Cat's Kilimanjaro Climb-The Lemosho Route

1 year a go I decided to raise money for Diabetes in memory of my cousin, who had diabetes. His parent’s wishes at his funeral were no gifts or flowers but donations to diabetes. I remember having 20 pounds in my pocket. which obviously was not enough to honour someone's life.

I looked around online and found an organisation - Charity Challenge- who organise trips around the world trips around the world to raise money for charity. I chose Kilimanjaro, as I knew that I would have to get fit, it was extreme and if all went well there was a good success rate that you would get to the top.

So almost one year later I was on a plane to Heathrow to meet my fellow companions who I had never met before to fly to Nairobi and then onto Tanzania. Here is my diary.

Wednesday 2nd September
I head to Schipol airport one and a half hours early for my flight at 1pm. I'm a small kid who just can't wait to start the journey. I check-in my 'kit bag' that should be at 15kg for the porters to carry, but is a couple of K's over.

I arrive at Heathrow, everyone is checking in individually, so I'm not sure who is in the group so head to a bar to relax It's been a tough few months on FIFA so was time to catch up on trashy magazines. I have 3 hours to kill. Wow I'm actually on my way.

When we arrive at Nairobi we are put into 2 run down minibuses. We have a bumpy and dusty 6-hour journey on a leaking minibus to Arusha. I fell asleep so many times on the bus, to shut myself down from the terrible journey. After 6 hours we were in Arusha- a bustling town approx 20 miles from the Kilimanjaro National Park. We arrived at a small lodge to sleep and eat for the night.

There are 18 in the group, all various ages and backgrounds. Most are travelling on their own, except for 2 couples and a mother and daughter I am sharing with a young lady called Linsey- a young mother of 3 from Derbyshire. After a quick drip of a shower, we then sit down to an amazing Tanzanian feast. I keep reminding myself that I have to eat as much as I can, as this is fuel. Then a short briefing on the plan for tomorrow. Our guide from Charity Challenge is Jez. He lives in Zimbabwe, but guides tours around Africa as a living. . The majority of the group is a bit concerned about altitude sickness and Jez tries to calm them down. I've heard that if you get altitude sickness there isn't much you can do. It doesn’t matter how fit you are, or how much you have prepared. All depends individually how you react to the lack of oxygen. I'll try not to worry and enjoy the experience. It’s bed by 9.30pm.

Friday 4th September/ STAGE 1/ Big Tree Camp
7am: Alarm call
7.30am: Breakfast
8am: Bag weigh in-my bag was now 12 kg so good to go.
8.30am: depart the lodge.
Today we set off in 4 wheel land rovers to the Kilimanjaro National Park to start our 6-day journey to the summit. I set off in the car with the Scottish crew Carol, Sandy and Thomas, with the doctor and Jez in the front who gave us a guided tour on wildlife and fauna.

After one flat tyre, amazing views of African plains with zebras (yes and zebras crossing!), monkeys, baboons, wildebeest and an eagle we arrived at Londorossi Gate to sign in. It was quite chilly up there. Then 100m up the track we were greeted by the 68 guides and porters who would be part of our trek. It was slightly overwhelming. I had never imagined that so many porters would be required until you start to think of all our tents, the porters tents, the toilet tents, the mess tent, the cooking tent, 6 days supply of food and water plus utensils that have to be carried from one camp to the next.

Then we were off through the rainforest to follow the 6-day Lemosho Route. It was a short but steep 4-hour climb up to Big Tree Camp. It made my heart leap into action. It was a tough first climb. We also spotted a few sightings of elephant dung near the camp. Woo hoo we are in Africa ca ca.

It was an early dinner. Before dinner the guides brief us on the next day. Including- the route, geology, food, water consumption, animals and fauna. We also hand in our platypuses and camelbaks to be filled with water for the evening or morning. The cook boils the water before filling them up. We are advised to drink 4 litres of water most days, hence the record amounts of wee breaks.

Dinner is soup followed by a main course then to bed. The camp is pretty noisy as it's a small space with the tents close together. I got up a few times as our neighbours Carol and Sandy had spotted a wild cat and wanted to use my red headlamp to take pictures. It was pretty amazing. Under the trees with wildlife so close. I am sharing my tent with Linsey. Tonight it was easy to hear the snorers. It came to light in the morning that Harminder had a tent on his own as he snored so loudly. We were so tired though, I think I fell asleep at 9pm, to be awoken at 5am by a noisy black and white colobus monkey.

