week 20 - climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

The night before Valentine’s Day, Tom and I were super nervous and barely could sleep, but it didn’t have anything to do with the holiday the next day but with us starting our expedition up to Mount Kilimanjaro. We met Gasper, our guide, a few days earlier on our way to Simba Farm to get to know each other and also he quickly wanted to discuss and check the gear we had. Our first surprise regarding the climb was the number of people who were involved in this trip besides the two of us and our guide Gasper. Eight porters, a second guide and a chef (e.g. stomach engineer, how Gasper liked to call him) accompanied us all the way up to basecamp (the last camp before the summit), and we soon realized that without them, none of us and probably none of the other tourists would have made it even half way up Mount Kilimanjaro. Gasper and the crew came to pick us up at Simba Farm, where we also could park our Defender for one week. Before we left, they checked our gear one more time to make sure we didn’t miss anything: a warm jacket, a pair of trekking boots, a pair of walking shoes, warm baselayers, a softshell jacket, long hiking pants, a rainjacket and rain pants, shorts and shirts, trekking poles, warm gloves and a hat, sunglasses, a headtorch, a sleeping bag, a pillow, water bottles and a backpack each besides our personal toiletries and of course the cameras - we were all set and and ready to go. To get to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, you walk through 5 climate zones, starting in the cultivation zone followed by the rainforest before you get to the moorland and after to the alpine desert zone. For the last bit you are in the arctic zone with ice and snow, which explains the many different clothes and layers we needed to bring with us.

Simba Farm is located just on the way to the entrance gate of Kilimanjaro National Park, where we started our trek. From the many different routes you can choose from, we decided on the 7-day Lemosho Route. At the entrance gate, we had to wait for all the porters to pack up everything and weigh their bags. Each porter is “only” allowed to carry 20kg, which is insane! The backpacks Tom and I carried weighed about 6kg to 8kg each and contained our rain jackets, sun screen, water and some snacks only. Everything else of our gear including the tents to sleep in was carried up the mountain by the porters. To top this up, the crew is walking twice as fast as we were in order to set up our camp before we would arrive. In the morning, they would pack up everything after we had left with our two guides and halfway through the route, they would overtake us and be ready again waiting for us to arrive at the end of the day. These guys (and girls) are really doing an incredible job!

In order to actually make it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, it is essential to walk very slowly, and I mean veeeery slowly. For one, you do not want to get exhausted too early and more important, you want to let your body adjust to the height. The hike starts at around 2,300m, goes up to 5,895m and down again to 1,600m within 7 days (or more or less, depending on the route and timeframe you choose). A lot of people get the altitude sickness. If you get the symptoms and they get worse, you have to turn around because it wouldn’t be save to keep on going higher up. We fully trusted our guides, who always stressed how important it was to walk slowly and drink a lot of water, so we did and were rewarded in the end - we made it to the top even without any major symptoms of altitude sickness. We were both lucky, eventhough Tom had a headache and I experienced nausea but for both of us, this only happened when we were already on our way back down again after reaching the summit, so the symptoms quickly became less with every meter we descended.

It was an incredible trip, with lots of unforgettable experiences! Stunning views, exhausting moments, beautiful sunsets, freezing nights, hot tea, porridge and soup to warm ourselves, hurting feet, pouring rain, soaked clothes, shared laughters, chanting songs with our guides and also learning some Swahili, early mornings, hiking in the middle of the night in the dark with a headtorch to reach the summit, snow and ice, countless stars and hands down the most spectacular sunrise we both have ever experienced at the top. I don’t even know how to describe our feeling after we reached the top and when we came to the exit gate again. I will let pictures do the talking, but one thing I know for sure: this week will stay in our memories as one of the highlights of our Africa trip and all the struggles were absolutely worth it! Would we do it all over again? Definitely YES! Enjoy the pictures :)

Our crew packing all our gear at Lemosho gate

The scale to weigh the luggage of the porters

Porters waiting in line to weigh their luggage at the entrance gate

Our crew (Edward on the left, Gasper on the right, the porters and Simon, our chef with the two of us in between)

The starting point of our chosen route: Lemosho Gate

A short break while walking through the rainforest

We arrived at our first camp: Big Tree Camp (Mti Mkubwa Camp) at 2,650 m

Day two: we slept well and were ready for a long hike, around 8 hours

On the second day, we left the rainforest and started walking through the moorland. Here a picture together with our guide Gasper

I tried to carry Edward’s backpack but barely could manage to lift it off the ground. Our guides also carried way more luggage than the two of us. Both started working as porters many years ago

Tom after a delicious lunch we enjoyed at Shira I Camp, where we didn’t sleep because we decided for the 7-day route. We went straight on to Shira II Camp.

