My Kilimanjaro Trip - Conclusion and Outlook

Conclusion
What a memorable trip that was! I'm happy everything went so smoothly in the end and my mind was fed a whole lot of wonderful memories.

Africa/Tanzania
My first time in Africa I didn't really have time to get to know the people and the culture of Tanzania. What I have seen and experienced was very much like India in terms of infrastructure/hygiene etc. People are very friendly and open, they ask for your name straight away and shake hands. You will hardly see an unfriendly face.
I don't know if I ever want to come back though. Don't get me wrong, it's worth a visit for sure and I'd like to get to know the country and the people better, but there are just too many things on my agenda that I'd rather do first. :)

Travel Organisation
I chose to pay a bit more for my trip on purpose. I could've gone with a local organizer and succeeded but I picked Jagged Globe for one reason alone: They always have a UK guide coming along. As soon as any kind of issues come up, be they health related or organisation related, a UK guide will fully understand me in language, culture and way of thinking.
They also take a day longer for acclimatisation and the whole package they provide is superb! I always got a timely answer to my inquiries, communication was very friendly and they provided a load of information beforehand. I got a call a few days before my trip started, they asked me if I had any last minute issues/queations. And last but not least did they honestly try their best to cater for my dietary needs and I simply felt very well cared for. Perfect customer service.

Their local partner - namely The Keys Hotel - and the porters, camp helpers and guides were absolutely fantastic, too. Camp was set up when we arrived, we got warm meals and more food than we could eat in ten weeks and everyone was just very friendly and helpful. Thumbs up!

High Altitude
The great unknown for me when I set out. What would it feel like? How would I be affected. Apart from that one cracking headache on Lava Tower I can proudly say I hardly felt a thing. Seems like my body can generally cope with it quite well.
Above 3500m I felt the need to take a very deep breath every now and then and had a mild pressure behind my forehead but otherwise felt fine. On summit day I felt a bit dizzy very much like after 4 quick pints, haha. Can't complain about loss of appetite, lack of sleep or even nausea.

Still this is no free ticket to the peaks of the world. It can be completely different next time depending on my fitness and general condition when I start another adventure. I've also only been close to 6000m and not above it. I think that's when the "fun" really starts.
Still, my trepidation about the whole matter was unnecessary. I feel more confident and self-assured now to take on more challenges.

Gear
There was nothing I missed on my trip. The sleeping bag was not as warm as promised but with warm baselayer and liner I could easily cope.
There's still a number of upgrades I need for future trips. Namely boots, sunglases/goggles and a down jacket to fit under my hardshell.

What's Next?
With the feeling of a full success and the knowledge that my body is not unable to cope with high altitude the whole world of mountaineering is wide open for me. Options are more than plenty. It's not only The Seven Summits that tempt me, there are dozens of other adventures that I would take on immediately if I had the money and the time.

Skill Up
But before I venture further I need to gain some ice axe and crampon experience. A Scottish Winter Mountaineering course at the end of the year is the most obvious choice here, combining my love for Scotland and my ambitions to conquer all munros with gaining essential skills. Win-win, ha! After that I'll just decide what fits best for me in 2016.

Gear Up
Apart from crampons and ice axe there's a few more bits and pieces I need to get. I should be fine down to a temperature of -30C using both of my sleeping bags and my liner. Some decent goggles and glacier sun glasses are high up on the list.
But most of all I need decent double boots, that keep my feet warm. Will probably buy the warmest ones that fit, haha. If my feet freeze on Kili, what will happen on proper snow? I'd rather not find out without getting new boots before.

Make a Choice
2016 will certainly see me on another mountaineering adventure. The Seven Summits are very tempting and I will do them one by one only deciding if I dare going further when I have ticked one off. So it's either going to be Elbrus (which I want to do together with Kazbek) or Aconcagua next.

South America is more than tempting to me since I've never been there, so I may go to Equador or Mexico to do some of the volcanoes there before I attempt another one of the Seven Summits. 

