Handy Hints for Kili!

If what you have read so far has inspired you to climb Kili, rather than run away from anything mountainlike, then here are a few handy hints to help you along the way. I wish I had seen a little more practical advice before I went.

Do make sure you have matching carrier bags inside your boots!

• Dry Sacks - Get one big dry sack to put inside your backpack that the porters carry. Also, put everything in your day pack inside some kind of waterproof bags, such as ziplock bags. My year old passport is now dog-eared and tatty and the book I took with me for the rest day never got dry and has actually grown mould. It is very embarrassing to be seen reading a mouldy book on the post-Kili safari!
•  Crocs - I admit that I have made some quite derogatory remarks about this footwear in the past. However, I swallowed my words on the trip and borrowed my friend's crocs a lot on the trek. They are light to carry and are waterproof. They are also quick to throw on when you need to leave the hut for a wee in the middle of the night. Plus you can still get them on your feet when you are wearing multiple pairs of socks.
• Snacks - Take a variety of savoury and sweet snacks and pack them in separate plastic bags for each day. Don't make my mistake of having the same thing each day. I don't think I will be able to face jelly tots or peanut and raisin mix for a long time. I also found the isotonic drink powders invaluable for replacing lost fluids.
• Get fit first - We were all as fit as fiddles before setting off and this paid off on the mountain. Kili is a place to use your fitness, not a place to develop it.
• Spare trainers - You may wish to give your feet a break from the hiking boots at times, especially on the afternoon descent following the summit day.
• Talcum powder and wet wipes - Essentially, these items play a large role in personal hygeine on the mountain, infact the principal role! Sprinkle talc on your feet, inside your socks and boots at every opportunity. The drier your feet, the less blisters you will get. A spot of talc in the hair also stops it from looking so gross after 6 days without a wash (although I was seldom seen without a hat).
• Thermals - at least 2 pairs of thermal trousers and 2 tops. I was pretty chilly and wished that I had a little more. Make sure you buy them in the Winter in the UK - they disappear from the shelves in summer.
• Acclimatisation day - This optimises your chances of reaching the summit. It is seriously worth the extra cash.
• Shower - Take a shower (at least 20 mins) wearing your waterproof gear and hiking boots before leaving. If anything leaks, sort it out before you leave. You may feel silly, but it's better than being cold and wet.
• Carrier bags - Pack everything inside carrier bags, according to the days you think you will need the clothes on the mountain and label it. It makes packing up and getting dressed at every camp much quicker. Bring extra carrier bags to shove your sleeping bag and thermarest in when you can't be bothered to squeeze them into the little bags. Carrier bags can also be worn inside your hiking boots to keep your feet dry.
• A positive attitude towards other climbers - I wish I could have met our own group either on the way up or down. Wish climbers luck on their way up and congratulate everyone as they descend. It makes a massive difference!

Well I am sure there are many more handy hints, but that should suffice for now. Feel free to add to the list!

The Summit

Kibo, the final base camp, lies at a dizzying 4700 metres above sea level. The air is thin and it's extremely cold. We went to bed at 6pm already dressed for the summit. I was wearing thermals, plus 3 pairs of trousers and 8 layers on top. I blame this for my decidedly chunky appearance on the summit photos, although the Swahili omelet and the daily chocolate bars for energy may also have played a small part too!
At 10pm, we had to wrench ourselves out of bed in order to prepare ourselves for the most challenging and frightening part of the climb so far. We drank a final cup of Milo (I had developed quite a habit by this point), wrapped water bottles in socks to prevent the water freezing and practised blowing water back into the camel packs. By 11pm, we were ready to head off into the cold, starry night.
Looking back now, it is all a bit of a blur and hard to believe that we climbed for a massive 7 hours before daylight. Fortunately, it was a full moon that night which allowed us to walk without using our head torches. We set off, single file, into the night and towards a distant summit, 1200 metres above us. To put that into perspective, Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, is 1344 metres. Also, from here on, the path is entirely made up of scree, rocks and snow. The guides had said they would be very strict with us, and only allow us to break once an hour. The beginning was manageable, putting one foot in front of the other, concentrating on breathing. After the second break, the water in my camel pack was frozen solid and I was struggling to find the energy to take the bottle out of my bag. I tried eating my snacks, but this was also a massive effort and I had no appetite. I'm not sure what point the group started to separate out, but I do remember becoming totally overwhelmed at one point. We had been advised not to look up or down, but this is easier said than done. I glanced down and saw the lights of Moshi town, roughly 5000 metres below. Above, only stars and snow. My knees started to shake and I felt dizzy. I'm not the best with heights, so I told myself that it was just fear that was making me shake and nothing more serious. The guides were amazing, listening to me ranting and providing constant reassurance. When I felt to weak,  my guide Alfred took my bag and even found my snacks and water for me. I got myself together and continued to put one foot in front of the other.

