It was quite simply to hardest thing I have ever done, but also the most satisfying, and I will try and describe how it happened with words and pictures, but in truth I fully urge anyone who wants to challenge themselves physically, mentally and emotionally to go and have a stab at it yourself as I'm sure words and pictures will not even come close to doing it justice.
The rest of this blog with be in a diary format, but before I start please let me one more time say a huge thanks to everyone who sponsored me. If you include the gift aid, my climb raised £5,500 for The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre and I can tell you they are delighted with this, as am I.
Friday 17th September.
After the emotion of saying good by to Bonnie and the boys, I set off for Heathrow to meet my fellow climbers. I was to be in a group of 33, which included two tour leaders and a doctor. The age range of the group was 16-65, with the youngest being the grandson of the eldest. I had a bite to eat with two of the group, Ali and Lee, who I had been having some email chats with pre-trip and we were chatting so much we nearly missed the flight, which would have been somewhat of an anti-climax.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been in group that was full of such incredible people, it really made the whole experience for me. Of course I didn't know this yet, so the slight awkwardness at the airport was to be expected for the whole group. On the flight itself to Nairobi I was stuck in the middle of two very large Welsh rugby players, both of whom were very nice chaps but did somewhat spill over into my seat. Sleep was never going to happen in these circumstances, with the anxiety of the impending days ahead, the lack of comfort and my general inability to sleep on planes, so I really didn't try that hard.
Saturday 18th September
We arrived in Nairobi airport early morning and had about 4 hours to kill. Its fair to say Nairobi airport isn't the most spectacularly interesting place and the lack of air conditioning made for pretty uncomfortable conditions for 33 tired travellers so we were grateful to finally board the plane for the short flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
I was fortunate enough to get a window seat this time, and not a rugby player in sight (Welsh or otherwise) and got my first view of Kili from the plane, which was quite daunting when you're told by the pilot that he has to fly round the mountain as the plane flies at a lower height that the top of it!We landed safely, which is more than can be said for my luggage, but I wasn't alone as three of my group's bags had gone missing too. It was quite concerning as we'd spent months getting all the right stuff together and the thought of having to hire whatever was available only added to my already not insignificant level of concern at the challenge ahead. After registering the information about our missing bags with the authorities, we headed off on a two hour bus ride through Tanzania to our hotel in Marangu. Some of the group took the opportunity to sleep on the ride, but I was enjoying seeing the sites too much to even consider it. This was my fist trip to East Africa and I found the place fascinating to view.
I was quite taken a back by the colour and happiness that seemed to come from the people on the roadside, they seemed genuinely pleased to see us. I couldn't help but think that a bus full of foreigners gawping at the locals in London wouldn't have received such a level of welcoming.We arrived at the hotel, which had before the trip simply been described as clean, quite pleasantly surprised as it was very nice.
We checked in and headed out for a walk, where we were instantly jumped on by a local chancer who insisted on us going to see a waterfall. As it turned out, we had a nice relaxing walk to a very nice waterfall, and I got to meet a couple of local children on the way, who seemed to find me quite funny for some reason even though they didn't speak a word of English, which was the same as my level of Swahili.
Later that evening my bags arrived at the hotel, which came as a huge relief and it helped me get a great nights sleep, much needed after the sleepless night on the flight
Sunday 19th September
After a cooked breakfast followed by a short bus ride, we signed in at the park reception, which didn't take as long as we'd be warned and before we knew it we were getting ready to set off.
We all took the opportunity to pose for our pictures at the start point, in the knowledge that would be the cleanest we would look for at least a week.
We had our last instructions from our tour leader, Henk, who reminded us of the importance of taking our time, even at the start as we would reap the benefits later in the trip. "poli poli" is the Swahili for "slowly, slowly" and it was the expression we were to hear constantly throughout the climb.
The first day was a lovely walk, perhaps a bit steeper than I expected, but through some fantastic rainforest's and it took us up to 2,700 after a good 5 hours hike. Each day after you've reached camp, you then carry-on walking for a further hour up and back down the mountain, on the rule of climb-high / sleep low, again to assist with acclimatisation. It was during that part of the walk to visit the Marangu Crater that we had the thrill of seeing some of the local monkeys.
This little fella here is called a Blue Monkey, and was probably the type of Monkey that we saw most of. There were lots of them and they were jumping between trees right above our heads. You could also hear them late at night.
The little one below in his Mum's arms kind of stole the show somewhat!
This next Monkey is called a Colobus Monkey, and whilst there were far less of these they were much bigger, with long fluffy black and white tails.
It wasn't just monkeys we saw, below is a little fella called a Hirax, which we were reliably informed is the closing living relative to the Elephant.... I know, weird.