Too many choices, ahhh. If I can get the time off and the funds I may do two adventures next year. But until then.... I'll stick to my beloved British Hills.

Kilimanjaro, Hakuna Matata - Part 3

03.01. Barafu Camp - Uhuru Peak (5895m / 19341ft) - Mweka Camp (3100m / 10170ft)
Step by step

Summit day!!! Whoohooo!!!! I woke up 4 minutes to midnight after only two hours of sleep and perfectly on time. Had packed the night before so I simply put the last layers of clothing on and took care to stay warm. After a quick and simple breakfast we set off pretty much on time at 1am. Sandwiches and chocolate bars had been provided, but I only took two small packs of nuts from the pile of food with me. It's said you need sugar at high altitude, but I was determined not to stray from my diet. Had found some protein bars a few weeks before at Boots which only have a few carbs and would feed on some of those.

With head torches alight we set off in single file and could already see other groups ahead. One setting off from camp and several more on the big black lump that Kili was in the middle of the night. The almost full moon shed a good deal of light, so I wasn't too worried when my head torch went out not long after we had started our long summit day. I could turn it on again, but it just seemed to me it didn't like the cold/altitude at all since it just went dark again five mins later. Boo!

We walked super slowly out of camp and up the first steeper part. It was too slow for me to get my body really working and producing warmth. After 45 mins we stopped for a short break, nibbling a bit of food and having a few sips of water. I could feel the cold seeping through my boots and winter socks and after only five minutes my feet where rather cold. Luckily we continued soon.
Every 45-60 mins we took those short stops and after the third my feet were numb lumps of ice. I tried rubbing them, putting feet- and hand warmers into my boots but nothing worked. In the end - dreading frost bite -  I decided to just put a second pair of socks on and hope for the sun to come out soon and warm my feet through the leather of my boots. I would rather have my toes amputated than turn back now, hahaha.

Around 5000m one of our group had to walk back down with one of four local guides that accompanied us. I heard and saw others suffering and staggering too, but felt pretty good myself. So far a walk in the park.
Concentrating on my breathing time passed quickly and it was 5:30am before I knew it. The first rays of the setting sun behind Mawenzi fuelled my determination even more. It is hard to find words for the most beautiful dawn I have ever witnessed. Longing so much for the sun after such a long night, its rays were completely encompassing and imbuing me, planting an overwhelming feeling of peace into my mind.
With tears in my eyes I just knew that everything was going to be okay and there was nothing that could stop me now.

The most beautiful sunset behind Mawenzi

As were got closer to the crater rim, we met more and more people going down already, many of them encouraging us to keep going. Two of our small group were lacking behind when the rest reached Stella Point around 8:30am. We understood why some people turn around here. It's almost as high as the "real" summit and many are just completely wasted after the long and steep last bit of the climb.

I couldn't stop looking back over to Mawenzi

Stella Point, almost there

We had a short break to recover our strength and were just about to head off along the rim to the "real" peak - Uhuru Peak - which is not much higher, when our two missing companions made their way to Stella Point. Our oldest member Tim (71) and his wife whose asthma made it all the harder for her dragged themselves up to the sign post. What a great achievement!!!

We waited for both to recover and made our way together along the rim now. Not much elevation gain but at this altitude it took us another hour to finally, finally reach the highest point of Africa! Uhuru Peak.

We gathered just a few steps away from the signpost and made our way there all together as one group. No one suggested that. We simply did it without the need to agree on it. The second most memorable moment on this trip. What an expression of the comrade- and honest friendship that this group had developed over such a short time. In our hearts we felt for the one who hadn't made it and he was truly missing.

9:30am on the roof of Africa. Finally!!! After a whole year of looking forward to this single moment after days of approaching and 8.5hrs of walking 1200m/4000ft uphill on this summit day, this moment was only the icing on the cake. It was only one of many I will remember from this truly amazing trip.