Just after Gilman's Point - I couldn't bring myself to smile!

Sunrise over the mountain

Glaciers - an icy world!

This is Africa!

On the rooftop of Africa!

I have no idea of the timescale of events throughout the evening, but as the first summit, Gilman's Point loomed into view I was close to two of my colleagues. They were equally tired and shaky, but sheer willpower forced us all through. We clambered over the boulders and got there in the end. At Gilman's Point, I heard a guide saying 'you have to go down'. I thought it was all over for me, but he was actually talking to one of the students. He insisted that I would get to the summit. The mental struggle far outweighs the physical and I pushed myself on, but had slowed down significantly by this point, temporarily losing sight of my friends. The sun started to rise as I passed the glaciers and walked along the ridge towards the summit. My emotions were all over the place, I cried a lot and nearly gave up a hundred times. When I thought I was still an hour away from the Uhuru Summit I passed a friend who was on her way back. The news that I was only ten minutes away turned everything around. A few minutes later I was at the summit! I bloody-well did it!!
The summit should be some sort of amazing, earth shattering experience. The views were out of this world and the sense of achievement was incredible. This is real life though and not everything was so ethereal. Still light-headed and emotional, I was now also desperate for a wee! Not only was I desperate, but I managed to announce this fact very loudly on the video my friend was filming for the school assembly. I had envisioned taking hundreds of photos, but I was so cold and tired that I could just about point the camera somewhere into space and press the button. I didn't give a dam that half the images were blurry from my hand shaking from the cold either!
Now coming down the mountain was another story. Descending has never been my strong point! First, I tried tobogganing down, as I was wearing ski-trousers, it wouldn't be a problem. This worked well until I smashed my wrist against a boulder when I picked up a little too much velocity! Then I tried going down very gingerly, which resulted in my already sore wrists getting even more sore. My third tactic was just going for it and trying to race down the scree - it was slightly more effective, but I did fall on my bum an awful lot. Three quarters of the way down, a rescue committee had come out to help me and an equally doddery friend. They ripped off about 3 layers of our clothing, as the sun was now hot. They brought us lemon squash and frog-marched us down to the camp at break-neck speed.

Eleven out of sixteen of our team made it to the Uhuru Summit. A couple more also made it to Gilman's Point. I think it is important to mention that making it to the final summit or not should not be a case of success or failure. Nobody knows what can happen to their body at that altitude and the most important thing is to take care of your health. A couple of the kids were ready to collapse from sheer exhaustion and I think it was actually quite brave of them to turn around and say they would go back, rather than stubbornly carrying on and putting themselves in danger. Everyone of us got up into the middle of the night and bravely started the long walk ahead. The real achievement is in the mental and physical strength it took us all to keep putting one foot in front of another day after day. I could not have asked for a more supportive or strong team and the kids' energy pushed us all through.

We took the Marangu or Coca-cola  route and used Kilitreks & Safaris. I highly recommend them! Unfortunately, our highly inspirational, cheer-leading students can not be hired as they are all too busy studying for their iGCSEs or IB diplomas to have time to climb Kili again

The Big Climb

After months of preparation, the big climb finally arrived. I had read many blogs that had scared me half to death, with tales of acute mountain sickness and crippling blisters. I had planned to keep a journal as I went, but the torrential downpour on the first day soaked everything inside my bag, so that put paid to that idea.