Saturday 5th September/ STAGE 2/ Shira 1
6am: Wake up with tea or coffee
6.30am: Washy washy- a small bowl with hot water to wash your hands and face, pack up interior of the tent
7am: Breakfast and check up by the doctor- drop water bottle off to be filled
8am: start of the trek to Shira 1

It was an early start today with a 10 hour slog through tropical rainforest, to moorland with a short stop in a valley for soup and salad, then after 7 hours we eventually saw our first sighting of Kibo (Kilimanjaro's peak) to the left under the cloud. Eventually the cloud disappeared (it cleared every evening and morning) to reveal the spectacular mountain. We couldn't stop looking at the sunset on the glorious mountain. It was amazing.

So far everyone seems to be coping with the altitude. There are just a few of the group with headaches.

Awkward moment of the evening was when Jez (our expedition leader) had found out that it was Vijay's birthday. I was heading back to my tent when he mentioned for me to go back as he had a birthday cake for Vijay. Really great gesture, until 10 minutes later Jez returned to the tent speechless, after he had just been told that Vijay was a Jehovah's Witness. Jez was really embarrassed; although I spoke to Vijay the next day and he had a rye smile.

Sunday 6th September/ STAGE 3/ Shira 2
Again it was a 6am start with the 'usual' tea and coffee and washy washy.
Breakfast is usually porridge, tea, coffee, bread and a wee serving of bacon and eggs.
We were a little late setting off this morning, around 8.30am. I'd already noticed that we were one of the slower groups on the mountain. It gets frustrating as you want to walk faster, but the guides know what they are doing. The slower you go the more likely you will have success.

Today there was a weird one as we were supposed to head direct from Shira 1 to Shira 2 drop our bags then if you wanted head backwards to climb Shira Cathedral for an acclimatisation walk. There was miscommunication between the guide and Jez somewhere. We also lost a lot of time waiting for porters to run back and find Thomas' camera and for all the pee stops everyone was making. I think there is a competition running, I'm at around 7 a day.

Once we had dumped our bags at Shira 2 a few of us went on a short acclimitisation walk. The idea is that you should walk high, sleep low. Up until this point I had been feeling fine, but at only 60 metres higher up I was starting to see stars. Back down for an early dinner at 6.30pm- my favourite dinner of the week- Spaghetti Bolognese. Amazing. I'm on a mountain and the cook can rustle this up. I had 2 helpings. I need energy to get to the top of this mountain.

Monday 7th September/ STAGE 4/ BARRANCO HUTS (they aren't huts though!)
Today has been the toughest day so far. I woke up feeling 'hung-over', perhaps it's the lack of alcohol, unfortunately it's the effects of altitude. I have a dull headache, swollen hands and temples. The doctor took my blood pressure and it was at 120 over 95- a little high. Time for 1/2 a Diamox tablet. Diamox acidifies blood that stimulates ventilation, which increases the amount of oxygen in the blood. Complicated, but apparently helps you acclimatise, doesn't relieve the headaches and nausea. I borrowed Sandy's penknife and proceeded to slice the top of my index finger off. Great site of my blood dripping over my breakfast. I didn't get to eat breakfast due to the mini drama and by the time the blood stopped we were starting the 8-hour trek via Lava Tower to Barranco Huts.

It was a hard day, cold and with a pounding head. Every few hours I was popping Paracetemol. At lunch about 6 of the group decided they were feeling too ill to take route via Lava Tower- this would be the highest point till the final camp at 4500m. I decided although I was feeling absolutely terrible with nausea and headaches, I wanted to do the Lava Tower walk as it would be better for acclimatisation. The weather turned cold and cloudy. You just have to take your mind off all things negative and what do you know. A few white-necked ravens and a couple of Arctic chats make an appearance. It's relentless. On the way down from Lava Tower is a steep decent through an amazing valley full of giant Loberia plants. These plants are just awesome.

