CLIMBING IN THE TROPICS -KILIMANJARO (19,342 FT)

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33065, 4 November 1972, Page 11

CLIMBING IN THE TROPICS -KILIMANJARO (19,342 FT)

(By

G. MITCHELL)

The decision to climb Mount Kilimanjaro (19,342 ft was made on the spur of the moment, and three days later 1 was climbing the lower slopes. Kilimanjaro is almost on the Equator, and its summit rises ice cold above the steaming heat.

Kilimanjaro lies on the border between Kenya and Tanzania, a great mass thrusting straight up from the rolling highland plains. This volcano, for it is still active, is the highest mountain in the world in relation to the surrounding landscape, rising sheer for 13,300 feet above the tropical plains. Though impressive to us today, long ago the sight must have been far more spectacular. For beside Kilimanjaro, and separated by only seven miles, is 16,900 foot Mount Mawenzi. Now an extinct volcano, it previously soared to an estimated 36,000 feet before its final eruption. From Nairobi two companions and I set out for Emali, a small Afro-Indian town on the main Mombasa-Nairobi highway. Here we hoped to get a bus to Laitokitok, but found that the only bus had left. The next day we set out on a cheaper but less comfortable form of transport, the local beer supply truck. Our journey along the dirt track proved worse than we had feared, but our high perch enabled us to see game such as gazelle, zebra and giraffe, and the colourful Masai people herding their cattle. Colourful dress The Masai add much colour and interest to Central East Africa. They are a proud people who have refused to change their dress and customs, although they have been in contact with western civilisation for 70 years. Masai of the Ambaselli area wear a red cloak and much bead work. The men always carry their spear, a symbol of manhood; silver blade for the warrior and black for tbe uninitiated. The warrior must earn the right to carry the silver spear by crouching alone, spear-shaft in the ground with the point angled uppermost, and retain this position when a lion the tribe is hunting is cornered, and jumps at him. He must impale it on his spear and live. Eventually we reached Laitokitok, at the base of the mountain, and set out to find Mr David Singh who was to find some porters for us. This small village proved fascinating to us, for the Masai in tribal dress came in from time to time to talk and to buy.

The following morning we set off with two porters and a guide, each of them carrying a pack. At first we climbed through cultivated areas, buying vegetables to feed us on the journey as we Cassed, then we entered eavy forest. A profusion of wild flowers greeted us: redhot pokers, gladioli and many others, and always the beautiful, fresh, clear-water mountain streams. African forests always have surprises for the tramper; if it is not the beauty of a new flower, it is the flash of a racing buck or a swish as a Colobus monkey outpaces one high in the trees above, his white underside glistening among the green leaves. The forest gradually gave way to bush, and eventually

to low scrub, enabling us to get our first glimpse of the mountain rising in the distance. We marvelled at the beauty of it, for it rose to a perfect cone and even from so far below we could see the ice on its crest. At mid-day we had some unexpected company; the Kenyan Outward Bound School was tramping the lower slopes, and I stopped for a few minutes to talk to another New Zealander who was the group’s instructor. Night under rock Our first night was spent under a rock overhang. We were tired, but happy to be on our way at last, whilst in the star-light Kilimanjaro could be seen encouraging us to greater effort. Meals were simple but sustaining. Packet-soups, potatoes, cabbage and meat, with snacks of chocolate and a nut-and-raisin mix were our fare. The day may have been warm, but the first night was very cold, an indication of the cold to come.

The next day proved much harder to us all as we had begun to feel the effects of the altitude, and the porters and guides had to carry firewood, as there are no forests higher up. From 9000 ft up the lack of oxygen became more and more noticeable. Instead of the light step I had started out with, I now had to make a conscious effort to fill my lungs and place my feet. The foliage deteriorated to bracken and scrub, and then to small bushes and

tussockland and finally to stones covered with lichen. At the last water we stopped to fill every container we had, for there was only ice a long way further up. The Outward Bound School had placed a drum under the last, single trickle, creating a welcome reserve for thirsty trampers. Altitude tells At the end of the day we reached 15,000 ft, and the effort demanded to keep moving was evident; we were exhausted. The Kilimanjaro Mountain Club had built three light, but strong, huts, under Kibo point, and we eased ourselves thankfully onto the hard, boarded bunks. Kilimanjaro can be approached from Tanzania or Kenya, but though the Tanzanian side is by far the easier, it has the disadvantage of costing more for porters — hence the Kenyan side for us. The short night passed slowly, for we all lay almost frozen to the very marrow by the sub-zero temperatures. At midnight we arose and had a steaming plate of soup before setting off again. My two companions had violent headaches and diarrhoea caused by altitude sickness. Many people who have attempted this climb before have been unable to continue because of this illness. Ahead of us lay the most difficult part; a 3000 ft climb up scree slopes which rose almost vertically. Here lay the wisdom in the early start, for had we seen the extent and steepness of the slope, it is very doubtful if we would have attempted the climb. After a short while my companions had to return to the hut, and the guide and I continued together. We rested a short while at a cave two hours up, but rest is not recommended for one can easily fall into easy sleep due to the cold, altitude and tiredness, and never awaken. Again we forced ourselves on, the guide feeling the cold and altitude as much as I. Repeatedly I found my mind floating and wandering, then I’d stumble as if drunk and suddenly awake, find myself a few agonising feet further on in a numb world of unreality and exhaustion. Sunrise on roof The ominous bulk of Kilimanjaro was always above us in the moonlight as we zig-zagged slowly upwards on the scree, trying not to loose step and start a rapid slide downwards. Light comes quickly at that altitude, and as we neared the top we saw the sun rising. A spurt of energy and a hurried climb up the last remaining rock wall, and I stood upon the roof of Africa, the first in all that vast continent to see that day’s sun as it rose in a ball of flame behind Mawenzi’s jagged peak, a beautiful and awe-inspiring view. I felt a closeness to God and the power of nature. Below, oh so far below, I could just glimpse the plains of Kenya and Tanzania through the cloud that blanketed the mountain lower down. Turning my back on the view below I looked across the crater-rim and saw the jagged walls of ice. the perpetual snow and the steaming vents of the volcano. For an hour or more I looked this way and that but all too soon it was time to make the descent to Kibo Huts. Quick descent As always, the descent is so easy. This was a series of leaps and slides making use of the scree, this time to get down rapidly. The ascent had taken four and a half hours but the descent was accomplished in 45 minutes. Unfortunately for us the guide had lost my water bottle in climbing up and I had nothing to drink so we set out immediately for water 2000 feet below. Our guide also warned us that a storm was approaching and we must hurry. Little can be said of that trip down except that from 12.30 am. to 8.30 p.m. I was continually on the move, climbing up over 4000 feet and descending 13,000 feet, a distance of 26 miles to Liotokitok. Exhaustion is all that can be said of the state of my companions and me when we arrived back. Tiredness soon overcame us and we slept for two days recovering from the homeward journey. With the climb behind, I wish that I could return again to Kilimanjaro and stand alone above the clouds watching the African day begin.