That night was our introduction to the type of huts we'd be sleeping in during the climb, which were basic and cold, with 12 to a room but the beds were comfortable, which was all I cared about after the days walking. We had a good dinner, a few hands of cards and then I got to have a brief morale boosting chat on the phone with Bonnie and the boys before I turned in, as I knew we had a very long and hard day ahead of us the next day.
Monday 20th September
Today was going to be a tough day, we knew that, with a good 8 hours ahead of us. We'd started to get into a familiar routine already, with porridge for breakfast and a good team warm up / stretching routine before we'd set off for the days trek.
The morning was the hardest part, with 6 hours non-stop hiking before we'd stop for lunch. The terrain was a lot more rugged than the previous day, and it was starting to get very dusty. Already at this stage I could notice the air was getting thinner and my energy was beginning to wane. I'm not good going without food, and had my first wobble of the climb about an hour before we stopped for lunch, having to take time out and get a quick once over from the Doctor. I ate some cereal bar and had a lot of water which was enough to get me through to lunch.
It was during our lunch that we were joined by the biggest birds I've ever seen. There were several of them and they were flying round us and landing to try and feed on our scraps.
I was feeling much better now so enjoyed the banter and general good nature that was prevalent throughout the group. The views were getting more and more stunning the higher we were going, with us already looking down on the clouds from high above.
A real uplifting part of the afternoon was when we got to see the peak for the first time from ground level. There are three peaks of Kilimanjaro, Kibo, Mwenzi and Shira. We were to summit Kibo, the highest of the three, and you can see the first view we got of the peak in the photo below.
After a couple more hours trek after lunch, we arrived at the Horrombo Huts at 3,700 metres, utterly shattered.
Despite already being so high, the food we were served was still incredibly well prepared and welcomed, which is more than can be said for the toilet facilities which got worse and worse the higher we got.
That night was a fun night at dinner, when the two Italian members of our group treated us to a song that was a serenade of our assistant tour leader, Sarah.
There were so many characters in our group, all of which bought something to the dynamic. A challenge like this is a real leveller, it didn't matter what your background was, age, sex, personal circumstances were... we were all in this together and were facing the same challenges.
After such a hard day, but a fun evening we retired to our huts soon after darkness fell. We were now sleeping in smaller huts that slept four. The diamox (anti altitude sickness drug) was now kicking in, and one of its side affects was the need to pee constantly. This isn't an ideal side affect when you're sleeping in a sleeping bag half way up a bloody great mountain in freezing cold temperatures! Despite the constant pit-stops throughout the night I slept pretty well.
Tuesday 21st September
One of the rituals of the walk, was every day one of us was awarded a pink glove to wear the next day for doing something daft. Today was my day, after I'd sat at dinner the previous night with one butt cheek on one bench, the other cheek on another bench...... and the two benches got pushed together. Eye watering stuff that literally took my breath away for all the wrong reasons!
Still, I wore the glove with pride. Other winning entrants including somebody searching high and low for their rucksack that was firmly placed on their back, and somebody trying to pour 2 litres of water into a 1 litre bottle, so I was in good company.
As the holder of the glove you were responsible for presenting it to the next winner at dinner the next night, so I spent much of the day keeping my eyes and ears open for potential recipients. On occasion the long walks could be quite monotonous so it added a bit of fun to the day.... an when people are tired and at high altitude there is usually not shortage of material to choose from.
Another thing we did at dinner was share stories about why we were taking on this challenge and the charities we were raising money for. All of them were moving in their own way and only added to the sense of team spirit and motivation.
Today's walk was a little easier, as this was an acclimatisation day, which involved us walking for 5 hours up and back down the mountain back to the Horombo Huts. Before going the idea of these walks that ended back where you started didn't appeal, but having done this once I understood why they were important as I physically noticed the difference in the thinness of the air and it helped my body adjust.
It was on the way back down that one of our group, Steve from Middlesborough had a nasty fall and had very bad cuts to his knee and hips, for a while we were worried he wouldn't be able to continue but they make them from tough stuff on Teeside and he was having none of it. The Doc did a great job of cleaning the wounds and patching him up and he was ready to carry on the next day.
Wednesday 22nd September
We knew that today was going to be a long haul, with a six hour walk ahead of us before lunch, then at least another two after. It was very cold first thing in the morning, so we were keen to get moving to get warm and we made a good early start.
Today really was relentless, my legs were starting to feel the strain and it felt like my backpack was getting heavier every day.
Before we'd left the huts that day, we had seen these stretchers on wheels, and had been told they were for rescuing climbers that were in serious trouble with altitude sickness. People do die from this, and its essential that they descend as quickly as possible.
