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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak

Day Seven (Part 1) – Summit Day – Barafu Camp (15,295ft) to Uhuru Peak 19,341ft 

It’s two minutes past midnight and we are ‘pulling the trigger’ on our summit bid as Joshua put it in his briefing. Another phrase that struck me in his pre-summit briefing was “give me the next six hours of your life and I’ll get you to the Roof of Africa”. I’ve dreamed of climbing Kilimanjaro for years, I’ve planned and prepared for this trip for nearly seven months, I’ve walked for six days to get to this point and now, all that remains is six hours, six hours to fulfill a dream.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp

Day Six Karanga Camp (13,235ft) to Barafu Camp (15,295ft)

Unzipping the tent after the 6.30am wake up call reveals a cold, damp and misty Karanga camp. Despite the dark weather however, my spirits are high and I am starting to allow myself to believe that I am going to get this job done. My head is OK with no nausea, I seem to be acclimatising well and the last couple of days I have felt good. Today we will reach base camp and at midnight tonight we will ‘pull the trigger’ as Joshua likes to say on our summit bid. All I’ve got to do is keep well, keep hydrated and keep putting one foot in front of the other. ‘Pole Pole’ is the Swahili catchphrase on this mountain and ‘slowly slowly’ is certainly the way to do it. We will see.

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A Winter’s Walk up Hart Side

I arrive early at the National Trust car park just South of Dockray and am spoilt for choice as it is completely empty. Not liking choice, I choose two spots before finally settling on a third. It’s a cold, crisp dry January morning with the promise of a bit of sun later. The road into Dockray is followed for a short while until the footpath, next to a little art studio is joined.

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My Journey Through the Wainwright’s, One Book at a Time.

My first visit to the Lake District was in 1982 and from that day on, whenever I visit I never cease to be captivated by the beauty of its Mountains Lakes and Valleys. Whether driving along the A66 to Keswick and seeing Blencathra stretching up into the sky ahead of me or getting that first glimpse of the Langdales from the A591 heading to Grasmere, travelling into Lakeland always lifts my spirits and restores my soul.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp

Day Five – Barranco Camp (13,077ft) to Karanga Camp (13,235ft)

Day five dawns bright and cold in the Barranco valley and my tiredness and somewhat melancholic mood of yesterday has lifted along with the early morning mist. Barranco camp is big and busy, unlike the others we have stayed at up to now. It also looks very different, it’s very rocky and almost pushed up against the Barranco Wall which dominates the camp like some huge Giant standing over us. The ‘Senicio Kilimanjari’ trees are also dotted all about the valley and I keep thinking about ‘the day of the triffids’ and wondering if they are going to come alive.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Shira Huts Camp to Barranco Camp

Day Four – Shira 2 – Shira Huts Camp (12,779ft) to Barranco Camp (13,077ft) via The Lava Tower (15,180ft)

Since the start of the trek we have been approaching the mountain from the West. Today we start to walk around the South of the mountain heading towards Base Camp in preparation for our summit day. There is a growing feeling, that we are approaching the ‘business’ end of this walk. The mountain is getting closer every day now and the trail itself is getting rougher, steeper, more volcanic and less defined. Our altitude is slowly creeping up which means less oxygen to breathe and the nights are colder. We have now crossed the Shira plateau and today we will say goodbye to it before heading up to the ‘Lava Tower’ for acclimatisation and then down to Barranco Camp to sleep.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Shira One Camp to Shira Huts Camp

Day Three – Shira One Camp (11,496ft) to Shira Huts Camp (12,779ft) via Shira Cathedral (12,671ft)

We wake up to a freezing Shira One campsite with the ground frozen solid and ice frosting the tents. After two days of walking I am starting to get into the rhythm of this walk now and the developing daily routine that consists of walk, eat, sleep, repeat.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route -Big Tree Camp to Shira One Camp

Day Two – Big Tree Camp (Mount Mkubwa Camp) (9,137ft) to Shira One Camp (11,496ft)

Night one in the tent was a pretty restless one. We’re still relatively low and it’s warm so I didn’t sleep too well. Dinner last night was something to behold, soup and bread followed by potatoes and fish with a fruit pudding. All this, prepared in a tent by Milton, our dedicated chef who will be looking after us over the next eight days and cooking on gas stoves that will have to be carried up and down the mountain. We certainly won’t be going hungry.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Lemosho Glades to Big Tree (Mount Mkubwa) Camp

Day One – Lemosho Glades (7,838ft) to Big Tree Camp (Mount Mkubwa Camp) (9,137ft)

I’m sitting writing this at the end of day one sitting under one of the ‘Big Trees’ of Big Tree Camp with Colobus monkeys playing in the trees above me. Backtracking- Yesterday I landed at Kilimanjaro international airport and was by met Joshua our Exodus/Africa Walking Company team leader and lead guide for the next eight days. A baking hot journey in a Land Cruiser (no air con) to the hotel followed and when we arrived we were greeted with hot towels to freshen up and wipe off the red soil that had been kicked up and deposited itself on our hands and faces on the journey, like we were being welcomed by the Red Earth of Africa itself.

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Kilimanjaro – A Mountain Top Experience

 

Kilimanjaro – A Mountain Top Experience

There is really only one reason that a Hill Walker would find himself landing at Kilimanjaro international airport and it isn’t to go on safari to see the ‘Big Five’. It is, of course because they are about to embark on a walk up Africa’s highest mountain, a walk to ‘The Roof Africa’. Climbing Kilimanjaro has long been on my bucket list and over the next eight days, God willing, I will make it to the top of the worlds highest, free standing mountain.

