Western Breach, Kilimanjaro: 2009

Wednesday, 23 September 2009

Western Breach to Kilimanjaro

28th August - 2nd Sept '09

Umbwe Route

Uhuru Peak via The Western Breach

Finally i've settled from my beautiful holiday to write about it. I feel i should write about it to share my experience on the Western Breach as am amateur climber, because when i was doing my research about this route, I did not find quite as much information as I would have liked. I don't think i would have changed my mind about it, but I would have put in a bit more thought into it and definitely a lot more preparation!! Here is my day to day account - as much as i can remember from it anyway... xx

Day 1

At Umbwe Gate, loading up the porters with tents, food and essentials.

At Umbwe Gate, we signed our first (of many) log books - name, passport number, nationality, home address, permit number, company.... & away we went. It wasn't very eventful. We were each given a lovely box of lunch & headed up a track towards out first camp of ±2900m. The walk was pleasant. Temperature was cool for about 1pm. We walk through very lush, green rainforest. Oddly quiet for a rainforest. When I climbed Gunung Tahan in Malaysia, the noise was deafening! But perhaps it was because we were in the thick of the jungle, whereas here, we were on a marked track. The guide, Daniel, says that the animals are all deeper inside.

There is another team on route. A team of 4 Germans. They looked very fit and well equipped. They also walked much faster. We learn our first Swahili word - pole pole, which means slow slow. The pace WAS slow, which was FABULOUS!! For a change. In all other climbs, it's always been "faster, faster" for all sorts of reasons - dangerous lighting, snow melting, got to get to camp before dark, etc! It took me some time to adapt to this slow-mo pace but when i did, i found it throughly relaxing and enjoyable!

Anyway, it was a gradual ascend towards first camp. It took us about four hours of leisurely walking to arrive at camp. Some porters arrived quite far behind. I am not sure why. Maybe because they started much later. First camp in within a wooded area. We shared this camp with the German's. To my delight, there are actually toilet shed's at camp. These are little square wooded sheds with a big hole. A bit like what you would find in Nepal except that the Nepalese provide a larger hole to poop into whereas these one's are quite small & take some aiming effort. Sorry - did you not need that information??

So we're at camp and I'm loving it. The site looks lovely and, well, it's day 1. The walk was easy and everything feels good. As soon as the sun goes down though, the temperature nose dives. Wooly hat and gloves come out. In fact, I am waiting for my porter to arrive so i can get my down jacket out!! It's freezing!!

Our table is set up - table cloth and all! Yes, someone is going to carry this bright red table all the way up with us. It's not necessary but this is how they want to do it. Plus, it provides someone with a job. Some groups get their very own sit down, male & female toilet tent! So we are not to feel bad about the small table we are getting. Dinner was yummy!!! It was just about bearable to sit out for a candle lit dinner and a short chat. Then into our tents we went for a rest. Although our tent was in a nice little spot, it was on the piss (slope) and i struggled to sleep. On one of my many toilet visits (by this point, i had given up the idea of walking to the shed & just relieved myself close to the tent) i was awed by the sight of millions of stars surrounding the camp site! It was awesome!

Day 2 To Barranco 3940m

<-- Camp 1 : I am standing on an edge, in front of my tent on the 2nd morning

We got up at about 7.30a.m. (or earlier, depending on which tent you were in LOLL), being greeted by a basin of hot water each by our lovely porter. It's lovely here surrounded by woods. We have our first breakfast of hot porridge - i think it's called Uji (unfortunately i have forgotten grrr) It's made of flour of some sort - kinda oat colored & purple bits. It was yummy!!! Breakfast is huge! We get sausages, fried eggs, lots of toast & a big pot of this porridge, plus coffee and tea - oh yes, & LOTS of sugar!

<--- the forrest & mucking around with some moss

After breakfast, it was straight up this path. We soon come into what looks like an enchanted forrest! Trees are draped in this fine dry moss. It's a dramatic change of scenery and a surreal one. The walk starts quite light heartedly. There is a lot of chatter and we play around and take lots of photo's. We get to know our guide Daniel & Moses, as well as catch up with each other's gossip. It's not long before we catch a glimpse of Mt. Meru.
It is a beautiful sight of a quintessential mountain floating in the clouds. We also catch sight of the peak of Kilimanjaro! Everyone is in a good mood!!

