Final Photos

So we come to the end of our adventure, all there is to do now is look back at where we've been...

Looks daunting from here!

Looking back to Barafu on the way to the summit final day

A view of the moonscape we have walked through

Mawenzi at 6.00am ( not 7.00am ) on assault day!

Setting out

Lunch at Stella Point on the top of the crater rim.

Made it Uhuru Peak !!

Looking back at Mawenzi

Nicki and me with Kili in the background on our way down.

At the park entrance, the finale

Finally a signal! So its time to finally finish the blog.
Day 5
Barranco to Karanga camp 28th October 2011
The day started with a punishing climb up Barranco cliff , 250m not a nice way to start the day huffing and puffing up the steep track. We must concentrate in breathing through our noses as this warms the cold air before it reaches our lungs, the only trouble is the condensation makes our noses run continuously! The cloud kept billowing in reducing our visibility and further decreasing the temperature. Today is all about acclimatisation and the 8 km walk is over in 3.5 hrs.
Karanga is our resupply camp and the last water we will collect on our climb. All the water for our next 2 camps Barafu and Crater must be  treated and shipped by porters from here, very tough.
Day 6
Karanga 4033m
Bad nights sleep as tent on slope (kept sliding down the bottom of the cot) this and the effect of the Diamox making us pee 4 or more times a night meant I felt very tired when woken by Matthew with tea at 6.30am. Up through the Alpine desert before reaching the base of a rather forbidding climb up to a high ridge and into Barafu camp which is the final location from which we will attempt the summit.
Barafu camp 4673m
Bit of a headache on arrival. Did a further 250m acclimatisation walk up higher, tough day so glad to sleep a little in the afternoon.
Joseph went through our kit for the climb tomorrow. 4 layers plus thermals, trousers and waterproofs. With the exception of the waterproofs all kit worn to bed, it started to snow.
Day 7
Barafu to Stella Point 5799m then Uhuru peak 5895m
Fantastic sunrise over Mawenzi, the day starts fine but cold and off we trek at 6.15am.I am worried about having another nosebleed which forces me to breathe through my mouth and effects my lungs, but my luck holds.
Up and up we climb slow but with purpose. Even the porters who have shot past us like mountain goats on days past slowly labour upwards. I keep hoping for Jackson to call a break, but no just more of the same,
I cant take too much more of this. Then I see the porters like ants start to climb vertically the final path to Stella Point. Upwards like a couple of geriatrics's we continue almost reduced to a shuffle just one foot in front of the other. Nicki is in a bad way I constantly talk to he between gasps, "almost there not long now" and suddenly we are at Stella Point looking down to the crater far below. Matthew, Jackson the cook had laid the table out with plates etc with soup and pastries but Nick was shaking uncontrollably with exhaustion and wasn't hungry. I quickly got her down jacket out and on to her. This stabilised her core temperature but her oxygen/ blood reading was down to 63% and into the danger zone.
Joseph made a quick decision, Nicki could try for a summit but staying overnight in Crater camp was out of the question.. I could stay up but what was the point it was all about sharing the experience with Nick. The elation I felt on reaching Stella Point was short lived when we started for the summit. It my have been just over 100m but it was a real struggle. Then finally 3/4 of an hour later we reached the summit, the highest point in Africa and the highest freestanding mountain in the world at 1.00pm!
There is only one other person and her guide at the summit so loads of photos and I scream yes as emotion kicks in, but then quickly run out of breath. Photos done the decent becomes a laborious scree sliding event, both of us on the edge of exhaustion legs buckling underneath us. Finally 2 3/4 hrs later we arrive back in camp. We had done it!Lots of high fives with the porters and Azuri Sana's all round!
Day 8
Barafu 4673m to main gate 1800m
We had made the decision to get off off the mountain a day early as we had not stayed at Crater camp. 
This required a challenging 26 km walk down to the main gate but meant we would have an extra night of luxury in a proper bed!
At the gate I gave my boots to the cook for future use,after all I felt they belonged to this mountain. We then we picked up our certificates signed by Joseph and the Minister of Parks before gulping down a well earnt glass of fizz before heading off to Duluti Lodge near Arusha.



Not sure where I am herre but need Melissa to help me file further pic's including summit!

 Nigel

Nearly There..

Day 3
Sorry about the photo's being out of order Melissa did show me but I've forgotten!

So today we are traversing the Shira Plateau just 8km with 400m of ascent to an altitude of 3900m but even this relatively short trek will take 3 hrs.


I should at this point mention a bit about camp life. We have 16 porters,cook,camp manager,senior and assistant guides. We are sharing the camp with two other trekking groups at the moment which means lots and lots of porters!

Nigel and Matthew outside our tent

The Tanzanians are a very gregarious lot-worse than a bunch of washerwomen always talking so the camp is full of laughter, shouts,singing etc with all that noise earplugs at night are essential!

As  we leave camp at 8.00am the last bits of camp are broken and soon porters are passing us with huge loads on their backs weighing no more than 20kg (limited by the park authorities) at the start everything is weighed and divided between the porters. When we arrive at the next camp (Shira 2) all the tents are erected and a much needed cup of Chai is on offer! Shira 2 is on a kopie above the plateau and once again we dodged the rain by getting to camp first.



