Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Climbing Killer Hill*




































Mount Kilimanjaro
Near Moshi, Tanzania
April 27th, 2009


Do we or don’t we. It was a big debate for me rather than Karel as I am the one who reads the guidebooks religiously and likes researching the goings on and the possibilities of goings on. The books were truthful saying not to “underestimate” the mountain and “be prepared mentally” for the challenge. I must say I was torn. Enamored with the thoughts of climbing but hindered by the warnings of caution. Then in Zanzibar we met Chris and Christine, a fun couple who had just climbed the mountain. It was tough they said but amazing. They also passed on the details and phone number of the guide they had who was brilliant. Sold. We were sold.

We arrived in Moshi and called the number requesting to speak with John. Meeting John at The Coffee Shop we discussed details. The Machame route – the whiskey route would be our path and Monday we would start our six day five night epic climb. He arranged to meet us the next day to get equipment – tents, warm down jackets, warmer sleeping bags, ponchos, you name it. Kitted out we then helped by driving John and his right hand man and brother-in-law Alex to the market to pick up all of the things we needed. We were invited back to John’s house for lunch and were led into a lovely living room with a lace covered blue couch and large poster of a young Bob Marley. Toasting our upcoming journey over Fantas and Cokes, we ate a delicious lunch of a coconut milk based stew with cooked bananas.

The next day, slightly nervous we made our way in a mini-van with crushed orange velvet seat covers towards the Machame gate. Our ponchos were a must have item as the rains certainly came down. The first day of hiking was easy with a slow and steady ascent. Following our guide John we carefully made our way through the rainforest admiring the many beautiful mountain flowers. We also made many pee stops as we drank the recommended four to five litres per day of water. The porters didn’t move as slowly as we, instead they steamed along sharing the weight of the food stuffs and equipment between their backs and their heads. Once we arrived at camp we had the pleasant surprise of having a bowl of hot water ready for us to wash our hands and faces, and the even more pleasant surprise of having a tent lined with a red and black checked cloth, lit by a candle and filled with every hot drink mix imaginable along with a thermos of boiling water. We ate well enjoying spaghetti with a beef sauce and fresh fruits. Alex was our cook and what a cook he was. After eating we peacefully feel asleep at Machame Camp.

Day two was more difficult. It was a short climb of three hours but it was extremely steep. We went slowly taking one step, then another in slow motion. The scenery changed from rainforest to a mossy coated forest. Again it was stunning. We stopped frequently and admired the views. The last hour of the hike Karel and I got drenched. It really poured and the poncho didn’t quite earn its keep. When we at last arrived at our camp, Shira Camp, we spent the majority of the day in our tent avoiding the rain and doing our level best to dry our shoes and clothes. Karel had a slight headache due to the altitude but luckily a few tablets later was fine.

Thankfully day three was sunny. Our shoes dried quickly along with our clothes. We had a longer day of hiking- about seven hours. This time it was proper mountain climbing with some scrambling up bits of hardened lava. The scenery change this time moved towards a rocky and barren landscape. Karel’s headache worsened and by lunch he was really struggling. We switched bags as I was feeling strong and had the unusual occurrence of an increase in appetite, which is highly unusual given normal altitude adjustments. Karel downed another couple of headache pills and had a nap once we reached Barranco Camp. He was feeling better by dinner and I made Karel eat as his appetite was affected.

On day four we were speaking to a French couple about the trek and talking about altitude sickness. The woman who is a neurologist said she had some mountain sickness tablets and would give us some. Karel eagerly took them and downed them along with additional headache tablets. He was told to take some now, and then some later that night when we would wake up to make our final ascent. The day was taken up by two three hour hikes. Slowly and steadily we made our way, happy to have a rain free day. The landscape continued to be rocky. We arrived at Barafu Camp at four in the afternoon and had a quick nap. Waking for dinner at six we ate quickly and went to bed for a restful four hours sleep as we needed to wake at eleven to begin our final ascent.

Day five was long. Really long. We woke at eleven, dressed in several layers and had our head torches ready. We began our ascent at eleven thirty. A six hour ascent. Uphill all the way. On four hour sleep. The first few hours went quickly enough but the last two hours for me were killer. I don’t know what was worse the pain in each step or that fact that I had Madonna’s “Time goes by so slowly” in my head- actually it wasn’t even the whole song just that line on repeat. We reached the top. We saw the glaciers. It was heaven. One of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever been lucky enough to witness. We snapped photos until we could no longer feel our hands as they were frozen with cold (we have several blurry photos as a result). Sadly the saying what comes up must come down also applies to people who have climbed a mountain. And so down we went. It was a three hour descent. I’m not sure what happened to me, I was doing so well climbing up not feeling sick but on the descent I felt totally out of it. Karel was doing fine thanks to the tablets, but he said I looked so vacant. I don’t fully remember the descent I just know I was out of it and struggling to move. John and Alex helped me down and we went very quickly. Once we were back at our camp I was feeling 100% again. We had a two hour nap followed by a soup lunch and then continued our descent. Another four hours downhill. Each step was difficult as the route was extremely steep. Essentially day five consisted of walking for thirteen hours out of sixteen. We reached camp enjoyed an African stew and feel peacefully asleep trying to block the next day’s walking from our minds.

Day six I was back to feeling totally energized and enjoying the descent through the rainforest. Karel was feeling the pain. It was only a two and a half hour walk down to the gate. Upon our arrival we received certificates for reaching the Uhuru peak at just over 5896 metres. I think we’ll frame them. Once we arrived back at the car, we decided that we deserved a hotel. In fact the idea of having a bath kept me going for most of day five and it turns out Karel was thinking the same. We checked into the Impala hotel for two nights where Karel enjoyed the rugby and I had a bath for three hours. It was our second taste of Heaven that week.


* A slightly different Killer Hill than the one in Saskatchewan hey dad

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