Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro: a beautiful and gruelling challenge

Posted on 17 March 2011

The idea of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro had been stuck in my mind ever since my husband and I first drove past it in 2007. It was the beauty of Tanzania and the unknown heights of Africa’s peak that drew me back there towards the end of February this year.

I had managed to convince a small group of friends from all over the world to join me on the expedition. To use the term ‘expedition’ may seem like an overkill, but with a team of eight foreign climbers, 42 Tanzanian porters, a year of preparation, and one summit at 5895m, it felt as close to an expedition as I would ever get.

Touching down in Arusha and beginning the six day trek, we were immediately struck by the uniquely African feel of this area. Its one of the reasons this mountain is such a special member of the world’s ‘Seven Summits’. One last comfy night sleep in a local lodge and then our group from Hawaii, Tennessee, Nicaragua, South Africa, and Switzerland, were on our merry way.

The first few days were relatively easy going as we slowly hiked along the contours of Kili’s lower slopes, enjoying the views and scenery. It quickly became apparent that our choice of operator had been a good one. Yes, we all paid quite a bit extra, but having private toilet tent and dining mess tent were just a few of the worthwhile perks and comforts we gained by using a company with a very good reputation. Even with these little creature comforts (like hot tea/coffee brought to our tents in the morning) we soon knew we were in for the challenge of a lifetime!

The Rongai Route basically took us up the Kenyan (northern) slopes of the great mountain. The route provided great views of the summit and also of Mwenzi Peak. Mwenzi is a rugged peak that looks formidable, until you reach the top of Kili and gaze down on it in amazement as if it is just a mere pimple in comparison. The route has one of the best success rates for reaching the summit and is also one of the most gentle in gradient, allowing for good acclimatization.

We had been told countless times that reaching the top is as much about your body’s reaction to extreme altitude as it is about fitness. It wasn’t long before we all started to realize just how true this was. The day before the attempt at the summit we camped at Kibo, at an altitude of 4200m. Some members of the group were already feeling the effects of the lack of oxygen up there. Your lungs, muscles and whole body start to crave oxygen and slow lumbering movements are just about all we could manage. Even rolling over in my sleeping bag was a huge effort in the night. No amount of preparation can prepare you for such oxygen deprivation and each of us were feeling the pain in our own way.

At around 11pm we were woken and prepared to push for the top. Walking very slowly through the night we snaked our way upwards. The temperature plummeted to minus 15 degrees Celsius and just before sunrise we reached Gilman’s Point (5681m). I wish I could say that we were all celebrating and filled with joy as the suns rays broke the horizon of our mother Africa, but the truth is that by this point all of us were more concerned with survival and the task at hand. We still had another 214m to climb and most of the team were digging deep within themselves for the strength that would carry them the rest of the way to the summit. To climb 214m we needed to cover about two kilometers, a distance that would take us around two hours, testing our bodies to the very limit.

The feeling of reaching the very top of Africa is not easily described. But It is safe to say that all of us felt very emotional and each of us seemed to have achieved what we never thought possible. Uhuru Peak, at an altitude of 5895m, is something that I will never forget! We cried and hugged and managed to take a few photos for posterity. We were then told by our guide that we needed to head down and not waste any time in doing so. Being at this altitude is definitely a temporary thing. We simply couldn’t survive up there for too long and it was essential that we didn’t stay longer than necessary.

We took a different route down the mountain (the Marangu Route) and as we descended our bodies began to feel a bit better and our strength slowly returned after a 20 hour day. We camped one more night on the way down, all of us relieved to have reached the summit and be back at a safe altitude.

The rest, they say, is history. Eight tightly bonded friends (ranging in age from 18 – 62 years) all made it to the very top of Kilimanjaro. They returned back to their various corners of the globe. Back to their friends and families who may never truly understand what we had achieved. For each of us this experience had meant something different and for each of us this had been an experience of a lifetime!






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