Climbing
Kilimanjaro for a good cause
By Andre' Gauche'
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The
Robbins Kilimanjaro 2001 Team
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The mighty
Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the highest freestanding
mountain in the world, is 5896 metres above sea level at Uhuru
Peak, the summit of this extinct volcano. Uhuru Peak boasts the
distinction of being the closest point on earth to the sun.
A number of
months ago, Butch Robbins of KaiRo Ltd, a casino group operating
in Africa, hatched a plan to raise funds for Tukolene, a project
aimed at the social upliftment of street children in Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania. He approached three unsuspecting friends in the casino
industry and set the ball rolling for the experience of a lifetime,
a sponsored attempt to scale Africa's greatest mountain. Here
is my diary of the epic journey.
Saturday
15 September, 2001
Butch Robbins (49), John Loudon (40), John Galajsza (45), and
André Gauché (43) depart Johannesburg International
Airport on Air Tanzania en route for Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. We
bump down at 17h15 local time after a four-hour flight, to be
met by . representatives from Tukolene Youth Development Project.
Then comes a dusty 40-minute ride by bus to the Springlands Hotel
in Moshi piloted by a driver with absolutely no regard for the
rules of the road. At dinner we meet weary victims of the mountain
the locals call "greatness". If you ask how was it,
the standard answer is "a magnificent experience". This
is always somewhat after the fact; hardships are soon relegated
to the misty past, like the trauma of childbirth being overtaken
by the joys of delivery. We learn a few important Swahili words:
jambo - hello; go slow - poli poli; stop - simama; cold - baridi;
sick - mgonjwa; no problem - hakuna matata..
Sunday
16 September, 2001 (Day 1) Machame Gate to Machame Camp
Our team is in high spirits. Breakfast. Depart by Land Rover for
ZARA tour operator's offices to collect extra kit: ski gloves,
gaiters, waterproof carry bags, headlamps. Drive to Machame Gate.
Register. Meet porters and our guide Chombo. Porters take all
kit except personal effects. Set out from Machame Gate at 11h00
- altitude 1800m. We take our portable toilet seat along as an
item of pride and necessity. Terrain is gradual to steep tropical
forest terrain. Brisk spring in the step of team members. Jovial
conversation and belated excitement. Lunch at 14h00. At 17h30
and after a 18km hike we arrive at Machame Camp at 3000m above
sea level. Approximately 30 tents and much activity. It reminds
me of an unregulated boot camp with a varied mixture of nationalities.
Temperature cool and terrain has changed from tropical forest
to moorlands with sparse vegetation. Popcorn, biscuits and tea
are served. We orientate guide and porters to pitch tents on level
ground free of stones and away from other campers. After sunset
temperature drops dramatically below freezing. Chicken soup, bread,
roast potatoes and beef stew for dinner. All cooking is on gas;
no open fires are allowed on the mountain. John G and myself share
a tent manufactured to accommodate a single nine-year-old boy
scout. John Loudon and Butch Robbins team up in the second tent.
Much farting and snoring all around. Generally a claustrophobic
sleepless night. We would rather be hiking than attempting to
sleep.
Monday
17 September, 2001 (Day 2) Machame Camp to Shira Camp
Wake at 06h30 to the first sight of the Kilimanjaro peaks. They
seem very distant and formidable. Breakfast is porridge, omelette,
tomato, melon, and tea, very good food under the circumstances.
We fill water bottles with boiled mountain water, adding purification
tablets and game powder supplement to make it taste better. We
climb for approximately 10km along steep moorland ridges. After
6 hours and a final steep incline we reach Shira Camp situated
on a rocky plateau with a view of the Western Bridge of Kilimanjaro.
We are 3840m above sea level. The first symptoms of altitude sickness
appear: shortness of breath, headache and nausea. And John G is
dubbed the 'methane man' by his peers due to uncharacteristic
build-up of flatulence. He uses our portable toilet with aplomb.