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An Autumn walk around Grasmere and Rydal Water

Autumn in the Lake District can often be one of the most sublime times of the year, truly a “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” as Keats said. As I looked out of our hotel window over breakfast however and saw the leaves rapidly falling from the trees I wondered whether there would be any left to enjoy on my walk. I needn’t have worried, when the rain stopped there was still plenty of Autumn Gold to make for a very enjoyable walk around two of the smaller lakes in the district.

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Everest Base Camp Trek – Bhandar to Jiri

Bhandar 7,198ft to Shivalaya 5,905ft

It’s another leisurely start to the day. Breakfast outside in the sunshine again and we were joined by the female lodge owner and some of her family. No porridge on offer so had boiled eggs instead and I have never seen such a Yellow yolk before. Got some pictures of birds on the wall and a great picture of a little girl who wandered over to see who the strange, scruffy and smelly white guys were.

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Everest Base Camp Trek – Sete to Bhandar

Sete 8448ft to Bhandar 7198ft

​After our efforts getting over the Lamjura La Pass yesterday we are in no mad rush to get going this morning and we have a leisurely breakfast sat outside in the sunshine. As we get ever lower, the temperature gets higher, the walking gets easier and we get fitter. The bird life has also returned and we sit eating breakfast to the morning chorus above our heads. When we finally get going it takes us just two hours to walk down to Kenja at 5,362ft.

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Everest Base Camp Trek – Junbesi to Sete

Junbesi 8776ft to Sete 8448ft

We were up early for what is going to be a hard day compared to the last few days we have had. A bright, sunny morning greets us as we leave the lodge at about 8.30am. It’s uphill from the start as we tackle a short sharp incline until we reach the crest of the ridge that takes us away from the Junbesi valley. The path meanders along, up and down for a while and then, the main event of the day, the climb up to the Lamjura La pass starts in earnest.

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Everest Base Camp Trek – Jubing to Junbesi

Jubing 5,499ft to Tragsindho 9,612ft

I’m sitting in the lodge in Tragsindho watching sport on a Television, Aston Villa v Norwich on ESPN. Civilisation it seems is looming ever closer. Last night we were warm and muggy at 5,499ft in Jubing. Tonight in Tragsindho we are at 9,612ft and the heater is back on in the dining room. If you include all the up’s and downs of the day we have climbed over 5,000ft. Continue reading “Everest Base Camp Trek – Jubing to Junbesi”

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Everest Base Camp Trek – Namche Bazaar to Jubing

Namche Bazaar 11,306ft to Choplung 8,727ft

After the hard work of the last week we enjoyed a well earned rest day in Namche yesterday which we spent drinking coffee and eating cake. Today, we are back on the trail and saying farewell to the high mountains that have been our companion for the last week. In some ways I have completed what I came here to do, I have fulfilled my dream of seeing Everest, and more having trekked back to Namche via the Cho La Pass and Gokyo valley. But what we have done up to now is what many trekkers do on a visit to Nepal. What we are about to do however is a bit different, we are going to walk out to Jiri and the road head. Continue reading “Everest Base Camp Trek – Namche Bazaar to Jubing”

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Everest Base Camp Trek – Dragnag to Namche Bazaar via Phortse

Dragnag 15,387ft back to Namche Bazaar via Phortse (12,467ft)

There is no rush to get out of bed today as compared to the last four days we have a couple of easy days walking ahead of us to get back to Namche Bazaar and a rest day. The Cho La Valley resort, our home for the night was very comfortable and we had a lazy breakfast before setting off, walking down the quieter side of the Gokyo valley, as recommended by Mark for our stop tonight at Phortse. Continue reading “Everest Base Camp Trek – Dragnag to Namche Bazaar via Phortse”

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Everest Base Camp Trek – Dzongla to Dragnag via Cho La Pass

Dzongla 15,846ft to Dragnag 15,387ft over the Cho la pass 17,782ft

We were up early, 5.30am for what will be a long day today heading up and over the Cho La Pass and then down to Dragnag in the Gokyo valley. It was freezing overnight, -16c but I slept OK in the tent thanks to a good Rab sleeping bag and wearing all my clothes except boots and down jacket. It was good to get into the lodge for breakfast however and warm up a bit. We left Dzongla at 6.50am, just as the Sun was starting to light up the peaks around us. 

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Everest Base Camp Trek – Lobuche to Dzongla

Lobuche 16,175ft to Dzongla 15,846ft

Today has that feeling to it, the feeling that you have after your own wedding, the birth of your child or some other major event in your life that has been months or years in the waiting. That feeling of relief and happiness that it has finally happened, mixed with a slight sadness that it is actually over. For months you have planned and prepared for the event, the day has arrived and then, all too suddenly it is over and you are left, seemingly with no purpose anymore.

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Everest Base Camp Trek – Lobuche to Kala Patthar

Lobuche 16,175ft – Gorek Shep 17,008ft – Kala Patthar 18,192ft – Lobuche

I slept fitfully and not very well at Above the Cloud lodge, this was mainly due to the fact that all the rooms were booked solid and three of us ended up sleeping on the communal/dining room benches. It was at least warm though due to the heat from the Yak Dung burning stove, which lasted for a while into the night even when the stove was put out. The fifteen or so porters whose bed was the hard wooden floor of the room also added to the warmth, if not the quiet! At 5.30am we were up, the porters having vacated some time earlier. A breakfast of porridge and tea and we were out by 6.30am. Continue reading “Everest Base Camp Trek – Lobuche to Kala Patthar”

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