Up here at almost 6000m/20000ft I finally felt the altitude. I had been the only one left (apart from the local guides) feeling fit and well and relaxed where others where stumbling and fighting to keep going. But now a headache was building up and I felt a little dizzy, almost drunken.
After a hearty sip of fine whisky form my flask and the usual photos we went back to Stella Point and with three others and one of the guides I was in the first group to start the descent down back to Barafu Camp, I just longed to lay my exhausted body to rest.

Down a steep scree slope we more skied than walked and were back in camp just after noon after 11 hours on foot. I crawled into my tent, slumped prone onto my bed and literally passed out within a second.

Looking down on Barafu Camp

Woke up an hour later when the last members of our team arrived in camp. We had a small lunch at 1:30pm, packed and started our long decent down towards Mweka Camp. All of us were happy but very exhausted. Still we had to keep going for a couple more hours.
Downhill may not be very strenuous in itself and the path was quite easy to walk for about an hour and a half to Millenium Camp. But we had to press on for another two hours on a very rocky and in our state quite difficult and thus almost dangerous path down to Mweka Camp.
My legs felt like butter when we finally arrived just after 6pm. I wasn't sure if I could've gone much further anyway. 17 hours with maybe two hours of rest in between. That was easily the longest day of walking I've ever done. EVER! Not counting the elevation even.
Again I slumped face down onto my bed, but couldn't really sleep. We had dinner when the others arrived an hour later and went to bed after around 8pm, happy and completely exhausted.


04.01./05.01. Mweka Camp - Moshi - Amsterdam - Bristol
Heading home

After a good night's sleep we left camp 7:30am for our last walk together. Although we had stood on top of the highest mountain not yet 24 hours ago, it felt like it had been a couple of days in the past.
For about three hours we walked through the magnificent sub-tropical forest. I found myself a spot in between groups walking alone most of the time enjoying the sounds and smells of the forest, marvelling at the plants, the high trees and the solitude only slightly disturbed by porters coming up from behind.
My legs were aching big time from yesterday's strenuous descent. But I didn't mind at all and simply enjoyed a fine walk. A shame I couldn't stay longer.

Bye bye Kili

Back at the gate we were also back in the heat. Within little more than 24 hours we had passed four (?) vegetation zones. Wow! Not to mention the temperature difference. We chilled a bit until our bus was loaded, said good bye to our porters and helpers who performed the famous Kilimanjaro song for us and after an half an hour ride we were back at the hotel. Had lunch with the group and three of our local guides and loads of beer!!! We all got our summit certificates and had some time to kill.

I decided to go into town with three others and delay my hard earned shower for a bit. We just walked around for a bit trying to fend of the fly-pitchers again and found a very lovely souvenir shop in a side street where we could just snoop around without being talked into buying something. Still we did get some stuff. I had to have two shirts which were a real bargain at $7 each.

This is how people in Moshi carry their shopping bags

Walked lazily back, had my much longed for shower at the hotel and was brought to the airport with our guide and three others. The rest of the group stayed for a safari.
Boarded the plane around 10pm, had a change of passeners in Dar-es-Salam and off we went towards Amsterdam. I slept like a log through the first on-board meal and most of the night. Change in Amsterdam was just relaxed this this time. Had a chat over a coffee with one of my new found friends before we said our final goodbyes.

Was back home on the 5th way before noon, changed and craved so much for meat/protein that I walked straight over to one of my favourite burger places to have a supersize double-patty burger, yeah. 

Kilimanjaro, Hakuna Matata - Part 2

01.01.2015 Baranco Camp - Karanga Camp (3930m / 12393ft)
Scrambling on the M5 on a Friday afternoon

It had taken a while until I finally drifted off to sleep. Must have been around 10pm. I woke up only two hours later hearing a countdown from three and happy cheers. Ah. New Year's Eve. Luckily the cheers didn't last long and I could go back to dream country again.
Had to get up for a wee in the middle of the night and the almost full moon over Kili made me forget the freezing temperatures for a moment. How majestic he looked in the moonshine. Walking back to my tent I could see the lights of Moshi spread out wide about 3000m down on the plain. What a beautiful sight. Would've loved to just sit there and stare at it, but my snug sleeping bag was too tempting.

