Shocked awake by the alarm at your ear, the
first thought is to ignore it and go back to sleep. The excitement that made it take so long to
get to sleep a few hours earlier has gone - now you are cosy and you were in a
deep sleep. But moving to silence the alarm brings you sharply awake as the cold
air rushes in through the tiny opening left at the top of your sleeping bag. By
this time you’ve remembered where you are, (at 4700m on the side of a mountain,
in a tent), and what you are waking up for, (to trek to the summit of one of
the best known and most iconic mountains in the world – Kilimanjaro), and with this realisation there is only one thing you
can do. Get up!
It’s never fun,
(well not so far anyway), when the alarm clock goes off at midnight to signal
that it’s time to get up. Even less so
when it is –12C outside and you have to leave the warmth of that thick sleeping
bag you weren’t sure was really worth
that much money in the outdoor shop a few months earlier. It was!
Now you don’t want to get out of it.
But you do.
1.
For some a lifetime’s ambition is realised at its
peak, for many a glimpse from afar is just as impressive: either way, it is
unforgettable. With the beckoning,
welcoming shape of the mountain and its permanent summit glaciers shining out
over the dusty savannah of
At first known only by the Chagga and other local tribes, the
mountain was far away from the coast and therefore not ‘discovered’ by trade
ships as they started to visit those distant shores. Kilimanjaro
was thought to be the home of evil spirits by the local people who didn’t
venture up its slopes, and with no previous record of the mountain in the
outside world, far-fetched rumour would circulate occasionally amongst
academics and scholars that there was a large mountain somewhere deep in
It wasn’t until 1848 that its existence was finally confirmed; in Northern Tanzania, on the border with
Often people first become aware of
It’s a long flight to
Arriving at the Kili Park Gate the fees were paid, porter’s loads arranged and
lunch served, before the group started trekking up into the still air of the
rain forest. The rain forest is the
lowest of the different climatic zones on Kili,
the large trees and huge hanging vines flourish due to increased rainfall at
this height and are home to many bird and animal species such as colobus monkeys, which can be seen in
the canopy above.
Cloud often forms above the rainforest and
the lower part of the mountain during the day, and falls as it cools later once
the sun has set. This makes it clear in
the evenings and as you were leaving the mess tent after dinner to go to bed
you saw Kibo, (Kilimanjaro summit peak) for the first time, the moonlight picking
out its glaciers and ridges though still 20km away.
One of the best experiences you’ll be
taking away from the trek is the relationship between you and the porters/staff
that are on the mountain with you. The porters strike camp after breakfast,
catch up and overtake the group during the day and have it all set up again for
when everyone arrives in the next camp later that day, all with a friendly ‘Jambo’,
(‘hello’ in Swahili) and smile on
their face; getting to know the crew is one of the nicest things about the day
to day life on trek.
Camp on the second day was at 3800m and it
was here that the altitude was first felt by some of the group as they
experienced headaches and slight nausea, all eased by resting in camp and
drinking plenty of water. The increase
in height was beginning to be felt and you had to make sure you were drinking
enough during the day. It was also
getting colder at night and you were wearing more clothes in camp in the
evenings, zipping your sleeping bag fully up to leave just a tiny opening at the
top and putting off toilet trips at night until the last possible moment, then
donning a fleece and hat to go outside, (though having amazing views of Kibo sitting silently like a beacon
above camp!).
Leaving this camp the vegetation quickly
got smaller and started to thin out, by roughly 4000m there was very little
left as you were trekking out of the heather moorland zone and into the alpine
desert. This is a stark, rocky,
inhospitable place leading to the last slopes of Kili, where nothing much survives.
However, this is an impressive landscape that reminds trekkers how wild,
unforgiving and harsh the mountain is, and you found something appealing about
its stark bleakness as it seemed more peaceful than lower on the mountain.
Following paths through the volcanic rocks
and scree you realised how high on the mountain you now were as in clear skies
it was still warm but when any clouds came over it quickly got cold, and you
were all beginning to suffer from the reduced oxygen level – the pace was slow
but still made you puff on any steeper bits and you had the odd headache.
Day 4 was spent crossing the alpine
desert at the base of Kibo, through
lava structures and crossing odd valleys to the next camp which was below some
of the ice fields on Kibo; you were
now at the bottom of the summit slopes, which ensured a cold night!
3. This morning there was
a light dusting of snow on the ground as you left your tent and the cloud
didn’t clear as much as the last few days making it a colder day generally. It was a shorter trek though, through very
barren ground with Kibo looming large above and looking foreboding as you were
getting very close now - the group were saying less to each other as nerves and
apprehension about going to the summit started to take hold.
The final summit climb - this is the great
unknown for most people; how will your body cope trekking the highest ground to
the summit at 5896m? Will you
acclimatise enough and feel OK to get to the top? Or have to go down and not achieve this
dream? The summit climb makes people the
most nervous about how they will feel and perform; it is the hardest part of
the trek but the most rewarding, the bit everyone wants to hear about before
and after.
