Kilimanjaro - 7th - 17th October 2010
In October 2010, 4 brave men and one brave lady took on the challenge of Mount Kilimanjaro, their aim: to conquer the mountain and raise significant amounts of money for the Emily Ash Trust. Those fantastic 5 were: Butch Alboni, Mick Frampton, Mick Stone, Caroline Pittard and John Gough.
Before starting our climb we were told that when you did something good, the guides would hand out a necklace to wear, when you did something bad you would be given a glove to wear........
Butch being extremely heavy handed had the glove most days, breaking zips, poles bags and that was just at the airport...... although he was awarded the necklace for kindness at times!
Day 1: Overnight flight to NAIROBI
Day 2: Travelled to village of Marangu, 2km from Marangu Park Gate. Rested for the challenge ahead.
Overnight: Nakara Hotel, Marangu.
Sleep at altitude 1800m / 5,906 feet
Day 3: We started the ascent. The trail weaved through dense forest, filled with the noises of chattering Colobus monkeys. We were surrounded by an incredible variety of towering trees, giant ferns and wild forest flowers.
Overnight: Mandara Hut
Climb to altitude: 2744m / 9,000 feet
Sleep at altitude: 2700m / 8,860 feet
Day 4: An early start for the longer trek along an uphill trail to the Horombo Hut. The landscape took on a more rugged and rocky terrain, in the distance we could see the magnificent peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo. We passed through the cloud level!
Overnight at Horombo Hut.
Climb to altitude: 3761m / 12,339 feet
Sleep at altitude: 3700m / 12,138 feet
Day 5: Acclimatisation trek of approximately 5 hours. We took the upper Kibo trail which took us through streams and rocky mountain vegetation to “Zebra Rock” at 4,000m. We continued to an observation point at 4200m for some spectacular views of Kibo Hut, the twin peaks and the trail to the summit.
Overnight: Horombo Hut
Climb to altitude: 4, 200m / 13,780 feet
Day 6: We followed the lower route to Kibo Hut through spectacular mountain flora and fauna – giant cacti, lobelia and other mountain flowers lined our route. After trekking for 4 hours we stopped for our picnic at the Kibo Saddle and although we could see the Kibo Hut it was another 2–3 hours trek in the afternoon. This part of the trek was beyond the water point as we entered the ‘desert’ zone, it was slow-going and cold due to the high altitude. Here we encountered hailstones, and heavy snow which made it very cold and hard going.
Overnight: Kibo Hut.
Climb to altitude: 4732m / 15,525 feet
Sleep at altitude: 4700m / 15,420 feet
Day 7: We trekked halfway to William's point at 5000m approx to acclimatise to the high altitude and rested sufficiently for the next day's ascent to the summit.
Overnight: Kibo Hut.
Sleep at altitude: 4700m / 15,420 feet
Day 8: Just after midnight we embarked on a slow ascent up the steepest and most difficult part of the challenge to Gilman’s Point at an altitude of 5685m, perched on the crater rim where we rested to watch the sun begin to rise. We continued on from here for a further 2 hours through snow and wind to Uhuru Peak, 5895m. The air here was so thin here that we were all struggling to breathe. It was extremely cold to well below freezing temperatures. At the top we spent some time resting, taking photographs of the world below. We then started our descent to Horombo Hut to rest overnight. Descending from Gilman's was extremely difficult - as difficult if not more physically demanding than the climb in many people's experience. We slept briefly at Kibo Hut and then down to Mandara Hut - in all, this was an exhausting 20 hour day.
Overnight: Kibo Hut, Mandara Hut & Horombo Hut
Climb to altitude: Gilmans Point : 5681m / 18638 feet, Uhuru Peak: 5,895 m (19,341 ft)
Sleep at altitude: 3700m / 12,334 feet
Day 9: We prepared to descend which was rapid, in 3 ½ hours we reached Mandara Hut and then after another 3 hours we reached Marangu Park Gate. We stopped briefly for a packed lunch on the way. We transferred to our hotel and relaxed for the afternoon to rebalance and rest aching limbs.
Overnight: Nakara Hotel, Marangu
Sleep at altitude 1800m / 5,906 feet
Day 10 and 11: We completed our journey home.