The famous Baranco Wall - a grade 1 scramble - was our first objective on New Year's day. It is notoriously congested since all the porters have to scale it as well and it feels a bit like the M5 on a Friday night. We set off later than ususal but still got into heavy traffic. Had to wait more often than not, couple of steps, wait again. It was still great fun and I would've loved to do it all over again, when we were up on the top.

Despite the delay, we reached Karanga Camp within 4.5hrs after setting off, having seen it long before we actually reached it, since there is a steep drop and equally steep ascent "protecting" the camp.

Karanga Camp looks close, but there's a massive gap in the way

Lunch time, relax time, tea time, relax time, dinner time. Lots of resting today. I couldn't sleep since the camp was quite busy, but didn't mind just lying around in my tent. Clouds prevented any kind of view and a slight rain any venturing about. I felt pretty good, but then there was not much of an elevation gain. As summit day was getting very close now, I grew more and more confident, that I would make it and not run into any health issues.
We talked about summit day over dinner, what the schedule would be, what we should wear, take with us etc. Again Mungo proved to be an excellent guide and instructor answering patiently all our questions.

02.01. Karanga Camp - Barafu Camp (4600m / 15091ft)
Getting close

A beautiful sunny morning greeted us and we were in good spirits. The weather was changing, getting rid of the clouds and it looked very promising for summit day which was now less than 24hrs away.
Again the night had been frosty and I had had to dig out my liner to get some extra warmth. Was quite satisfied with this little helper who will from now on accompany me on my nights out in the wilderness.

Mt. Meru visible for the first time

We set off to climb steeply up to about 4400m, then down through a beautiful valley and up again to Barafu Camp. We overtook the group of loud Americans we had seen a couple of times before and made sure to stay ahead of them.
A cold breeze was blowing but it was sunny most of the time. It was colder up here but also clearer. Kili was close now and I felt very determined to make it to the summit. I still felt really strong and good and confident to succeed.

Barafu Camp was - unlike the other camps which were situated on even plains - a very rocky camp so most groups had their own secluded space. Our tents where on the edge of a short drop overlooking a gently falling slope with mighty Mawenzi rising on its far side.

Rear window view of Kili

Front window view of Mawenzi

Unfortunately the ground wasn't level so whenever I moved I slid downwards on my Thermarest. Very annoying. We had another three hours of rest after lunch just after 1pm, then an early dinner and went to bed again at 7pm. I really regretted now not bringing a book. I had really thought I'd be too tired to read and didn't expect to have that much time to kill. So I lay in my bed waiting for sleep which finally came around 10pm.

Kilimanjaro, Hakuna Matata - Part 1

So, just back from an intense trip of just little more than a week, but it certainly feels like at least two. I have met some ace people, seen a new country, a new continent and summited a major peak: The highest one found in Africa. Yeah!
It was exciting, relaxing, stunning, educational and memorable. The trip was supposed to be a test for me in terms of coping with high altitude. I had a rough plan to do more mountaineering afterwards looking at Elbrus, Aconcagua and some 6000-7000m peaks in Asia. Coming back I cannot only say I passed the test with flying colours, no. I am totally hooked to mountaineering now. I can't wait to go onto my next trip!!! But let me tell you about this one here first.

27.12. 2014 Bristol - Amsterdam - Moshi
Travelling Day

My flight was to depart at around 6am from Bristol so I got up at 2:30am, jumped into my booked taxi (which was spot on timely), switched to airport shuttle bus and was on my plane all in good time. Unfortunately Amsterdam had some snow and our take-off was delayed by an hour. Shit.
Landed in Amsterdam after a bumpy ride and was told by the cabin crew that I would make my connection to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania. Still I sprinted from terminal D to terminal B just in case and got there while they where right in the middle of boarding. Phew. This way I had no chance of meeting my fellow team members yet and I prayed to the God of air travel that my luggage had made it as well.
The flight was very pleasant and I enjoyed the stunning views of snowy Croatian mountains and the vast sands of Egypt and Sudan. Slept a little, did a few chapters in my study book and before I knew it we landed 8.5hrs later in Tanzania.