Kili in the clouds

Day One

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Just as we arrived at the entrance to the National Park, the heavens opened. We all dug in our backpacks and found our crisp new waterproofs and got ready for the long walk ahead. The  pouring rain may not have dampened our spirits, but a fair few of the people descending the mountain tried their best. Our cheerful group clapped and cheered everyone who had attempted the climb, greeting the porters and guides with 'Mambo poa, mambo vipi' (Swahili for 'how's it going?). In return, we heard tales of snow up to the armpits at the summit and temperatures plummeting to minus twenty-two. I started to wish that I had hired extra thermals but it was too late at that point.
The rain actually worked in our favour, meaning that the temperature was much more temperate for climbing. The first day takes you through tropical rain forest and up to an altitude of 2700m - similar to that of Bogota, where I lived a few years ago. It was much colder than I remembered though - or perhaps I have just gone a bit soft after living in Kampala for such a long time.


Day Two

Day Two took us from the tropical rain forest into a more alpine like environment. I believe we are possibly the most cheerful group ever to climb Kili, with the students almost singing and dancing their way up the path. The incline was still gentle and the path was wide and well maintained. The sunshine lasted until about 11am ... then it did not just rain, but hailed. By the time we reached the pic-nic site for lunch I was shivering and soaked to the skin. The mud was intense, people were slipping all over the place and my boots were starting to leak a little. It was, to all intents and purposes, miserable. The soup at lunch time did little to warm me up when we were sitting around in howling winds and icy cold rain.When we set off again, I caved in and started listening to my i-pod, even though I had been planning to save it for the summit day. I needed something to cheer me up.

Serious mud!

Just before the second massive downpour 

 

Day Two was one of the most challenging in many ways. It was not so much the long walk, as some of the things we saw along the way. We had all trained sufficiently well, so nobody was having any difficulties in that respect. The first disturbing sight was of somebody being carried down the mountain on a stretcher. The whole body and face was covered in a sleeping bag and one of those tin-foil recovery blankets. We heard two stories about this person - one was that it was a climber who had ascended too quickly and was suffering from Acute Altitude Sickness and another that it was a porter who had met a much worse fate. I'm not sure which story is true, but a shiver ran through my whole body as I saw this person. It was a sharp wake-up call that what we were about to embark on could be very dangerous. The second upsetting thing was just before we arrived at the second base camp. One of the porters (from a different company) had not been wearing waterproofs and was saturated, shivering and shaking. Apparently he had hardly eaten that day either. We gave him some snacks and rehydration salts and our guides helped him carry the bag the remaining few hundred metres to the camp. The porters have a very physically demanding job and I started to feel like a bit of a princess for making another person carry my stuff up the mountain. We later found out that the porters are not permanent employees of the companies, but casual hire. They wait around at the bottom of the mountain and wait for groups to arrive and their pay is essentially the tips the group leave behind. As they are paid on a daily basis, many of them risk their health by taking only one or two days of rest, before starting on another trek up the mountain. It is now 4 days since I finished the climb and the most exercise I have done since then is a few laps of the pool, meanwhile, some of our porters could be half-way up to the summit again. We had made a bit of a faux-pas, by agreeing on a much lower tip than what we should have paid. Our understanding was that a tip is a little extra something that you give to somebody to say thank you for a particularly good service. When we discovered that our team of 16 climbers required 34 porters, 3 guides, 3 cooks and 2 waiters and that some of those people were relying on our tips to pay their wages, we made a quick dash to the ATM (in Moshi - I am not claiming that there is a cash point on the mountainside) and made amends. If you do decide to climb Kili, find out how the porters and paid in advance and ask the company exactly how much is required. These people are not protected by employment laws and have a very hard life.

Day Three

Day Three was a very well needed rest day. The idea is to acclimatise your body to the altitude (in this case 3700 metre above sea level) and to walk to a higher altitude - real mountaineers talk out 'climb high, sleep low'. It was also a good opportunity for us to dry out our clothes, as we were all starting to worry about not having enough dry clothes for the summit day.
The morning was lazily spent drinking endless cups of Milo, playing cards and snuggling up and snoozing in our sleeping bags.
Now I would like to mention some of the food we sampled on the trip. Being from the North of England, a region famous for healthy dishes such as deep fried Mars bars and Wigan Kebabs (that's a pie wrapped in thickly buttered white bread if you're unfamiliar with this term) it is very difficult to criticise food. Nor would I like to be responsible for catering for 16 whilst half-way up a mountain, with no power supply or running water. However, even I was unprepared for the surprise that a Swahili omelet is chips in an omelet - I kid you not. I was a little dubious about the nutritional value of this meal, but I was reassured that it contained all the essentials for mountaineering - carbs in the potatoes, protein in the eggs and a generous portion of fat in the greasy oil it was fried in!

