**File Name:** moshi-kilimanjaro-prep-2004.jpg
**ALT Tag:** A vintage baby blue Land Rover Defender used for getting around Moshi, Tanzania.
**Caption:**

Scrambling around Moshi in a 70s model Land Rover to prep for our climb.

Moshi & The Prep

July 29: Took flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro International Airport, situated midway between the towns of Moshi and Arusha in northern Tanzania. Our Lonely Planet guide states that a shuttle bus meets all KLM flights so we figured to just wing it on accommodation as usual. By the time we landed and cleared customs and baggage claim it was after 11pm. Many cabs and dala-dalas (minibuses) but no KLM shuttle. Cabbies were aggressive and wanted to charge us $50 U.S. for the 50KM trip to Moshi which was to be our base for climbing Kilimanjaro, the mountain of god. After much hassle and haggle we jumped into a bus for Spring Hill Hotel, telling the driver that we had a reservation there. A free ride to Moshi later, and we find ourselves quite a way out of town, but at a nice hotel within an iron fortress protected by armed guards. Luckily they had a room available.

We settled in and started chatting it up with the others at the hotel, most of whom had just come from the mountain or were on their way there. Got some insight from a group from South Africans who suggested taking Dimox and doing a 7 day trip up the Machame Route. As it turns out the Dimox suggestion may not have been great, but taking 7 days would have been advisable. They also told us that they took a pitching wedge with them and each hit a golf ball from the top of Africa into the crater. Great idea.

Next day we scrambled around Moshi in a 70s model, baby blue Land Rover Defender. Thinking we could find a gear shop or at least clothing store in town, we set off to gear up for our climb. We were surprised to find the only place around Moshi was a used clothes open-market where Corey found his much need pair of tube socks for .20 cents. The remainder of our gear was rented from the tour company for a minimal fee. Our next mission in town was withdrawal of cash and converting to U.S. currency as that is what is required by hotels and tour companies. We went around town to many banks and finally had enough cash after being extorted about 10 to 12% for cash advance and commissions. If any lesson from Africa so far it is that U.S. cash is king so bring lots or at least U.S. travelers checks. It will save you about 10% on everything.

Decided to go with Zara for our climb up Kili, as they were stationed at our hotel and offered a decent trip that others had spoken highly of. The cost was $810 ($927 for Corey after commissions and conversions a bit less for Rob) for a 6 day, 5 night trek up the Machame (whiskey) route. The most common route is the Marangu (coca-cola) route. These are so named to reflect the level of difficulty and comfort of the routes. Met our group for the climb at an afternoon briefing where we were introduced to our guide ‘Teacher’. We had a buffet dinner with our climbing companions for the next 6 days. Chris from South Africa and Sinead from Ireland living together in London; Will, Emma and Kirsty, Irish med students living in Manchester; and 2 Chinese women who we didn’t really get to know. We also met other trekkers including Rodney and Jane from Banff, Canada and 3 English blokes. Rodney and Jane would start the climb without their luggage that was lost in transit but would get to them on day 3 of the climb. At dinner there was a widely circulating story about a man who died trying to summit Kili earlier in the day. This added to a mild tension that was already building.

**File Name:** machame-route-trek-2004.jpg
**ALT Tag:** Trekking through the dense green rain forest on the lower slopes of the Machame Route.
**Caption:**

Starting our 6-day trek through the rain forest on the Machame Route.

The Climb: Rain Forest to Shira Camp

Woke in the morning bright and early and weighed in our bags as each bag must weigh less than 15KG so that when added to other gear the porters only carry 25KG. We loaded the van with our gear and set off for the big mountain. The road to the mountain winds through small villages with huts made of mud and grass roofs. One stop was made en route at a tourist trap market where cashews were marked up about 400%. This was just one example of the 2 economies that exist in the tourist world, one for the Mzunga (white man) and one for the locals. Along the way we made another stop at the Machame Village for a toilet break where we were introduced to the long-drop toilets. The long drop toilet is a hole in the ground with 2 raised footsteps to squat over. We also quickly realized how important it was to have our own toilet paper, as most are not equipped with paper or water. Nice being a man and not having to use these as often.