When we get to camp everyone is shattered. Early dinner at 6pm of chicken and rice. Then we tried to play the name game, but without alcohol everyone one by one got up to go to bed. I took the opportunity to phone Joakim for a quick 'I am ok' conversation. The signal had been non-existent for 4 days. Whilst I was on the phone Joakim must of thought I was a loony as there was a Jackal about 8 metres to the side of me. I was repeating, "there's a wild dog, there's a wild dog!" It was lovely to speak to him. Then a final check up to the stars to make sure the Milky Way was still there, and then off to bed, Tomorrow I hope the headache clears a bit.

Monday 8th September/ STAGE 5/ Karanga Valley Campsite (although not in a valley!)
Today is a great day as no more monotonous walking instead a steep climb and scramble up the Barranco Wall. A near vertical path where in places you have to haul yourself up. I have a fear of heights, but felt absolutely fine. The mood in the team is on a high. I felt great, as no headaches...woo hoo. From Barranco Huts we went up the wall, then down to Karanga Valley and then up to Karanga Camp at 4040 metres. We stopped for lunch at Karanga- that would also be our base for the night.

After lunch a small group of us did a short acclimatisation walk. We are so above the clouds here it's strange to look down. You feel that you could jump and spring across the thick, fluffy clouds. Tomorrow we head to Barafu Huts at 4681m. This is where we will make or summit ascent. Woo hoo.

Annoyance of the day were a group of Polish guys who were smashing rocks to find remnants of black lava stone and leaving graffiti on the rocks. Idiots.


Tuesday 9th & Wednesday 10th September/ STAGE 6/ BARAFU HUTS & SUMMIT DAY
The toughest, longest day of the trip. Two days were to become one. We arrived mid afternoon to a bustling camp of Barafu. Many of the quicker routes all meet here. Who do we see on his way down- Mr Roman Abromovich. We had been on his tail from day 1, but he was 1 day ahead and unfortunately didn't make the summit. It was his second try.

After signing in it was a quick hour kip before lunch at 3pm, then quickly down to the tent for another quick nap before dinner at 6pm. You need to grab all the sleep you can get. At lunch we were put into our groups. I was put in the 3rd 'faster' group, but decided I didn't want the pressure and also wanted longer to get to the top so switched to Group 2. Tonight was summit night so the plan was to leave at 11.30pm.

The plan was organise your summit kit and sleep at 7pm, wake up call at 10.30pm, breakfast at 11pm then head off at 11.30pm. Jez was supposed to wake Linsey and I up, he overslept and Linsey and I were frantically awoken by Eloise - one of the summit guides- shouting at the tent around 11.10pm to get our stuff together. I wasn't best pleased. Seriously you just can't rush at altitude, it was the start of the hardest challenge in my life and I had 20 minutes to prepare. I couldn't find one of my ski-gloves, which sent me into panic. After throwing everything out the tent I eventually found it. Up to the mess tent to have a few gulps of porridge and then we were off. It wasn't a great start to the summit- with my heart racing but the pace would slow that down. My group members were:

Deborah- retired solicitor with Diabetes
Laura- Deborah's daughter and Sports Management student
Sian- the quiet one
Thomas- retired policeman (who had been told not to climb by the doc due to high blood pressure)
Malcolm- restaurant worker (also had been told not to climb by the doc)
Georgie- number 1 karate kid in the UK
Linsey- mother of 3

Our guides for the summit route were- Eloise, Edwardo (Mandela), Robinson and summit porter-Abdul

At 11.45pm we were on the long, cold relentless trek to 5895m, with one foot in front of the other we went 'pole pole*' onwards. *slowly slowly. Even at the start I knew that the freezing conditions would be my main challenge. I was wrapped up well, it was my fingers and toes that were suffering. It was -10c, fortunately no wind and no rain. My kit for the climb from top to bottom included:

1 x hat
2 x thermal long sleeve vests
2 x fleeces
1 x Northface summit jacket with hood- super warm and even has a handy inside pocket to keep your camera batteries alive.
1 x windjacket/ shell
2 x pairs of long johns
1 x trekking trousers
1 x rain trousers
1 x thick walking socks ( I wish I had worn 2 x thinner)
1 x Meindl walking boots
1 x rucksack- 30L- with lots of energy bars and energy gels ( i recommend the vanilla flavour)
1 x Camelbak 2 litre water pack, insulated with a first aid bandage and duck tape so that the water tube wouldn't freeze
1 x flask with warm water- this really kept me going

For 2 hours it was relentless but I felt that this would be doable, even with other groups passing by our group remained at the 'pole pole' pace. At around 3 hours I had my first wave of nausea. Its like seasickness just comes from no-where. I also started to see things that weren't there. I think it may have been the moon reflecting on something, but I kept catching strange light effects in my eyes. This is apparently a consequence of altitude sickness, but didn't know this till the next day when we shared out hallucination stories. Including Nick's. He saw farm gates on the way from Stella Point to the summit!