Much fog and cloud movement. Little bird and animal life at this
altitude. We have dinner, and an extra two tents arrive from Machame
Gate at 20h00. The porter set off at 08h00, descended 18 kms to
Machame Gate, then carried the tents back to Machame Camp and
on to Shira Camp -- 46 km in one day.! We prepare for bed. Temperature
is below zero. I develop the chest congestion associated with
altitude sickness; take a diamox tablet at 02h00.
Tuesday
18 September, 2001 (Day 3) Shira Camp to Barranco Camp
We rise at 06h30; it's a clear day with a good view of Mt. Meru
to the southwest. We depart from Shira Camp (3900m) for Barranco
Camp (3950m) via the Lava Tower (4600m). And the going is very
difficult thanks to the steep ascent , lack of sleep, headache,
and nausea. The group needs to rest regularly and have shallow
breathing breathing due to lack of oxygen. I am sure diamox tablets
have added to my woes. Lunch is at a tranquil mountain stream
at 14h00. Nobody eats. I go ahead ahead, hoping that the rapid
descent to Barranco Camp to alleviate the effects of altitude.
There are spectacular views of the famed Barranco Walls - huge
cliffs below the summit peaks. We arrive at 17h00, have a pasta
dinner and go to bed early. We get a few hours sleep for the first
time since leaving Machame Gate.
Wednesday
19 September, 2001 (Day 4) Barranco Camp to Barafu Camp
We are awake at 06h00. John Loudon is showing severe effects of
altitude sickness and exhaustion and decides to turn back. Freddie,
the assistant guide, accompanies him back to Machame Gate. John
G, Butch & myself depart with Chombo at 07h00. Porters overtake
us to set up camp. These fellows are extremely fit with a capacity
to carry 30 - 40kg of luggage at a cracking pace. The terrain
is extreme, with steep ascents, cliffs and rugged pathways. We
lunch at noon by the Decken Glacier, and continue to Barafu Camp
at 4550m, where we arrive at 16h00. The guide warns of the dangers
of the sheer cliff face adjacent to our campsite. "…
people die falling from these cliffs each year….". We
are all exhausted and feeling weak. Dinner is tomato soup, spaghetti
and chicken. We prepare our kit, and try to get some sleep before
we're woken up at 23h00 to depart for the summit at midnight.
We can't sleep or breathe properly; we feel nausea. At 23h00 the
guide says "prepare yourselves," which reminds me of
a murderer being called to the gallows. John G crawls from his
tent and promptly vomits into the cold night. We fumble in the
dark with stiff fingers to get the different layers of clothing
in place, the water bottles filled, the temperamental headlights
to operate and to gulp the last few painkillers
Thursday 20 September, 2001 (Day 5) Barafu Camp to Summit to Barafu
Camp to Mweka Camp
At the stroke of midnight we set off following the string of faint
lights up the steep mountain path. The going is hard. We are dressed
like Michelin Men. We are told not to stop for more than a few
moments lest we freeze. John G needs to replace his light batteries
within the first hour. By the second hour my light has gone out.
We go one step at a time in zombie mode. I keep glancing at my
wristwatch to wish the hours away to daybreak. By 03h00 John G
is showing signs of severe exhaustion but is adamant about continuing.
Butch, myself and the guide convince him to turn around. Faced
with five more hours over very steep loose gravel and volcanic
dust to reach the summit, John G reluctantly turns back with Unearly,
the assistant guide.
Here is
John's story -
"Unearly lengthened my climbing poles and gave me a demonstration
on how to 'snowplough' through the loose shale. This was a very
risky exercise in the dark on a 70-degree decline. We were building
up a recklessly good speed, when disaster struck. I inadvertently
stuck my poles into the ground at the wrong angle and propelled
my weary 87kg body over the top of the sticks in a neat somersault,
smashing head first into the unsuspecting Unearly. The two of
us went tumbling down the dark mountain path in a shower of shale
and dust. Unearly shook himself and looked around in the dark
- utterly disorientated. We could no longer see any lights from
either the camp or other hikers. Unearly kept searching for signs
of footpaths as we slid down the dark mountain. We now kept a
safe distance from me lest I fall on top of him again. I kept
asking him to return to the main path. He was clearly lost. I
was becoming increasingly anxious as we came close to sheer cliff
faces and vertical rock formations. One fall and I could be wheeled
home in a wheelbarrow. After two hours of a descent which should
have taken one hour, there was still no sign of lights or life.