The bus struggled to make it to the Machame gate, as the road was very rocky and steep. The group had to get out and walk the remaining 15 minutes to the gate and waited about an hour for the bus with our gear to finally arrive. The roads are quite rugged here and elsewhere as expected. The wait was eventful as the group met our guides and porters within the gate and haggled with the hundreds of others outside the gate with goods to sell and offering their services as porters. While portering and guiding up Kili are very difficult it is still a very highly sought position. Once finally signed in and ready to go we set off on the Machame Route.

The first day of hiking began at about 1800 meters and followed a winding trail through the rain forest. It was a nice easy trek with some excellent scenery. We got to know the others in our group and our guides Teacher and our guide for the day Thomas. Thomas was equipped with a pair of dress shoes, dress pants, and a Dallas Cowboys jacket. This was the first of many instances of guides and porters who were working very hard but having much less than adequate gear for themselves. Included here was our porter/server Nikko sporting a raggedy old Packers knit hat. Luckily he didn’t have a clue about Brett Favre, Packer lore, or the Vikings tendency to choke. In Tanzania thousands of people, and most of the guides and porters, are wearing logo clothes and hats of U.S. sports teams, seemingly donated by tourists.

Throughout our first day, though the trek was very easy, Teacher kept reminding us to go ‘Pole Pole’ which means slowly slowly, and that ‘Water is Medicine on the Mountain’. These are very important themes for altitude trekking that would become more evident as we ascended the mountain. We arrived at Machame Camp, 3100 meters and above the clouds, late in the afternoon after a 5 to 6 hour hike. Once in camp we had good food as was the case each night. The basic menu for the trek consisted of fruits, cooked vegetables and meat in ginger based sauces over rice or pasta, bread and assorted condiments. Drinks were mostly tea, coffee and Milo (a chocolate vitamin drink). After dinner there was little to do as darkness fell early and fires are not permitted on the mountain. Our mess tent was also the porters’ sleeping tent, so we retired to our own tents each night around 8pm in preparation for our early starts. The first night we watched the full-moon rise over Kilimanjaro and enjoyed the brightness of the stars in the southern sky.

**File Name:** kilimanjaro-lava-tower-2004.jpg
**ALT Tag:** The rocky and stark landscape around the Lava Tower on Mount Kilimanjaro.
**Caption:**

Navigating the technical rocks around the Lava Tower at 4600 meters.

The Lava Tower & Barafu Camp

Day 2 was another easy hike from 3100 meters to 3800 meters from the rain forest across a valley and then up a steep rocky ridge to Shira Camp. This hike again took approximately 5 to 6 hours as we are still doing our best to go ‘Pole Pole’. At Shira Camp the first sickness in our group began to take hold as the 2 Chinese women remained in their tent and would decide to turn back the next day. Others in the group started to feel the altitude as well at this point, as we heard someone hurling outside our tent in the night. We also realized that there aren’t going to be any flat areas for our tents and therefore sleep will be more and more difficult when this is combined with high altitudes. Lack of sleep combined with high altitude would become an issue as the days wore on.

Day 3 was a bit more of a struggle as we went from 3800 meters up to the Lava Tower a.k.a. ‘The Sharks Tooth’ at 4600 meters. Had a bit more of a fun day climbing around the Lava Tower as this was the first bit of technical rock climbing that we did. The Lava Tower is also where Rob, Corey and Will all started to have stomach issues. After the tower we descended to Barranco Camp at 3950 meters to overnight at lower altitude, which should help with acclimatization. Everyone is starting to feel the altitude at this point and it is getting very cold at night so not much sleeping going on. Most of our clothes and our winter hats were worn for sleeping from this point on.