After 4 hours the 2nd wave of nausea went by, with my freezing hands and toes, and with the backpack digging into my shoulders I eventually gave in to the niggly annoyances and had to stop. It was getting really hard. I wasn't going to give up, but one of the summit porters could see I was looking for a hand- Abdul immediately took my backpack, got me water and made me eat. I had a moment where the tears started and wouldn't stop, I was here on the way to the summit and it was all overwhelming. A whole year swept by, I had to rise to the challenge and move on. Without the backpack I felt lighter and re-energised and off we went.

As we plodded on, the guides spontaneously broke into song, my heart let out a blanket of warmth that seemed to shed optimism and hope to our journey. Next the sun broke, yay.... and by 7am we were at Stella Point for a drop of tea and rest. How did we get here? Stella Point is often a place where people are so broken they can't continue the 45 minutes to the summit. It would be understandable if the weather was bad and you couldn't see the end, but it was clear blue skies here at the top. You could see the summit so there were no excuses not continue. With newfound energy and a spring in my step I just wanted to keep going.

Then we were off to the summit. What would of been a 15 minute walk at sea level from Stella Point to the summit, took around 45/ 60 minutes to reach the summit. All around was an amazing lunar landscape with glaciers. Apparently a century ago the glaciers were 88% bigger. This is a scary thought. At 8.20am we reached 'Uhuru' - which means freedom- the highest point in Africa and the highest freestanding mountain in the world at 5895m. I was there.

I wish you could bottle that feeling that you get when you reach the summit. I hope that I can carry that feeling always.

After 20 minutes of photo taking we had to unfortunately leave so that we could head downwards. On the way along the ridge we saw the 3rd of our groups. We were beaming with exhilaration of achievement. Afterwards they said that it really was just the tonic to see us all hyped up from reaching the top, to push them on to make it. We headed down the scree as though we were on ski’s and arrived back at Barafu around midday to get a quick kip whilst waiting for the group to return back. Then it was a quick lunch, then pack and head down to the last camp of our trip at Mweke Hut. All of us had made the summit! A great achievement.

At Mweke we could buy our first beer for what seemed like weeks. Then a quick kip for me before dinner. Everyone was exhausted, particularly Nick who didn't make it to dinner or breakfast. He was absolutely broken.

11.09.09/ BACK TO THE LODGE
This morning we had the best breakfast of the trip.
Afterwards it was time to present tips to the guides, porters and doctor and also to donate clothes. I left all my socks, hats, thermals and had the honour to hand out the tips to the porters.
The final trek was a 15km trek downhill through the rainforest. I just wanted to be at the pool at the lodge- I wish we had a helicopter The downhill walk was relentless and quite slippy.
Eventually we were back at the lodge around 4.30pm for a quick dip in the pool and a glass of wine. Pure bliss. All Linsey and I wanted was a shower, unfortunately we only had a drip of cold water coming from our shower so after a great palaver we were escorted to the male pool showers!
After dinner it was a presentation of certificates and we even received a medal. The intention was to stay up late and party, but we were all so tired we were all (most except for a few who ventured into Arusha) in bed by 10,30pm.


12.09.09 RETURN

What I take away with me.
The strength and resilience of the porters who carried heavy loads day after day
The personal, physical and mental strength and determination needed to walk for the eight days and reach the high point of 5 895 m.
The time to reflect on where I am in life and where I want to go, believing that anything is possible.
The importance of the support, encouragement and company of the other members of the group. A 100% success rate is a fantastic achievement.
The sheer beauty of the mountain itself, rising through the rainforest to high desert and then to the amazing sight of glaciers at the summit.
The pride in raising over 4000 euros for Diabetes UK. Thanks to everyone who has donated so far, and if you still want to donate please go to: http://www.justgiving.com/catreynolds

In memory of David Buckingham. I hope that you could see me near the sky.