Half way through the walk today, we saw a young British climber strapped into one of these things being raced down the mountain by 4 porters, after a failed summit attempt. It was quite upsetting to be honest, and reminded us of the reality of the position we were in. The chat was quieter for a while that afternoon I noticed, as the seriousness of the next couple of days kicked in.
On long walks like today though, you tend to have lots of chats with people, and it was nice getting to know people perhaps I hadn't had the chance to do so as much before then.
One of the most enjoyable bits of this part of the trek was the constant views of Mwenzi Peak, such a stunning view. Its not as high a Kibo Peak (the peak we were heading to) but people are not allowed to climb it as its too dangerous due to the terrain, many have died trying.
As you can see in this picture, the terrain on the path was now getting very dusty and grey, and the air was getting very thin. But finally, we arrived at Kibo Huts at an immense 4,700 metres. We were now back in 15 guys in the same room and the facilities were far more basic, as you would expect that high up. There is no running water this high and the toilets were nothing short of disgusting. Personally I couldn't go within 50 feet of them, preferring to walk a little up the mountain when nature called!
I really didn't fancy dinner that night, but forced something down, and despite the smell and noise in the huts was soon fast asleep as I was truly shattered.... knowing tomorrow night would be the big push for the summit.
Thursday 23rd & Friday 24th September
I could already sense an air of anticipation at breakfast today, as we all looked up at the Kibo summit, knowing that's where we would be heading off later that day. Before then though, we had a 5 hour acclimatisation trek to complete. During this walk we reached as high as 5,200 metres where we stopped for a rest. I hadn't had mobile phone coverage whilst we'd been at Kibo huts, but up here I did so I took the opportunity to call home. I knew that the family would all be at school and work, but thought I'd leave them a suprise message on the answerphone. When I came home to England Bonnie played it back to me. I didn't recognise myself, I sounded like I was 90 years old, and I was really struggling for breath between each word.
After the trek, and a lunch I again struggled to eat due to lack of appetite, we were given a thorough summit briefing from Henk, our tour leader. He warned us of the challenge ahead and shared many tips with us. One of them was to look at our feet during the climb, as looking up at the summit would only remind us how far we still had left to go. We should also think of as many positive things as we could, as we were going to face some pretty low points.
With this in mind I put the names of my children on my boots, so I could concentrate on them if things started to get tough. Suffice to say they did.
After a restful afternoon, we had an early dinner, which I still couldn't face, before going to bed about 7pm. At 10pm we were woken for hot tea and biscuits and given an hour to prepare for the summit bid.
At 11pm, we were all lined up outside the huts, one behind another and after wishing eachother the best of luck, we were off.
For the next seven and half hours we trudged up the steepest slope I've ever encountered. It was dark, quiet and getting colder by the minute. We zig-zagged our way up the mountain and it was becoming extremely monotinous until the porters all started singing local songs which was the most uplifing part of the whole experience for me, it was just the boost I needed. My calf muscles were crying out for a break, as the terrain was scree which is just like walking on heavy sand. The first target was to get to Gilmans Point, which is the first spot on top of the mountain. About an hour from Gilmans I was really struggling, but was humbled when I saw our head guide, Elias, walk past me carrying THREE rucksacks and yet still having the strength to hold the hands of and effectively pull up another climber at the same time!
Finally at 6.30am I reached Gilmans, and the sense of relief was enormous. It was hugs and back slaps alround as we realised all 33 of us had made it to this point. Officially we had summited, but the end target for me was always the highest point, Uhuru Peak. 31 of us set off to attempt it, as two of the group were suffering from altitude sickness and exhaustion and needed to be helped back down to Kibo Huts.
The sense of relief at reaching Gilmans was short lived as I realised we had a good two and a half hours left, at something like 50% oxygen ahead of us still.
Those couple of hours were undoubtedly the hardest of my life. Physically, I was a wreck and emotionally I was feeling weak and was struggling to find the motivation to continue. To make matters worse, I was slowly starting to lose clear sight in my left eye. It was like when you look at a bright light for too long, but over the whole eye.
It was at this point that a young porter called Eric saw that I was clearly struggling. He was to stay with me the rest of my journey and I am not over doing it when I say I wouldn't have made it to the highest point without Eric's intervention. He walked with me, he rested with me, he gave me water, he carried my bag at one point, but most of all he gave me encouragement and friendship just when I needed it the most. All the porters are incredible, I just can't describe how strong, fit and professional these guys are. You are told this before hand, but you have to experience them to truly understand.
