Trip Reports

Private Kilimanjaro - 11 to 20 Feb '12

Dawn on summit day - Kilimanjaro Lemosho Glades

Written by Leader Paul Westwood, February 2012

4am Birmingham airport and Paul Westwood, Expedition Leader, checks in for his flight to Schiphol. Meanwhile in the north east of England 15 fundraisers and staff were on a parallel track to Schiphol. The tracks came together at KLM’s departure gate for Kilimanjaro International Airport. An excellent flight was followed by more than the usual chaos at Kilimanjaro airport. The airport has new finger print scanning technology which they were determined to use, despite the disruption and delay. After the drive to the hotel, all 16 of us sat at the dinner table to eat and discuss the next 9 days’ activities. There are a few nervous questions as this is new territory for almost all of the team.

Bright and early the following morning the team, five local guides and the trekking crew numbering some 49 (yes a total compliment of 70!) set off for Londorossi Park Gate. Along the way there is a brief stopover at the village of Sanya Juu to distribute goodies to local children and give Nigel a stage for his range of magic tricks and skills. Once the park formalities were done, the group were driven onward to the start of the Lemosho Glades Route.

The tracks to get there are extremely rutted and were very dry due to lack of any recent rain – the team thought it was a good bonus having a 4x4 off-road safari thrown in for free. The rest of this day and the next two days would see the team climb through jungle rainforest into heather and moorland and finally onto and over the plateau left by the Shira volcano. The fine volcanic dust gets absolutely everywhere and takes some scrubbing to remove. The team were quite surprised by the large range of temperatures encountered from baking hot sunshine to ground frost and frozen tents at Shira 1 camp. Sun hats to down duvet jackets, all on the kit list and all definitely needed on this trek.

The trek largely followed an easy day, hard day, easy day, hard day pattern so day 4 was to be a hard day – and it certainly was. Gaining 840m in the morning to the Lava Tower, at an altitude of 4,640m and then losing 740m in the afternoon was definitely hard work for everyone. Matt had suffered illness over the first few days but was now starting to recover; unfortunately Nigel’s acclimatisation was deteriorating and culminated in the decision that he had to descend back to the hotel and recuperation.

The next day the intimidating 200m high Baranco Wall was scaled with ease, even Ann enjoyed the experience despite being unable to look out at the view! Karanga Camp came and then went and the following morning the team made their way to Barafu Camp. Barafu in Swahili means ‘Ice’ and this usually accurately describes the very cold high camp for the team’s summit attempt. However, on this occasion, despite snow flurries the temperature was really hot, almost unbearably so. Off to ‘bed’ at 6pm before being woken at 10.30pm for a start one hour later. There was just time to get up and have a hot drink, some porridge and a couple of biscuits before the team headed off for the summit of Kibo, the highest of the three volcanoes of the Kilimanjaro massif.

Lazaro, our senior local guide, set an excellent pace with regular short breaks and after climbing for more than seven hours the team arrived at Stella Point. After a little persuasion all the team made their way along the crater rim to Uhuru Summit. Lazaro, the other four guides and two high altitude porters helped the whole way with encouragement and banter, but the team also showed much courage and determination in helping each other too. It was a great effort, but despite this Jake still had enough composure to propose marriage to Feye at the new summit sign – she had just enough breath to say "Yes" – how romantic?

Weary and aching legs took the team back through brunch at Barafu and Millennium camp to Mweka camp some 2,800m lower than the summit. The final three hours of the trek ended at the Mweka Park Gate where the trek crew entertained everyone with their animated singing before the team said thanks to the crew and handed out tips. It was a short drive back to Key’s Hotel for a buffet lunch with the local guides, certificates, showering and repacking for the international flight home later that evening. Paul, with a little help from Lazaro and Key’s, arranged an engagement card and cake for Feye and Jake and Nigel bought the bubbly - Quite a celebration!

The flights home were a little protracted but surely added to the overall experience and made the whole trip more memorable.

Quite a hectic and strenuous final 72 hours and a ‘full-on’ enjoyable 10-day trip by anyone’s standard. Why-Aye man!

Paul Westwood
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