Egypt

The Kili airport is tiny, immigration took my picture and fingerprints and I was soon waiting for my luggage at the conveyor belt looking out for the Jagged Globe kit bags that all of us were supposed to bring. This way I found my fellow team members Christos, Gabriel, Aisling, Chris, Guy, Rachel and Tim and our leader/guide Mungo. What a diverse group coming from Scotland, England and China ranging in age from 25 to 71.
Unfortunately three kit bags hadn't found their way to Tanzania and especially Guy was screwed since he had been forced to check in his hand luggage as well and stood there with just the clothes he wore.
In an old bus we were driven to The Keys Hotel, had a very late dinner at around 11pm and a bit of an introduction round and quickly retired to our rooms. I was not unhappy to hear that apart from our oldest team member Tim, no one had real high altitude experience. We were all in the same boat.

28.12.2014 Moshi - Big Tree Camp 2750m / 9020ft
Let's Go

Breakfast in the morning featured scrambled eggs, bacon and fresh fruit, yeah!!! Totally my thing, ha! Talked a bit more of what was to come and I liked my team mates already. What a lovely bunch of people. So different but very easy going and I was sure that we would make a great group over the following days.
It took ages in a Westener's eyes for the local porters to get our kit bags onto the bus and sort things out between them. There is no such thing as time scales and the concept of organization and finishing off tasks at a certain point seems to be totally alien to the Tanzanian culture. Amazed we watched the guides walk to and fro, back and forth, the bus backing out of its parking lot and going in time and again for no reason at all. I'm sure there was a system, we just couldn't see it.
Mungo told us, that the best we could do, was to forget about time, forget about how long it takes and just relax and lean back. Everything will happen when it happens. There's no sense in asking how long something takes. So that's what we did.
Eventually we set off. Stopped at two supermarkets so our mates without luggage could get themselves some essential things like a toothbrush. They could borrow sleeping bags from the hotel and the rest of us gave them any spare kit so they had what they needed for the first day or days until their kit arrived.
Having just been to Mumbai I was prepared for the state the infrastructure was in. It was in fact pretty similar, but the Tanzanian people were very open and friendly where Indians were a bit more reserved. This is also something we Westeners are not used to. But we got along very well, even with the fly-pitchers who tried to sell us hats, pictures and wristbands.
Arrived after a 3hr ride in the early afternoon at Londorosi Gate to check in with the National Park administration. Again it took ages to get everything sorted so we waited patiently and this way dodged the 2:30pm rain.

My companions for the next few days

Another hour on the bus - including being stuck in mud and pushed out by 20-odd porters - got us to Lemosho Gate where our trek should finally start. Slowly we walked from there up through a nice sub tropical forest on a good but at times muddy path, spotted some colobus monkeys and enjoyed the fresh air, smells and sounds.

Arrived at Big Tree camp around 6pm, after lots of porters had passed us on the way. Our tents where already up as well as the mess tent and a toilet tent with our own small toilet in there. How cool is that? I had one of the nice spacious Terra Nova tents all to myself as Aisling had booked a single for her, so I had one as well as there was no one else to share mine with. Whoohoo!
Had dinner and Mungo told us pretty much everything about Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), how to recognize it and how to treat it. Very informative and we all were left with a mixture of relief (no one will die) and anxiousness (OMG I don't want that lung oedema!).

29.12.2014 Big Tree Camp - Shira I 3480m / 11420ft
Pole, Pole

I slept really well and we set off at 8:30am after a nice breakfast. The cook really tried to accommodate my diet which I had reduced from low-carb/paleo to no sugar, no wheat/gluten-free. We went very slowly again which is very much the opposite of what I am used to since I normally can hold a quite fast pace over several hours time. "Pole, pole" (slowly, slowly) was what we heard time and again from our local guides and porters passing by. Even below 4000m conservation of energy is very important and can make the difference between success and failure in the end.

