

Written by Leader Mungo Ross, January 2010

Arriving at the Keys Hotel after midnight - less kit bags, having flown out independently via Nairobi - I found most of the group had already gone to bed. So we all met at breakfast, and set off for Mt Meru, while Claire left with her group for the Lomosho route up Kilimanjaro. Only 7 of us on this trip, guided by Thomas and Patrick, guarded from the animals on Meru by our ranger, Boniface. Buffalow, giraffe, warthog, zebra and monkeys all reassured us that we were indeed in Africa.

Our acclimatisation ascent of Mt Meru followed the usual itinerary - a night at Mirikamba huts, the next at Saddle huts (with a walk up to the top of Little Meru in the afternoon), leaving for the summit at 01:00 under a clear sky. Mary struggled with the altitude until about 4 am, when she decided that enough was enough, so returned to the huts with John and Boniface. The rest of us were all on the summit by 08:00, some in better shape than others! Reaching 15000 feet in three days from home (with too little sleep along the way) is hard for anyone, so a good effort from all.

A night back at the Keys Hotel in Moshi for showers, dinner and a bed set us up for our walk up Kilimanjaro itself. An additional guide - Simon, and the same cook team (Ima and his boys) made sure that we were well looked after; a total of 28 support staff for the 7 of us. The walk through the forest, then up to Baranco, a day up and down the Baranco Wall, then on up to the Arrow Camp below the Western Breach provided the usual challenge and varied interest that makes this expedition such a wonderful experience. The upper slopes of the mountain had a lot more snow on them than usual, but at least one team had been ahead of us and we were assured by Thomas that the route was "no problem". We were not a little concerned by 3 catastrophic events during the afternoon at Arrow Camp - melt water that must accumulate high on the Western Breach suddenly releases down gully lines taking with it a mass of rocks and debris - these deluges apparently are not uncommon, and have taken out at least one of the huts in camp in the past!

Getting up before midnight, having been serenaded by the roar of more rock fall, we were reassured by the clear starry sky and lower temperature. No wind, an almost full moon, and firm neve with a trail of old footprints in it provided us with perfect conditions for our ascent of the Western Breach, topping out on the plateau after 6 hours of concentrated effort. By 8 am we were all standing on the summit of Africa, with fantastic views, taking photographs, sharing hugs and even tears to celebrate the moment.

Back in Moshi it is hard to remember the effort and the pain, but the certificate is the evidence, and the memory is forever. Well done everybody for digging deep, working together and making this the fun and successful trip that it has indeed been. A huge thank you to Jagged Globe and Keys Hotel for organising everything, and Thomas and his crew for keeping us fed and safe on yet another ascent of Kilimanjaro.

Mungo Ross: Trip Leader for Jagged Globe. 8th Jan 2009. « Previous report | Next report »

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