I finished my last blog entry with the words:
“The only thing I know for sure is that “No plan survives the 1st encounter with the enemy” and it’s not always clear who or what the enemy is – only that there will be one. So, in summary, the chances that it will all go to plan (which is broadly: arrive in Tanzania, swan up Kilimanjaro tweeting as we go, summit and descend to a night of wine drinking) is approaching zero percent – we will soon find out how it goes.”
Amazingly, the plan did work and there was no enemy. We arrived in Tanzania, walked the walk, tweeted the progress, did the hard yards to the top and then descended. Wine was drunk. We all returned home in good shape with no injuries, mishaps or other calamities.
I personally, was lucky enough not to suffer any altitude sickness. Others in the group were not so fortunate but, importantly, we all made it to the top.
So, what are my impressions?
Firstly, it’s well worth putting in the hard yards in training. The initial walk to the camp from which the summit attempt is made is long but not particularly challenging (please note that this is a personal perspective and my wife disagrees on some of this). The main difference between it and what we did in training is that it’s rougher and longer. So the climbs are on rougher paths, steeper and go on longer and the descents are much the same. So, whilst training builds up stamina it’s difficult to replicate exactly the trek to Barafu camp (from where the summit attempt is made).
I had read (but never put into practice) that the best training for Kilimanjaro is to walk for a day, camp, get up walk for another day, camp and so on. That is basically what the trip is about and the camping and the associated lack of sleep some people suffered was draining.
However, our training did pay off in that, whilst undoubtedly the actual walk was tougher than the training, there was never any doubt that the team would make it to Barafu. Even the fabled ‘Breakfast Wall’ (which was, I felt, overrated in the guide books) didn’t prove a serious barrier and whilst, my wife and Lyn claimed to find it ‘terrifying’, there was never any doubt they’d be up it and moving onwards.
Secondly, I wasn’t really prepared for the crowds. This is a busy mountain. Take our group, there were 7 walkers which required a support crew of 25. This comprised 1 chief guide, 3 assistant guides, 1 chef, and 20 porters (bear in mind everything, absolutely everything, is carried up and then back down). So, with an estimated 75 walkers on the same route on the same day you are looking at around 270 support staff – a total of ~350 people all camping in the same spot and walking the same route.
The pattern was quite simple, you set-off and then the porters come rushing past you. Cries of ‘passing’ ring down the trail. Where the path is wide enough you simply walk on the right in single file, where it isn’t you step off the path to let them pass. This can be quite disruptive. This crowding gets really bad on breakfast wall when there is literally a line of walkers and porters all waiting to negotiate the tricky bits. However, by mid morning the porters are all long gone and the groups are spreading out and you can find yourselves all alone on the mountain – much nicer.
It’s not all bad. You do start to recognise the other groups and brief conversations and greetings are swapped. Groups tend to rest at different times so it’s not uncommon for a group to walk past you and then you find they stopped 10 mins up the trail and you are passing them.
The summit attempt itself is much as described in the books. You are continually walking upwards in the dark with the only view being of the boots of the person in front. We set off at 11:00pm and reached Stella Point at around 5:00am – 6 hours of relentless uphill slog.
I think a couple of things helped:
- •We were walking as a group. No-one wanted to let anyone else down. There was a noticeable lack of banter compared with the easier walking on previous days but everyone was determined to push on;
- I had an altimeter on my watch and was calling out every time we gained another 100 meters. We knew that Stella Point was about 5,700m (we set out from Barafu at 4,600m). So, even though it was pitch black and you couldn’t see anything there was a sense of progress.
The other good thing is that it turned out my altimeter was under reading. I’d called out 5,600m and we reached Stella Point about 10 mins later. This is good because we all thought we had further to go.
At Stella Point, you have done the hard yards. You are now on the crater rim and it’s a 45 minute walk (with a gain of about 150m) to Uhuru Peak. This was a tougher walk than the guide book suggested and one of our party suffered from a momentary loss of heart (soon rectified). The guide book says 35 mins. This may be the case later in the season but we had to walk over compacted ice (over the glacier) for a good distance. As the season progresses the ice gets worn down and there is no ice walking.
We arrived at Uhuru Peak at ~5:45am just as the first glimpses of day were breaking. I had read (and heard 1st hand) that when you are up there the only thing you are interested in doing was getting back down again. Not true of most of the group. A couple were suffering the altitude and went back to Stella Point almost immediately. My Wife, Charles and I were enjoying it. It was getting lighter and lighter, it wasn’t that cold (~-12deg C – which if you are a skier is not much of an issue) and the views of the ice walls and crater were spectacular – I’m not sure the photos do them justice. So, whilst the guides we trying to hurry us down, we were taking our time, taking photos and enjoying the views. After all it had taken us 5 days to get up there and we weren’t in any hurry to get back down.
Uhuru Peak itself was surprisingly and delightfully empty. There was one group ahead of us taking their photos and then it was our turn. There was no real rush (apart from some people’s desire to get back down again) and it wasn’t like you had to line up for a quick photo. As I recall, another group were arriving just as were finished the photos.
Then the tough stuff starts.
All the guide books talk about getting up to the top. They barely mentioned the way down. From Stella Point to Barafu this is mostly a walk down very loose, dusty scree which is tough on the knees. Some people (presumably the younger people) claim to be able to ski down the scree. Probably the same ones who can bounce over moguls. My mogul bouncing days are long since gone and going down was tough for me – and even tougher for those in the party with ‘older’ knees.
Once at Barafu, after a brief rest, lunch and packing it’s on for a further descent to Mweka Camp. The guide book suggests that it’s a gentle 3 to 3.5 hour walk – not for us. Maybe guide books don’t anticipate a group with an average age of 58yrs doing Kilimanjaro but, suffice it to say, the older the age group the slower downhill it will be. Barafu to Mweka took us about 4.5 hours and, once again, was very tough on the members of the group with ‘older’ knees. Also remember that, at this stage, you had been up since 11:00pm the previous night and already walked almost 7 hours uphill, then almost 4 hours back to Barafu and then you are walking again onto Mweka.
So let us summarise. Having spent 6hrs and 45 minutes getting to Uhuru Peak, you now have a descent of 2,805m (Uhuru Peak to Mweka Camp) which is about 9,200ft which equals 1.75 vertical miles before you stop for the day. It’s probably just as well the guide books don’t dwell on this. Don’t get me wrong, the descent is not a reason not to do the climb, but it is just as much of a challenge as the climb.
At the time, having reached Mweka, we all discussed over dinner the day and felt that the day was very, very tough and it would have been better to stop at High Camp (~3 hours) from Barafu. This would have made the day easier but it would have made the last day longer. The last day was a reasonably gentle 3.5 hour walk down to Mweka Gate where there was a ‘champagne’ lunch. We were back in the hotel by about 4:30pm.
If we had stopped the previous night at High Camp, we would have missed the lunch and not been back to the hotel until the early evening. So, upon reflection, I think making it to Mweka Camp was the correct thing. However, it is a very long tough day.
I remain in awe of the over 60s in the group. Tom (67 yrs), Pat (66 yrs) and Lyn (62 yrs) are three tough cookies. I can only hope that I have their fitness and stamina in ~15 years time. If so, I may have another crack at it then :~).
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