Shira I Camp

Through woods we went at first before views over the plain we had travelled over the day before openend up around midday. Trees gave way to high bushes and the bushes vanished just before we reached Shira I camp on a wide plain in the late afternoon being our first stop above 3000m. Kili easily dominated the view.
I had a slight headache but felt good otherwise and after dinner everybody soon retreated to their tents.

30.12.2014 Shira I Camp - Shira II Camp 3850m / 12630ft
Hello Kili

Again I slept really well although I had gone to bed around 7:30pm the night before. My tent door opened to a nice view of Kili before clouds hid it again. First time we could really see the big guy. An easy walk over the Shira Plain took us approx. 4 hrs. The walk was quite scenic with a bit of sun and rain in the end.

Good morning

On Shira Plain

Shira II Camp

 Napped for about 2 hrs after lunch in camp and was surprised I could actually sleep with all the noise going on around. Woke up as a sudden gust of wind tore at the pegs of my tent and blew our mess tent about 100 yards away. Quite scary but the only occasion on our whole trip when the wind was stronger than a slight breeze.
After dinner it was time for another one of Mungo's lessons. This time we learnt about hypo- and hyperthermia. Two conditions we were likely to come across when out there mountaineering. The way he provided us with all the essential information was just fantastic. All of us would not only go home with (hopefully) a summit certificate but also with fundamental knowledge about the health issues we can encounter when up there on a mountain.
I still felt really good. Had a slight headache but nothing that deserved treatment. Occasionally I felt like I needed to take a very deep breath. Weird feeling but not necessarily unpleasant.

31.12.2014 Shira II Camp - Lava Tower (4645m / 15220ft) - Baranco Camp 4040m / 13255ft
Holy Shit High Altitude

Today was the first crucial day for us. We were about to climb as high as Lava Tower before dropping down to Baranco Camp. This was supposed to help with acclimatisation.
I hadn't slept well. First it was a bit freezing so I had put on long-johns and a shirt, then it was too warm and I had taken them off again.
The view of Kili behind the camp in the morning was stunning again. Mt. Meru was peeking out of the clouds opposite. In the morning sun and a mild breeze we steadily ascended on a wide plain. The few steep ascends had most of us breathing hard at this height and the first paracetamols were consumed.

We had a break after one of the ascents with a fantastic view of Lava Tower. I had a mild headache at that time hoping it would not get worse. By the time we reached the foot of Lava Tower and the camp there (The highest pretty much all of us had ever been!!!), my headache was skull splitting. I felt generally miserable and just wanted to descent as soon as possible. Popped two paracetamols since everyone had good experiences with those, but it only helped a little.

Lava Tower

Went down a steep rocky path that could've easily been anywhere in Scotland, Wales or the Lake District. Even more so as a steady rain set in. The senecio trees that appeared along the path further down finally put a smile on my face again. It was so beautiful despite the rain, no picture could do justice.
We had walked for more than 6 hrs so far and were happy to see the colourful tents of Baranco Camp finally coming into view. The rain stopped when we reached camp and vanished into our tents for a bit of rest.
I snacked on two Nurofen and although without sleep, me resting for 2 hrs turned my headache back to a slight one. Phew. No brain oedema then. Haha. The sun had come out and Kili was visible behind the camp. We were definitely getting closer and the big lump with its white streaks looked rather impressive.

In Baranco Camp

At lunch most of us admitted that they had felt the altitude at Lava Tower today (ranging from headaches to feeling miserable) but were a lot better here in camp. At this point the three missing bags hadn't turned up so far and this was really getting an issue with every passing day as we were getting closer to summit day. Especially for Guy who could call almost nothing his own.

Good night Kili

Luckily and thanks to Mungo's and (our local guide) Dawson's efforts all missing bags turned up just at dinner time being carried by three porters. Happy faces all around (not the porters). Still, amazing how the whole team compensated the missing gear for such a long time helping out in whatever way possible. We had indeed become fast friends and the team spirit was fantastic. Everyone was looking out for each other and helping. Already the trip had been absolutely grand so far.