Drying day!

Mmmmmm ???

Zebra Rocks

Before my body could digest the Swahili Omelet, we set off on our afternoon walk to Zebra Rocks. By this time, the weather had turned in our favour and we had the benefit of the walk and staying dry.

Day 4

Rested and dry, we started our journey towards the final base camp. From this point, we had a clear view of the summit. Inspiring and terrifying at the same time - inspiring because we knew what we were aiming for and terrifying because we had no idea how much snow was there and the path up looked mighty steep.

We're heading right to the top!

Layered up - the air's getting a bit think here!

At least it's pink!!

It wasn't long before the vegetation changed again and we entered an arid zone of tundra. The lack of plants was bad news for us, as it meant that we could no longer pee behind a tree, but would have to face the stinky latrine loos or pee in the wide-open space for all to see. We mostly opted for the second option - personal pride a having gone a long time ago! None of the women truly embraced the she-wee - a little contraption that lets you wee like a man, standing up. It's a shame really - it could have been very entertaining!



This was the section of the walk where we really had to start walking 'pole pole' or 'slowly slowly'. Many a Kili climber has been submitted to altitude sickness from racing ahead. As we got higher, going slowly became less of a problem as the air really started to thin out. None of us could really believe that the final 1.5kms could take us around an hour and a half, but it did. We kept plodding on, and the huts didn't seem to get any closer. I began to think they were a moving target.

Eventually, we got there, had another cup of Milo, dinner and a very early night before the summit ... and that deserves a post of its own!

Letters of Motivation

I have many tales to tell from the Kili trip, but will start with something that helped us all along the way. Each morning, we opened letters from friends, family and students with motivational messages. It was great to know that people believed in us and were thinking of us while we were away.

The funniest letter came from a student I taught last year, which reminded us that the mountain was very, very high and that she did not think we were that fit! Luckily we read it at the beginning and were able to laugh it off. My absolute favourite letter came from a boy in my class, who was very envious of the trip and said:
Please take care of my teacher and don't let her get lost in the snow desert!
Very cute indeed!

Summits and elections

While I'm halfway up a mountain, Uganda will be going through a momentous occasion of its own. The General Elections (or should I say Erections?) will be held this Friday. President Museveni has been in power since 1986 and is standing once again. Over the past few months, various political campaigns have been in full swing. Not for Uganda, the tedious 'Party Political Broadcasts' at the back end of the 9 O' Clock News. Here, pick up trucks loaded up with a serious amount of speakers blast any passers by with excruciatingly loud music (the NRM treating us to yet another rap unfortunately), shouting, microphone feedback and litter the streets with fliers. Virtually every inch of public spaces have been plastered in posters, predominantly yellow. It is illegal to take them down don't you know? In spite of all the publicity, I know several Ugandans who don't feel it is worth the bother of voting. I admire the spirit of my wonderful TA, who thinks that everybody should vote, so that they know they have tried their best. This time they have promised that the elections will be free and fair .

I am, of course, hoping that all goes smoothly and safely, whatever the outcome. No major touble has been forecast, although I did see a fleet of heavily armed tanks passing on the by-pass the other day. They must just be there for decoration ... When they say 'no major trouble', apparently they mean there may be a little tear gas thrown around here and there and there may be some riots, similar to those of September 2009. Not exactly peaceful in my book! This is all speculation, and maybe nothing at all will happen. Those staying around have been stocking up on bottled water, tinned and dried goods and jerry cans full of petrol just in case. It's a bit like the 'spirit of the war' without Vera Lynn! I hope that my friends don't have to spend too much time cooped up watching DVDs at home though and that the sun shines for them.