It was very cold at the top, my fingers and toes were pretty much numb, but as the sun came out it became stiffling hot very quickly. The sight of the glaciers was something else. Such a shame that climate change means they'll be gone forever in the next twenty years, so I felt privelidged to see them.
I was noticing that more and more climbers were struggling and the break stops were coming thick and fast. It was almost laughable how slowly I was walking. A number of climbers on the way back down kept reassuring us that the end was near, and I appreciated their support, but the number of false-summits weren't actually helping.
Finally I walked round a corner of rock and could make out Uhuru Peak, probably 300 metres away. That was the first time I was convinced I'd do it.
Those last few metres were very painfull but in a strange way enjoyable as I knew I was getting there. When I finally did, I collapsed to the ground, not even taking my rucksack off.
I didn't quite know how to react when I got there, it was busy on the summit as people were celebrating their achievement and posing for pictures. For a while I just sat with Eric, looking out over Africa from its highest point, talking about our families and lives.
After a while I recovered enough to pose for the obligitary "summit picture" and wanted the man who had got me there Eric, to join me with Omar, a member of my group who I had built a good friendship with.As we started the descent, I stopped, maybe 200 metres from the stop when I realised I had a signal on my phone. I managed to phone home and speak to Bonnie and the boys to tell them I'd made it. It was a very emotional call and meant the world to me to be able to share the moment with the most important people in my life.
The descent itself was pretty horrible to be honest, by now my legs were aching like mad and my surgery-ridden knees aren't good going down hill. Again Eric walked with me, and we were joined by another extremely friendly and helpful porter called Johnny. We spent the next 14 hours making our way down, with a short stop back at Kibo huts in between.
I was quite sick half way down, I think the mixture of altitude, exhaustion, dehydration and lack of food (I hadn't eaten in 24hrs) all contributed to it, but in reality I really didn't care, I'd done it.
That nights sleep back at Horombo huts was the best nights sleep I'd ever had.
Saturday 25th September
I woke up on the Saturday, aching in parts of my body I didn't even know I had, and with a huge blister on my heel that I had been too tired to even notice the previous day. We had a very gentle 4 hour walk back through the rain forrest until lunch, and despite the aches and pains there was something very serene about it, as we knew we were coasting home now.
We stopped for lunch back at Mandara Huts where we'd spent our first night on the mountain, and I thought I was hallucinating when I saw they had cold cans of coke waiting for us. Never has a can of 'the real thing' tasted so good.To then find they'd prepared chicken and chips for us was just fantastic and gave us the boost we needed to walk / limp the final 2 hours back to Marangu gate.
We all waited for one another a couple of hundred metres from the end to ensure we'd all finish as a group.
There was champagne and celebrations at the bottom and the opportunity to properly thank our porters, who we now considered our friends.
They even sang and danced for us...... this was something very special that will stay with me forever. These are the songs they sang us that gave us such a boost during the summit night. There is a short video below to give you a feel for the show that went on for a good 5 minutes.
We said our fairwells to them all, then headed off to the hotel for a much needed shower, rest, beer and celebration dinner. The sense of achievement and friendship was palpable and we had a great night before turning in for a well earned sleep in a comfy bed!
Sunday 26th September
For the first time since we arrived, I woke up in the knowledge I didn't have to go for a long walk today, it was with some relief I have to say as the blister was now looking quite angry and my knees were shot to pieces.
Looking in the mirror wasn't the most pleasant view either, with a weeks growth and baggage under my eyes bigger than I'd put in the hold!
Still, a nice relaxing Sunday was what I needed and exactly what I got. We had a lazy start to the day after breakfast and slowly got our stuff together before heading off to the local town, called Moshi.
This was quite an experience I have to say. Mostly the local people were very friendly and welcoming. but the constant hassle from the local traders wore a bit thin after a while.
There is only one more photo to share, and that was taken from the roadside on the way back to the airport. The bus driver pulled over to show us Kili from the ground. We were quite in awe of what we'd just climbed, and more than a bit shocked! You need to look closely, up above the clouds, you can just about make out the snowy peak of Kibo.
So that's it, the dream became a reality, and all the months and months of preparation paid off. I felt quite low for a few days after coming back, after the Lord Mayor's show I suppose, but the excitement of returning to my amazing wife and children made it all worthwhile, I'd missed them dreadfully and couldn't have done it without their incredible support.
It was lovely being met by my parents at the airport too, a lovely and poignent way to end it, given my Mum being the inspiration for the whole thing.
I won't lie, its given me the bug to take on these kind of challenges more.... either a higher mountain or something equally or more challenging, but not for now, I just want to be with my family.
If you'd like to see the full collection of my photographs, you can do so here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kjcorb/Kilimanjaro?feat=directlink#