Day 4 was a grueling hike from 3950 meters to Barafu Camp at 4600 meters. The trail went along a steep ridge passing the Barranco Wall and through the Karrango Valley. This hike took about 10 hours and we arrived at camp around 5pm. The hike took a toll on everyone, notably Rob, Corey and Will were still suffering from stomach issues and Corey dehydrated which was most likely caused by using Dimox a diuretic used to combat altitude sickness. Headaches all around caused by altitude and fatigue. Everyone went to their tents for a short rest before dinner was served around 7pm. Rob, Will, Emma, Chris and Sinead made it up for dinner and basically all just stared at the food and each other as our appetites are basically gone. Were able to force a bit down and then back to the tents for some more rest before the 11pm wake up for the summit attempt. Neither Corey nor Rob got up at the 11pm wake up, as both were not well, and the rest pushed for the summit.

**File Name:** uhuru-peak-summit-2004.jpg
**ALT Tag:** The wooden sign marking Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa on Mount Kilimanjaro.
**Caption:**

Reaching Uhuru Peak at 5895 meters after a grueling summit push.

The Summit & Descent

Morning brought an end to Rob’s stomach issues that grounded him during the night. When talking with our porter Nikko it was decided that they would hike up towards the summit to meet the group who should be on their way down. Corey stayed in the tent still suffering from stomach issues, dehydration and exhaustion. Rob and Nikko left camp around 10am and hiked up the descent route for approximately an hour. This is where there is a fork in the trail from the summit so we decided to wait for the group here.

The group was split and Kirsty and Emma were the first to arrive with the assistant guides at their sides. They had an extremely difficult night attempting to reach the summit, basically puking and passing out en route to Stella Point at 5745 meters and by far the most difficult stretch of the climb. They decided there to turn back, despite their best efforts and the efforts of the guides to push them onwards. Another half hour passed and brought Will, Chris, Sinead and Teacher. They had all reached the peak and set a new personal best for Teacher and his ‘Pole Pole’ theme, at around 13 hours round trip. The average round trip is about 7 hours.

At this point Teacher and Nikko had a discussion in Swahili that was later learned was regarding Rob’s condition up to this point in the climb. Teacher asked Rob if he wanted to reach the peak and if he felt strong and could make it within the short window of opportunity that remained. Feeling perfectly fine and strong at this point he assured Teacher he could and they set off for Uhuru Peak via the descent route from Stella Point. This route was not very good for the ascent so Rob, Nikko and Teacher did a bit of technical climbing to get to the normal ascent route. As a side note, Nikko was making this climb with limited gear and experience and Teacher had not slept in about a full day and was summiting for the second time that day.

At approximately 3pm they reached Stella Point and another hour and Uhuru Peak was bagged. Uhuru Peak sits at 5895 meters and is the highest point in Africa. A couple pictures were snapped and then a rapid descent with only 1 stop back to Barafu Camp. A quick finish up of packing up camp and Teacher and Rob set off to meet the group at Millenium Camp. Nikko feeling the effects of his first summit (porters don’t normally climb to the peak) now needed to carry food and tent from camp to camp. Quite a job was done by Nikko and Teacher to help Rob get to the top. Rob and Teacher made it to Millenium Camp 3100 meters around 7pm, about 2 hours behind the group.

Everyone was crashed out at camp. Most made it up for dinner where the days activities were discussed. Included in the discussion was the fact that another person had died earlier in the day during their summit attempt. Everyone was very impressed with Teacher’s ability to get Will, Chris and Sinead safely to the top and especially to summit a second time with Rob.

The final day was an easy descent from Millenium Camp to the Mweka Gate for our ride back to Moshi. We got everyone together for a group photo and this was the first time we realized that there were 23 people (porters/guides/cooks) employed for our group of 7 to climb Kilimanjaro. Once safely back to the compound at Spring Hill Hotel we all relaxed a bit and reflected on our experiences. A big extended group of climbers went out to dinner at El Rancho, which despite its name is an Indian Restaurant. We were driven there and back in a bus captained by ‘Slim Shady’ who spent the entirety of our dinner time in the bar downing Kili’s. His motto was ‘Drink Beer, Save Water’.

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