In January this year we reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro on the Marangu route, the easiest way up the 19,344 foot mountain.
We took a package trip with Hayes and Jarvis, flying on KLM via Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro International Airport. This is our experience…
DAY 1. There was a short briefing session in the hotel, then we quickly packed our kitbag out of which we were to live for the next five days. An hour long journey by Land Rover took us to the National Park where we completed the registration formalities. We then waited for another hour or so whilst the porters were weighed in and sorted out.
And, then we were off. This first day’s walking was fairly easy. It took us up through rain forest from the park gates at 6400 feet to the Mandara Huts at 8850 feet.
DAY 2. After a breakfast of hot mashed cornflakes and paraffin-flavoured toast, we were off again. After the first hour we cleared the remaining rain forest and emerged into Alpine grassland, where beautiful Protea flowers were growing.
The effects of the thinner air were much more noticeable as we continued walking throughout the morning and early afternoon. We did get views of the summit, but it still seemed a long way off. We made it safely, and still not too tired, to that night’s accommodation – the Horombo Huts. These were 12,200 feet above sea level and identical in size and layout to those at Mandara. The only real difference was the profusion of rodents running about under (but not in) the huts. They were actually pretty cute!
It was also when we met people on their way down and heard for the first time about the difficulties of the final ascent.
DAY 3. The summit was at long last drawing closer, but there was still a long walk ahead of us to reach Kibo, the final resting place before our final ascent to the summit. The path up to Kibo (15400 feet) took us through barren desert.
The weather turned increasingly cloudy and cold throughout the day and we were pleased to arrive there to rest and get warm again. Wrong, the temperature inside our dormitory was only 1°C! Our guide advised us to rest as much as possible before our midnight departure for the summit.
DAY 4. Midnight arrived quickly and we began the long, slow and painful climb up the scree towards Gilman’s Point. Most of the other groups soon passed us, but before too long we encountered the first casualties returning to Kibo. We picked our way by moonlight across and up the boulder-strewn scree. We became increasingly cold and lost the feeling in our fingers, despite our many layers of warm clothes.
Eventually, it seemed like forever, we clambered over the final 300 yards of ice-covered boulders to reach Gilman’s Point. We had made it! After a brief rest we started out to Uhuru Peak, the highest point. The weather was awful, strong wind, snow and ice, and -20°C. An hour and a half later we made it to the very top, all 19,344 feet!
By the time we returned to Gilman’s it was daylight and we could see the inside of the crater. We couldn’t hang about for long as the guide wanted us down to a safer altitude, so it was back down the scree we had climbed earlier.
There was only time for a quick wash and bowl of soup at Kibo, before we retraced our steps to Horombo. We collapsed into our sleeping bags and apart from being woken up for dinner, we slept soundly until dawn the next day.
DAY 5. We felt much better on waking, but were still conscious of the long walk ahead of us back to the park gates. But at least it was downhill most of the way. At the park gate we completed our exit formalities and collected our hard-earned certificates for a successful ascent of Kilimanjaro.
DAY 6. The enormity of what we had achieved started to sink in, and its effects began to show themselves. We both had wind/sunburn to our faces as well as mild frostbite in our fingertips. We spent the day in Moshi, a typical African town, watching the world go by. It was very hot, 36°C, and a stunning contrast to a day or so earlier. We took a thoughtful last view of the mountain before setting off to fly home later that day.
THE VERDICT. An achievement, rather than a holiday! You need to be fit, and patient. Many of the climbers who had problems tried to walk too quickly. You walk with a guide and an assistant – if you listen the their advice you have a better chance of making it.
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