Planning and fitness training beforehand
can prepare you for trekking in general, but what else can you do to improve
your acclimatisation and chance of reaching the summit? Unfortunately, not a lot. But you can find out what to expect, and any
advice is invaluable - most people know someone who knows someone who’s been to
Kilimanjaro and they are usually
very happy to share their experiences.
But you’d really wanted to find out about their summit climb;
this is what they said.
Midnight came around
fast; it was dark, freezing cold and the alarm telling them to get up was quite
un-welcome! Departure from camp was at
1am and after putting on layers of clothes they went into the mess tent to try
to drink something and have a few snacks as the group assembled. Last checks were made, head torches switched
on and they left
Walking in a line along the narrow path up
the volcanic scree slopes to the light of the moon and their head torch, the
pace was set by a guide at the front of the group. Their trip coincided with the full moon,
(which you’d taken into account when booking yours!), which provided enough
light to see without head torches but also providing some interest during the
climb with an all-round view of the mountain and silhouette of Mawenzi, (Kilimanjaro’s
second highest and most dramatic peak) as they climbed.
Winding paths led them upwards; too close
to see the actual top above them anymore so just keep walking, following the
person in front and remembering to drink before their water froze, with all
those layers of clothing doing a good job to keep out the cold. A stop was made at some point and soup was
shared out, before carrying on up the slopes of Kibo. After a few hours of
trekking in the darkness, back and forth on narrow zig-zags through the
otherwise impenetrable scree they began to feel tired, with a headache and
slight nausea due to the increased height and reduced oxygen. Between 3.30 and 5.30 am it was very cold but
they were not that far from the top of the main climb now, and reaching the
crater rim as the sun rose made it all worthwhile.
Listening to them describe the climb it
seemed harder, more real and serious than you’d at first realised – from a
distance that big, rounded, friendly shape belies the realities of height. As they told you about their trip it made you
want to achieve this lifetime ambition even more - if it wasn’t that hard and
was straightforward with few problems it wouldn’t be quite so special; you can
accept it might hurt sometimes, you can accept it will be challenging, but you
can also accept an achievement like this should be tough. After all, it’s Kilimanjaro - it should
be hard.
Kilimanjaro is so high and situated in a
relatively flat landscape that when they reached the crater rim they looked out
over the plains in
As they got up after a brief rest it soon
became apparent that at 5700m even walking on level ground made them out of
breath and the final 200m ascent became as much of a struggle as the entire
last 6 hours had been to get to that point.
After what seemed like an age but was actually only about an hour and a
half of walking round the rim and up the final slopes, they covered the last
few metres to 5896m
4. People in the group
reacted differently to reaching the summit, some sat down at first to get their
breath back and take it in slowly, some ran around full of energy once more,
taking pictures of everything, whilst some had a quite tear as they realised
what they’d achieved and how hard they found it, but that they had just
summated Kilimanjaro. Celebrations and pictures ensued
at the summit sign until it was time to leave the top and descend. Walking off was so much easier than going up
- the lack of oxygen not as apparent, and of course the elation helped them
make good progress.
Hearing their experiences on Kili was very inspiring and thought
provoking. Their happiness of reaching
the summit and achieving a dream meant as much to them now as it did then,
being a literal and metaphorical highpoint of their life. All this served to re-affirm your desire and
energise your training towards such a special achievement and removed a little
bit of the unknown regarding the summit climb and the altitude concerns,
ultimately the deciding factor in success or failure.
The alarm has stopped. Un-zipping the warm sleeping bag you sit up,
fumble for the head torch and quickly get dressed. Going into the mess tent it is cold, but
you’re excited to have the opportunity to finally achieve the ambition of a
lifetime.
From hearing of Kilimanjaro as a child to deciding to try and reach its peak, then
months later leaving the rush of the UK
on a flight to Tanzania and landing
in the different world of Africa,
travelling to the mountain and entering the national park - the realisation
over a few final snacks that after all this time you are actually doing it. And
now, at 1 o’clock in the morning, you are leaving the last camp, on volcanic
dust and rock, below the final slopes to the summit of Kilimanjaro.
Tom Sutton - East African Adventure
5. East African Adventure is an
adventure travel company specialising in trekking and walking holidays to
Next March
they are organising the first ever trip from the
For more details
please visit www.eastafricanadventure.com
Entry form to
Kilimanjaro Marathon: http://www.kilimanjaromarathon.com/aboutfrm.htm
Written by: Tom
Sutton
Submitted: 8th
December 2008
Edited by: Brenda J
Earnshaw WRR Editor
WHO IS TOM SUTTON?
My name
is Tom Sutton and, along with my Dad, we run East African Adventure. We specialise in trekking and walking
holidays in
If this sounds
like the sort of holiday/ challenge some of your members would be interested in
I would be very grateful if you could pass on any details about the trip
please. If you had an e-newsletter then please consider a brief mention about
the trip and a link to our site. I wonder if you'd be so kind as to include a
link to our site from your links section too please. Thank you for your time.
I look forward to hearing from some
of your members, and maybe even running with them in the shadow of Kili next March, (because I'm doing it
too!) .
Thanks, Tom Sutton - EAST AFRICAN ADVENTURE
www.eastafricanadventure.com