Description of the Climb

For those curious about how long and how much and how high and how everything, you will find what I am being told about the climb below. It'll be interesting to compare with my impressions afterwards!

Situated on the northeastern side of the mountain, the Rongai Route is the "easiest" of the more remote quality routes on the mountain. I chose it because it'll be better for my knee, but still not too easy or too crowded.

Day 1
To Moorland Camp : 2600 m
Walking time  : 3 to 4 hours
     After a short walk through the banana and coffee farms of Rongai village, the trail enters a pine forest full of colobus monkeys and several varieties of birds. This side of the mountain doesn't receive nearly as much rain as the western flank, so the underfoot conditions should be good. The trail gradually emerges from the forest into the next climate zone, the moorland. The first camp is reached in mid-afternoon.

Day 2
To Kikelewa Caves Camp : 3600 m
Ascent: 1000 m
Walking time  : 6 to 7 hours
     Early morning is normally clear at camp and as we make our way across the moorland, we get increasingly good views of Kibo, the Eastern Icefields, and also of the jagged peaks of Mawenzi. Kikewala Caves is reached shortly after lunch.

Day 3
To Mawenzi Tarn Camp : 4330 m
Ascent : 730 m
Walking time  : 3 to 4 hours
     A short but steep climb up grassy slopes is rewarded by great all round views and " a feeling of real remoteness." Shortly after, the vegetation is left behind and the immensity of the mountain begins to loom.
     The next camp is at Mawenzi Tarn, situated right below the towering spires of Mawenzi. The afternoon is used for rest time as an aid to acclimatisation.  At 4330 meters, some people begin to feel the effects of altitude. Headaches, lack of appetite, and dizziness are all possible symptoms.


Day 4
To Kibo Camp : 4700 m 
Ascent : 520 m  
Descent : 100 m 
Walking time  : 4 to 5 hours     
     Day 4's trek leads directly between the two volcanoes of Mawenzi and Kibo. While crossing the alpine desert, we get our first glimpse of the winding summit path, wherein lies what my guidebook calls "the nightmare." We are advised to keep snacking throughout the day despite a loss of appetite, because we will be needing all that energy for the day after. Everyone tries to wind down by 6 PM, as we are waking up between midnight and 1 AM for the final climb!


Day 5
To Summit 1 : Gillmans : 5681 m 
To  Summit 2, the ultimate!   : Uhuru : 5896 m 
Horombo Huts : 3720 m 
Ascent : 1146 m  
Descent : 2016 m 
Walking time  : 9 to 15 hours     
     Between midnight and 1am, the final trek begins. The ascent is by torchlight and the plan is to get to Gillman's point on the crater rim in time to watch the sun rise over the jagged peaks of the Mawenzi. This is the "nightmare": "Five to six hours of trudging up generally well-graded zigzags, this way and that, backwards and forward in the dark, uphill all the way." This is when I'll be cashing in my countless hours on the Cap-Blanc steps of the Plains of Abraham. Hopefully the training will get me to the top, but at this altitude, the air is incredibly thin, and nausea can easily set in. If at any point the guide says that someone isn't fit to continue, there is no disputing his decision.
     Anyway, after 5 or 6 hours, we should reach Gillman's point. A short rest is taken there, and then we push on towards the summit in the final 2-hour climb to Uhuru Peak: "It is this summit experience that climbers talk about most enthusiastically when they get off the mountain. That may seem like an obvious thing to say, but there is something strangely surreal about the summit in the early light of the day. The light plays tricks on the ice and the thin air plays tricks on the mind. Many people talk of a peculiarly uplifting experience" (Africa Travel Resource).


     As if this were not enough for one day already, it is only 7 am and we are now faced with the descent!


     The descent is generally undertaken in a kind of post-summit daze. The fact that we descend on the busy Marangu Trail is apparently neither here no there, with our asethetic appreciation being replaced almost completely with a simple desire to get back down.


Day 6
To Marangu  : 1650 m 
Ascent : 0  
Descent : 1890 m 
Walking time  : 5 to 6 hours  
     Final Stop: Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort, and off to Zanzibar for me!