After months of preparations and plenty of walking practice (including the Yorkshire three peak challenge) we soon found ourselves in October, fit and ready for our long journey from Heathrow to the slopes of Kilimanjaro. The route we had chosen to conquer Kibo (the tallest of the three peaks that make up Kilimanjaro) was the Rongai route which approaches the peak from the north with overnight stays in tents at: Kikelewa Caves (3600m), Mawenzi Tarn (4330m), Kibo Hut (4703m), before the final ascent to Uhuru Peak (5895m) after four and a half days of walking. The scenery is amazing and constantly changes the higher you go from farmland and forest, past alpine moorland to the beautiful and stunning summit. The hours of arduous walking at an artificially slow pace (to aid the acclimatization process) are aided by the excellent guides keeping your spirits up and answering all our questions on Kilimanjaro and Africa. The most common phrase the guides tell you is ‘pole pole’ (pronounced poley poley) which means ‘slowly slowly’ and encourages the snail like pace to maximise your chances of reaching the top. Our guides were supported by thirty porters who cheerfully hauled most of our equipment and supplies up the mountain in addition to making and breaking the camp for us every day, and I can tell you that catching sight of our distinctive yellow tents already set up each evening was a very welcome sight after so many hours walking. Three hot meals a day were also served to us in order to keep up our strength and the food was delicious, one of the cooks even managed to rustle up a birthday cake at short notice at 4000metres! No mean feat!

 

At Mawenzi Tarn (4330 metres ) most people began to feel the effect of the altitude on the body with symptoms ranging from headaches to vomiting, and after a heavily disrupted night’s sleep the group headed out over the lunar like landscape of ‘the saddle’ a broad tundra desert that would take us to our final base camp at Kibo hut (4703m) before the final assault on the summit. I remember this to be an extremely tough day and more than a few people had to push through the pain barrier whilst battling with constant nausea and severe headaches. Finally getting into camp was a relief, but this was short lived as you need to prepare all the kit for your climb to the summit as well as snatching a few crucial hours sleep before the midnight start a few hours away.

 

We woke at 11pm and to our amazement there had been a snowfall of a good couple of inches that pressed in the walls of our tent and covered the ground. After struggling into our warm gear and waterproofs we made our way into the darkness by the light of our head-torches. The route zigzagged up the steep slope and the snow made the footing unsure underfoot, I remember concentrating on the feet of the person in front of me as we slowly inched our way summit-wards. For the first couple of hours above and below us all that could be seen was snaking chains of head-torches as other groups made similar steady progress up the mountain. Frequent stops allow you to keep getting fluids and chocolate on board as well as letting you get your breath back. The gradient gets steeper and the guides have timed the ascent perfectly so that you make the last scramble up to Gillman’s point (5680m) just in time for dawn. Our reward for our night time efforts is a dramatic spectacle of the sun rising over the craggy peaks of Mawenzi and the snow covered route you’ve just climbed, but more importantly a glorious cup of hot coffee! The guides are really supportive of you and try to make sure they check everyone is in good enough health to keep going for the final push to the very peak. The last two hours around the crater rim are hard going, everyone is tired and there is now 50% less oxygen in the air than at sea level. The group I am here with is great, everyone tries to support each other and spirits go sky high as the very summit suddenly comes into view! After four and a half days walking we’ve made it to the very top, all 5895metres of it! We are standing on the roof of Africa and there is just enough time for a few photos- including the one specially made for us by Drove Veterinary Hospital.