Phil Guest
Ever since I met members of SCR, who had climbed Kilimanjaro, it has been on my ‘bucket’ list. When Phil Keogh, a former member of SCR invited me to join a party of his friends who were to climb in June this year I jumped at the chance.
Kilimanjaro is the highest free-standing mountain/dormant volcano in the world. The highest in Africa at 5,950 m and stands on the border between Tanzania and Kenya at the foot of the rift valley.
The kit needed is quite extensive, but a regular walker should have most of it already. Items such as a down jacket and four-season sleeping bag could be hired from the tour organiser. An appropriate back pack and padded trousers ( for the peak) along with a three litre ‘bladder’ for holding water in the day bag were soon acquired.
The flight to Tanzania had to be via Doha (soon to be inundated with world cup football supporters) but then into Kilimanjaro airport, which is some 120km from Moshi where the party was to stay overnight before the trek began.
I had applied for an e visa to prevent any delays in processing though the airport but it only arrived two days ago so I had to endure 90 minutes of queues and frustration before getting outside and meeting some of the rest of the party and the organiser Elias.
The next morning at the hotel we had a kit inspection from Elias to ensure we all had the clothing and equipment needed for the climb. Then onto a bus to where we would meet the eighty porters, who would carry our kit, the tents, food and equipment from camp to camp. Each porter is limited to 15kg but also carries their own personal gear as well.
So at Londorossi gate we began the trek that would take six days to get to the top of the mountain. The Lemosho route was selected as it provides the most time for acclimatisation (also popular with honeymooners!!). Altitude sickness has to be avoided as it can lead, if undetected to fatalities. We had to drink a minimum of three litres of water each day and take part in acclimatisation walks after reaching camp. These were walks of around three hours where we climbed up to 400m and then returned to camp. The idea being ‘walk high sleep low’. Although I did all that was required to acclimatise, I suffered a headache on the first night and a significant loss of balance on arising on the morning of the third day. This resulted in my being both instructed to use two rather than one pole and being put ’on the naughty step’ for the rest of the trek. The naughty step meant I followed in the footsteps of the lead porter Lazaru followed by his assistant Johnathon who carried my day bag and made me drink the water!
Not each day was the same, but a routine of wake up at 6.30am climb out of the tent, put your boots on, wash in a bowl of warm water, have breakfast at 7am, empty your bowels if you can and set off again at 8am for another 10k walk and 400-500 m climb.
The most dramatic day other then the final climb was ascending the Baranco wall. It is 300m of scrambling over narrow ledges with a continuous number of others including porters trying to overtake. At one point you meet the ‘kissing rock’. Called this as the ledge you scramble over is just a foot wide and unless you face the rock (and give it a kiss) you won’t get past it. One night we all discussed the highlight of the trek and it was a unanimous choice, the Baranco wall.
On day 6 we get to the final camp at lunchtime. Have lunch, relax until dinner at 6pm. Go to bed and are got up at 11pm to get ready for the final climb to the top. Head torches are readied, and we set off in single file with Lazaru leading and me behind following pole pole (slowly slowly). The support porters now start to sing and keep this up right until we reach Stellar point where the first sunlight of the day strikes the mountain. We have all made it and now need to get up to the actual peak Uhuru point. This takes another hour and is quite exhausting as oxygen levels are now half that at sea level.
After the photographs and celebration, we start to descend. It takes us just two days and one overnight camp before we arrive at Mweka gate. I’m the last to arrive still accompanied by Lazaru and Johnathon and I get a tremendous reception not only from our party but others at the gate who have heard about this old man who made it, an unforgettable experience.
Return to the Hotel, a few beers and dinner out on the town. Tomorrow a short safari before facing the joys of long flights and back to a wet Manchester.
Would I do it again, no of course not, but it was a hell of a way to celebrate Phil Keogh’s birthday!
I hope to be able to show more of the scenery and action later in the year with a power point presentation.