My water had frozen solid and my throat was caked with fine volcanic
dust. I began to fear that should Unearly be injured or unable
to continue, I would be on my own on a dark, formidable mountain.
It was the most terrifying experience of my life. I took my mobile
phone from my backpack that Unearly was carrying. This was to
ensure that should he fall off the mountain that my phone did
not accompany him. In Unearly's eyes I saw fear and confusion.
Fear was replacing altitude sickness. At one point Unearly grabbed
my arm to steady himself. We both began to slide down a slope
and it felt is if we were heading down to the edge of a precipice.
I fought to free myself. We eventually arrived back in camp at
05h30; nearly three hours after turning back. I tore off my outer
thermal layers and crawled into my sleeping bag".
The story
continues….
Butch and I mission on. Zombie mode is now the essence of success.
Keep the rhythm going, one step at a time, breath through your
nose and exhale through the mouth. Breathing is shallow and fast.
Mountain sickness is like sea-sickness that continues as along
as you are above 3500m and unable to acclimatise. The hours slowly
grind by. It's now a matter of body and mind against time. The
summit should be achieved between 6 and 7 am. The path becomes
increasingly steep with loose shale and volcanic dust. Slowly
the sky reddens in the east. By first light we can see the top
of Stella Point. The long winding incline to the top beckons,
but we need to rest every twenty paces. Each laborious pace forward
is followed by a slide back half a pace. Our water is frozen,
even in the polar ice bottles. We lick the ice, unable to quench
our raging thirst. It's difficult to swallow and impossible to
breath enough oxygen through your nose. On the last 200m to the
summit, Butch takes off like a man possessed. The guide warns
of mental and psychological stress associated with acute mountain
sickness and exhaustion. We watch as he powers his unwilling limbs
to the top with sheer willpower and a little touch of mountain
insanity. We summit at 08h00. We have reached the top of Africa
and the closest point in the world to the sun. We lie down and
rest for a few moments. We take a few pictures. We cannot stay
long, its cold and we are aware of the long trek to the bottom.
Our descent begins. Four hours of ploughing through the shale
to base camp at Barafu. We arrive at 11h00 to find John G exhausted
in his tent. Although the very last thing he wanted to do was
walk, John staggered behind the group for the next five hours
to Mweka Camp, stopping only to vomit. We arrive exhausted but
sufficiently relieved from the adverse effects of altitude. Our
appetites return. We have the first reasonable sleep since day
2. Mount Kilimanjaro looks like a distant demon in its majestic
splendour.
Friday
21 September, 2001 (Day 6) Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
We wake at 06h00, feeling good. After breakfast we depart for
Mweka Gate with a spring in our step. In the course of a five-hour
walk we pass through five distinct climatic zones in a single
day hike - from -30 degree arctic conditions at the summit, through
ice fields, semi desert, moorlands and tropical equatorial forests
in excess of 40 degrees. We merrily solve the world's most immediate
problems, munching on the remainder of the 2kg of sweets we have
carried along from day 1. John Loudon and Walter Coulsen welcome
us at the gate with a tub filled with ice-cold beer. When we report
to the National Park offices for our certificates, we are told
that close on 50% of climbers fail to make the summit due to altitude
and general fatigue. I have lost six kgs in six days.
We have made it to the summit. We have acquired a great respect
for the mountain and we have also achieved our goal. We have been
reminded again of our mortality and of our appreciation for the
basic necessities - oxygen, water and warmth. We have been given
a new perspective and it has strengthened our values. Long live
Kilimanjaro, and all the best to the kids of Tukolene.
The children
of the Tukolene Youth Project in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania wish
to thank all the sponsors for their generous contributions. Your
sponsorship will give new hope and opportunity to street children
in Tanzania. To date we have raised R180,000/$20,000.
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