Tom and our two guides who were always walking with us on the way to Shira II Camp

Our porters overtaking us shortly after lunch, after cleaning the dishes and packing up the tents just to set them up again at the camp we were heading to

This is Fasil, one of the porters of our crew. He was also our summit porter. Only one porter of the crew accompanies us to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro to carry some hot tea and snacks

Meet Simon, our “stomach engineer” who did an amazing job during the 7 days, not only cooking delicious meals but also carrying most of our food

After 8 hours of hiking (16 kilometers and 1,200 meters elevation) we arrived at Shira II Camp at 3,850 m - happy but tired

We were rewarded with a beautiful sunset and stunning views

Toilets at Shira II Camp, looking like you would fall off the cliff when you pass through the doors

The view of Mount Kilimanjaro from our camp, it still looked like a very far way to go, but in 3 days from now, we would already start climbing to the summit

I’m enjoying a cup of hot tea and soaking up the view

On the third day our trip continued up to Lava Tower at 4,600 m to eat lunch and let the body adjust to the height, before walking down again to Baranco Camp at 3,900 m, where we would spend the night

We reached Lava Tower just before noon in time for lunch. Both of us were still feeling great, no symptoms of altitude sickness - yaay!

Behind us you can see Lava Tower

After lunch, our hike continued down to Baranco Camp at 3,960 m. The scenery was very special.

We were very lucky to reach Baranco Camp just a few minutes before the rain started. We got some rest in the shelter of our tent while it was pouring rain outside

The next day, we left early, because the weather forecast showed a sunny morning but rain again in the afternoon. The hike today would only take 4-5 hours.

One of our heroes passing us on the way

Karanga Camp was waiting for us at 3,995 m, only 9km left to Uhuru Peak (the summit)

Finding our tent sometimes was a challenge, especially if it was foggy like here. But once again, we made it to the camp before the rain

If you wonder, how you keep yourself clean on the mountain… well, there are certainly no showers. But we always go some hot water and soap to wash ourselves. Face first…

… feet second ;)

Simon and the gang preparing dinner. This tent where they were cooking and we were eating was also the place where the whole crew of guides, cook and porters (11 people) slept during the night. Tom and I had our own tent.

Later that night, the sky cleared up and we got to enjoy a beautiful view over Moshi as well as a thonderstorm from far away, you can see the lighting Tom managed to capture in this picture

The next morning before we took off again. We got served hot tea right to the door of our tent every morning - 5 star service on Mount Kilimanjaro :)

Gasper and Edward waiting for us to get ready before we could leave. Tom and I weren’t the best ambassadors of Switzerland when it comes to punctuality ;) Hakuna matata, right?!

The way to Barafu Camp, also known as Base Camp. It’s the last camp where we stayed before we started with the final hike up to the summit.

Again we made it just in time before the rain. We arrived at the Base Camp at 4,673 m around noon and had the rest of the day to rest. We would start the climb to the summit around midnight that day.

If you wonder how the toilet looks from the inside at 4,640 m….

The warning sign you find at every camp: If you don’t feel well, don’t continue. Tom and I were very nervous but also excited to start the final climb that night.

On our way to the top in the middle of the night. Shortly after leaving Base Camp, we were walking in the snow. Very slowly but without a single break we walked up to Stella Point and therefore overtook all the other groups on the way

Earlier than expected and therefore still in the dark, but as the very first ones that day, we reached the summit: 5,895 m! It was freezing and we could barely breathe, but we did it!

Against my expectation to enjoy the view and celebrate at the top, we only took a few pictures and went back down again as fast as possible. It really is not a place where you would want to hang out longer, lol. About 3 minutes after this picture was taken, I started feeling very sick.

On our way back down, the sunrise started and we got to enjoy the full spectacle. Here you can see the first group after us on their way to the top.

This is Stella Point at 5,756 m. A lot of people don’t go behind this point because they already feel to sick. The ones who keep on going get a final break here before continuing to the top. I was very happy that compared to everyone else, we were already on our way down.

Sunrise on our way back down from the summit

The further we got down, the more we could smile again and even take some selfies

I’m out of words to describe this…

One of the last pictures from our way down. After we reached the Base Camp, we got s warm breakfast/lunch (we were already back down at 8am) and we got to rest for an hour before we kept on going further down to Mweka Camp at 3,100 m. The whole way from Base Camp to Mweka Camp was raining, we arrived soaking wet, therefor, we didn’t take anymore pictures on our way down.

On the seventh day, the sun was out again in the morning. We only had to walk for another 3 hours down to the exit gate, but we were so done with walking and beyond happy when we finally saw the last sign: Congratulations! Bon voyage! - WE DID IT :)

One last selfie with Simon, our chef

And one last picture with the whole crew. We went for drinks all together and Tom and I received our certificates for climbing the highes mountain in Africa. What a week this has been!