So Sunday should be a big day. All being well we should be on the 'rooftop of Africa' as we get up at midnight to climb to the summit.  Meanwhile in Uganda, the first results from the election should be coming out.

Warm thoughts going out towards everyone climbing Kili and everyone in Uganda at this time.

The final countdown!

3 days to go.
2 days in school, then it's an early morning wake-up for a 7am flight to Kilimanjaro Airport.
The bag is packed (my mother would be proud - I had a practise pack first!!), I have medical kit to cure anything from a blister to an operation with my sterile needle kit (five years old and never opened), 2 sleeping bags (just in case it gets extra cold), thermals, beanie hats, sun screen, 2 headlamps and loads of batteries, a camel pack and enough snacks to fuel an entire rugby team!
Today we had our final Sunday walk, followed by a dinner and a briefing. A couple of things made me chuckle.
The first is that Diamox, the controversial anti-altitude sickness drug, lists 'lack of sex drive' as one of the possible side effects. Well, excuse me, but I would be very concerned about anybody who actually had a high sex drive on the side of Kili, being as it will be minus ten and we are staying in huts with up to 120 dorm beds in them. Anybody who starts to shed any of their clothes should be immediately escorted down the mountain, in my view!
Secondly, and of great importance to me, is that the meal plan includes a cup of tea in bed each morning. Excellent!

What a load of old rubbish?

Look at what we came across on today's walk. It looks like some kind of artwork, all made out of old rubbish, to promote sports in Uganda. The spelling is a little worrying, considering it was in the grounds of a university.

Marabou storks thankfully DO NOT deliver babies!

Baby Marabou Storks - they are fluffier but NOT cute!

Or you will get Maribou Storks around ...

Amateur Boxing Association is what they were trying to say!

Except it is outdoors!

Game of chass anyone?

TURG of War???

Prosperous enough to buy a dictionary?

A space for the Kabaka

And also a space for the president!

This was too good not to share. The artist must be a dedicated soul to root through all the feral garbage!

And now for something completely different!

I found this Monty Python Kilimanjaro sketch this morning when I was looking for clips of Kili to show to the kids. It was quite a welcome distraction after watching people huff and puff their way to the summit.

This was the first time I have really talked to the kids about climbing Kili and after sharing a few You Tube clips, they are quite impressed and bewildered by the thought of the whole trek. One boy thinks we are lucky to have the opportunity to play in the snow and asked me to bring some back! I hope it was a joke - otherwise I have been wasting my time teaching States of Matter for the past 4 weeks. However, my favourite comment was:

'Miss, if you slip and fall off the mountain and die, who will be our teacher?'

I am so glad they appreciate me!

Who turned up the heating?

January and February are the hottest, driest months in Uganda. Great, when all you have to do is lie by the pool and read a book; not so great when you have to teach twenty energetic little people.  The temperature in my classroom has regularly been hitting over the 30 degree mark and we are all wilting. All I can think about all day is the moment when I can dive into the pool at 4.15pm and lower my body temperature. And we wonder why the kids find it hard to concentrate ...

On the other hand, I should be careful what I wish for. In just over a week, I will be wearing multiple layers and shivering on the side of Mount Kilimanjaro. It's not such a bad thought right now!

The best spot in school!

Kili Training in the Rwenzoris

Our strong and determined Team Kili

One of the many uphills!

Lush views!

Almost at the top!

The porter carried our lunch in a cardboard box on his head!

We climbed one of the mountains in the background

ONLY TEN DAYS TO GO!!!

This weekend we ran out of the school gates faster than the kids, loaded up the bus and headed off for one of my favourite spots in Uganda, Fort Portal. By 8.30pm, we were tucking into a rather filling home-cooked meal at the Ruwenzori View Guest House, followed by an early night, ready for an early morning start on the mountains.
The first half hour of the hike was a real test of our mental and physical stamina. As we plodded up the steep hill, I started to wonder what I was letting myself in for and whether the whole of the Kilimanjaro was going to be like this. I think it is a thought that crossed everybody's mind.
At the top of that first steep hill, we found a school. So it would seem that our mountain practise is just run of the mill for many of the kids living in that area. And they do it every day, either barefoot or in flip-flops! Looking at the bloated kwashiorkor stomachs, it is also clear that they were suffering from malnutrition too - and they were more than able to overtake us, carrying jerrycans of water! No North Face extreme mountain gear for them. It puts everything into perspective really.

