Climbing Kilimanjaro: Part 1

Earlier this year we donated some gear to Elizabeth Gourd for her Kilimanjaro Climb in aid of Childreach International. We're delighted to report that after much hard work and perseverance she summited the Tanzanian Mountain in July just gone! It really is a fantastic cause too, Childreach International works with local communities in the developing world to help improve children's access to healthcare, education, child rights and protection. So far they've worked with over 70,000 children in over 7 countries and are still striving to promote positive change through local communites.

(Elizabeth ready and raring to go!)

Elizabeth also took some absolutely stunning photographs and kept a diary throughout her ascent, giving some fantastic insights into what it takes to conquer the mountain.


Here's Part One of her Kilimanjaro Diary:

DAY 1: 10:00 a.m. Machame Gate: upon arrival we are required to log our names and full details before we can begin climbing the Machame Route. It is the most scenic route up Kilimanjaro, we are told, but also the steepest and most difficult. Our guide calls it the “Whiskey route” – as opposed to the “Coca Cola route”, he explains – and I presume this means it is also the most dangerous. There are lots of serious warnings at the gate regarding general health and fitness ability; if ever a mountain needed a disclaimer, this would be it. Everyone begins walking too quickly at first, but we soon adjust as a group and steady ourselves to a better pace. The porters are incredible: they leap and bound ahead of us all, carrying tables and chairs and food supplies, not to mention our rucksacks. We spend 7 hours trekking through mud and rain and rainforest until we reach our camp at Machame Hut. Thankfully, there is to be no more cloud cover above the rainforest line.

DAY 2: The second day begins with the promise that it will be shorter – if steeper – than Day One. Gradually ascending the Machame Ridge line, we find ourselves in a very different terrain; above the rainforest is all heath and moorlands, which exposes a dramatic view of the wider landscape. Behind us, an incredible cover of dense rainforest stretches out and already it looks as though we’ve been climbing for days. Ahead, we catch our first glimpse of the icy summit as it emerges hazy and inaccessible in the distance. By the time we reach Shira camp in the early afternoon, several members of the group began to experience the first onset of altitude sickness: symptoms include headaches, dizziness and nausea. I feel somewhat ill myself from loss of appetite but resolve to sleep it off.

DAY 3: Everyone feeling rough, we start the day in grim anticipation that it could be make or break for many people in the group. One of the group leaders had suffered terrible altitude sickness in his first attempt to climb Kilimanjaro a year previous, so we all look to him for signs of worsening illness. After a gradual and painstaking 4 hour ascent through the stark alpine desert, we reach Lava Tower at 4,500m for acclimatisation purposes, and then descend a further 4 hours to Baranco Camp. Several more people are now feeling the effects of altitude sickness and group morale is quite depressed. However, from here we can see the snows of Kilimanjaro towering dominant above the campsite. For me (at least) this sudden, dramatic proximity is encouraging – not much further now!

- Stay tuned tomorrow for Part Two of the Kilimanjaro Diary and some more mind bendingly beautiful photos!