Bit of a situation on the trek today,one of the porters Kungurau (Swahili nickname for The Raven) followed a porter from another group for a good few km towards another camp before realising he didn't know the bloke in front so decided to take a cross-country route to the correct camp.By this time the alarm had been raised when he had not appeared at Shira 2 and two porters were dispatched to find him. Luckily they hadn't gone too far before he was spotted on the ridge above camp!

When asked about it by the trek leader Joseph the porter replied it could have been worse as the last he saw of the porter he was following he was still going strong in the wrong direction!



I spied the Raven in camp and to the amusement of his colleagues I said I wouldn't be following him tomorrow as I would probably end up back at our start point back in Arusha!

Day 4



Looking down back to Barranco camp (more of this later on)

Off to Barranco camp today via Lava Tower so 3900m up to 4637m dropping to 3976m, i.e. acclimatise high sleep low. Early start 7.45am a grey misty day walking though Moorland zone with mosses and lichens on the boulders strewn everywhere. More up,up,up as we did the cloud cleared give great views back over the Shira plateau and southern ridge.



After 2hrs climbing we glimpsed way above us the Lava Tower dusted with snow. Now in Alpine desert so flora scarce. We joined the Machame route and the volume of porters and trekkers greatly increased. We arrived at Lava Tower in just over 4 hrs to a welcome mess tent. We both have slight headaches but sit down to lunch to Mushroom soup and Beef fajitas and beans, fantastic!



Route down hill in sleety snow very cold, steep and rocky so very wearing. Across glacial streams finally reaching camp at 2.30pm and went to bed as suffering with headaches, knackered!!

But feeling better after a bit of a kip.



Some fantastic views of Kibo when the cloud cleared in the evening. Looked at route out tomorrow, bugger me i think its a job for mountain goats! And so to bed!

So finally a GPRS signal so lets start from Day 1

So we set out from Arusha(1500 m) at 8.00a m. It's a 3 hour drive to the ranger post to get permits etc.

Everything is on African time which means 3 times as long as normal. So we finally arrived at our start point at 1.30pm after a number of hairy moments when the landrover became stuck! We had lunch served by a nice chap called Matthew before setting off at 2.00pm, up through the Afromontane forest. It is a rich habitat for white/black Colobus monkeys and blue monkeys living side by side.

Our first dinner with Joseph





We have been briefed on the 3 golden rules - slowly slowly (pole,pole), sippy sippy and eat eat, so we try to do all 3! Some up some down but we arrive at forest camp at 5.15 pm height 2829 m.Dinner was a three course affair and then to bed at 9.00pm.



Day 2



Nigel with Joseph and Jackson our guides



Woken up at 6.30am with tea by Matthew and after strip wash in maji moto (hot water) into the mess tent for brekkie which consisted of porridge, omelette,bacon and toast with loads of tea.



Off at 8.00am a longer day 12km with 676m of ascent, we were up and down most of the morning before leaving the forest zone (mainly giant Junipers and Podocarpus) and into the heather zone. We stopped for lunch after an arduous climb and there was the mess tent and loo tent! 40 mins later it was up,up,up on a very steep ridge to the Shira Plateau which is the sunken caldera of the Shira volcano the oldest on Kilimanjaro. 

 

Kibo from Shira 1 camp



We just reached camp at Shira 1 before it started raining and the temperature plummeted! In bed after diner by 7.30pm with hat, gloves, thermals and two pairs of socks then inside a fleece liner and Arctic grade sleeping bag! Still cold for the first hour but finally got to sleep

 



Heather zone



Our team plus Nicki!



Tough day at the office! Had sun, snow,rain and fog! The 700 metres  up took 4 hours and getting down 2 which was tiring. Now at 3976 M just had tea and fresh popcorn waiting for rangers so we can sign in.

Well here goes my first ever unassisted blog!

Well here goes my first ever unassisted blog! I thought I should have a go whilst Melissa (my Secretary) is within earshot.

Well I think we are nearly there, we've checked all the technical gear over and have the medical /sunscreen stuff ready to pack.

This is our technical gear, rather a lot eh!

With all this kit no wonder we need so many porters!

So I am going to post this now and the next time you hear from me I will be in Tanzania.

Nigel

The Adventure Begins...

Hello, this is Nigel Palmer, thank you for visiting my page.



My wife Nicki and I are about to take on the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, we will be setting off to conquer the mountain on Monday 24th October and hopefully reaching the summit on the 31st October.

 

Outside Katumbi School

I am fund raising for The Nomad Trust- a charity which helps communities and conservation in Tanzania. In particular Stearn Electric has supported the Katumbi School in Mahale by providing new solar equipment (given by Glen Dimplex), laptops and netbooks.This has meant the school now has use of a computers and can teach it's students how to use word and excel.



Katumbi School

Unfortunately, even after our help they are still in great need of resources. This is why I am raising money to further enhance their facilities.

So please give generously by clicking the donate link at the top of the page to support my chosen charity.