A girl takes a rest outside the village school

I was relieved to find that the path evened out a little and that our ascent became more gradual. There were a few heart pounding moments, but nothing I can't deal with. What I did realise though, is that hiking is pretty tough on the calves and I wonder what else I can do to build up strength in the remaining week and a half.
The team is really starting to gel. I enjoyed getting to know the students a little more and we all mixed up as we walked at different paces. We're a pretty feisty team and believe that we will have the mental strength to push ourselves through the challenges to come. Nobody complained, nobody bitched and nobody is afraid of getting dirty or not looking pretty on the mountain. OK ... maybe we are a little concerned about the lack of showers and hair washing situation, but we won't let it get in our way.
By the end of the day we had hiked for about eight hours, walked about 12-15km (a very rough guesstimate!!) and climbed up and down something in the region of 1000m.
Now most of the physical training is done. If we're not fit enough now we never will be, so the focus has to change to the mind. I'm not only visualing the summit, but also the big meal we will have when we return, the pool in the hotel and a large glass of chilled white wine!

The Pre-Kili Medical

I've been watching clips of the celebrity Comic Relief team climbing Kili recently. They had teams of experts helping them to prepare and making sure they were all fit and healthy enough to endure the climb. They had all sorts of medical checks, got wired up to machines monitoring their heart-rates, entered chambers that mimicked the effects of altitude to see how they fared and took medics with them.
With this in mind, I booked myself an appointment at the doctors. The first thing I asked, was whether I should take Diamox. This drug is believed to help with the effects of altitude, however, the side effects of nausea, head-aches and  tingly feeling limbs are similar to those caused by altitude anyway So does it really help? He strongly advised against it, so I walked away empty handed. Does anybody have any experience of this or strong views either way? I'm not much of a pill-popper as it is, and I normally put head-aches down to either dehydration or tiredness.
I was feeling a little under the weather that day, and have been concerned that if I catch any sort or cold or 'flu (which is fairly easy when you work in a germ factory - I mean school) then my training would be interrupted. 'Training?', he said with a puzzled look on his face. 'What do you need to train for?'  Well there I was, thinking about 7 days of intense climbing and exercise, when he was making it out to be a walk in the park.
He then asked which route we were taking, and proceeded to draw me a little map of the mountain and talk in depth about the toilet arrangements and how the 120 bed dorms can be a party zone. Not what I imagined at all. I had a demonstration of how you should walk on the last day (heel, toe, breathe, rest, breathe) and was told that he has climbed it in trainers, right until the last day.
In total, I spent about 25 minutes in the consultation room, without even seeing a stethoscope. I was told to help myself to dressings and microtape to treat any blisters and told to take paracetamol and go to bed for my impending sickness. This may strike some as worrying, but it actually set my mind at ease a little. It was good to hear somebody talk about climbing Kili as though it isn't the scariest thing in the world and I stopped worrying ... well not completely, but just a little!

Lights out!

One of my best buys in Uganda!

I was just about to start chopping up the veggies to make a butternut and carrot soup tonight, when ping, off went the electricity again. We have been experiencing more and more power cuts of late, for longer and longer periods of time. I think this is now the third in a week. I am, however, getting much more inventive in my ways of dealing with them. Last week, I was half way through cooking my dinner when the power went out. Now a less resilient person would sigh and give up here, opting instead for a bowl of cereal or some raw veggies. Not me! I suddenly remembered that I had bought a camping stove off a leaving friend last year, so lit the stove and hey presto, dinner was served only a little after originally planned. This little gadget is so great - it even has a little rack to toast bread on. Now I will be reluctant to take my emergency cooker on any sort of camping trip though!

The power cuts are a major headache in Uganda - slowing down productivity and making life generally more miserable for those experiencing them. They have even been said to be a major cause of the high birth rate - after all, what else is there to do in the village in the dark?! When the inverter goes out (a big battery that stores up power so the lights still work in a power cut), I however, will be reading by the light of my head torch, so rest assured, there will be no unwanted pregnancies in my household!