About 2 hours into the trek, we leave the "enchanted forrest" and the scenery changes yet again. The ground is rocky and covered in dry grass. Trees are replaced by this cactus like vegetation - i believe they are heathers - shoot me if i am wrong or just let me know what they are & i will correct this. Some of these are huge - 5m-10m?? If i'm not wrong, it is here that everyone is starting to get a little quieter ;-) The clouds are now properly below us. The sky is crisp blue and there is that visual clarity you see when you are above the clouds. I don't really remember this visual feast at Mt. Blanc (but this could be that i was too caught up with the sensation of being stabbed in my toes) but i do remember this visual sensation in Nepal. It also begins to feel hot & cold at the same time.

<-----approaching camp

<--- view from our tent

We arrive at Barranco camp at about 2pm (or a little later?) It took a leisurely 5-6 hours and everyone was ready for some lunch! I run over to help the porters put up the tent because, being little miss "everything's-gotta-be-flat", i wasn't too convinced about the tent the night before. Today's camp site looks a little bit flatter. It was no fun trying to sleep on a piss. My friend's think that i have too much energy but actually, i am just a supreme fuss-pot! Steve will agree, I am sure! After the fussing around, we settle into our tents and wait for lunch to be served. Our table is making great progress up the mountain by the way!

Although we are at Barranco camp, a camp shared by climbers from most of the other routes, we are alone at this site. Mayunga, our chief guide, calls this his HQ. We are a little higher from the the other camp site when we can see at least 20, if not more, other tents. Looks quite fun though! A lot of activity going on down there. But we see more porters than climbers / trekkers (what are we called anyway???) Lunch today consist of pasta. Moses kindly informed the chef that i prefer not to eat meat & they so kindly prepare a separate sauce for me. I would normally prefer not to cause a fuss but judging from what the rest got, i was quite relieved.

After lunch, Steve & Anna decided to have a nap while Barney & I took a walk over to the other camp site with Moses to have a nose. We learn a bit more about our guides. Mayunga is some sort of local hero on the mountain. Everywhere he went, porters and guides seemed to hail him. Apparently, he discovered this route that opened up news ways to approach the peak - whereas before it was all about the Western Breach, which is far less assessable and far more dangerous. They don't use this route anymore as new routes have sprung from the first route he discovered. Moses himself was being greeted by all the porters and guides we passed. Later we are to learn that Moses' grandfather was the first African to ascent Kilimanjaro. How lucky we are to be with them?? All because no other company I approached would take us up this route. Mayunga is a jolly fella. He must be in his late 50's early 60's - possibly even in his mid 60's? He appears to be the strongest of them all though. He is also very con-si-en-cious (someone please help me spell this) of our safety. When we came down from our walk, there were 3 porters waiting for us, apparently to make sure we are ok.

<--- some posh looking tents

<--- mayunga's way

Dinner was fried shredded cabbage with onions and mixed veg stew (i think the others had mutton in theirs) As the sun fell, so did the temperature. Gloves out, fleece out, down jacket out, wooly hat out, ski socks out!! We didn't last very long sitting outside and went back into our tents as soon as we were done. So much for the cards and bananagrams that we hauled along for the trip. I couldn't even read my book.

<---- sunset (see sunrise on day 3)

At night, on one of my many toilet trips (which was just outside the tent by the way) i was treated to the most spectacular sight of stars. It was also almost full moon & without a cloud in sight, the mountain & peak were in clear sight. It was not possible to capture this with the camera we brought along (not that we have a better one) Although it was freezing - it must've been below zero - i am sure of this as there was frost on the tent, i stood out there to take in this breathtaking sight. Best toilet in the world!

Day 3 Barranco to Lava Camp 4630m

Sunrise breakfast at Barranco Camp with view of Kili peak in the background. This peak was illuminated by the moon & framed by the stars, the night before. It's FREEZING before the sun hits you. The change is so extreme here.

I caught little sleep the night before. I'm not very good at sleeping anyway so camping at altitude is not very fun for me. Luckily, i am still "young-ish" & can still function without much sleep. hahahahaha (*sarcasm*) So anyway, i am sure i caught some sleep but the cold woke me up this morning. After my experience at Mt Blanc, i've made a more conscious effort to ensure i will be warm enough. I have 2 sleeping bags among my warm stuff - but this is not to be enough :-(

I walk out & catch sight of the frost on the tent. This actually amuses & excites but i climb back into the tent & pack up, noting that the sun will hit us soon, but not yet. We are summoned for breakfast & sit in the shadow waiting for breakfast & waiting for the sun to hit us. It was quite exciting watching the sun approach!!

I really like this porridge thing!!!

But my digestive system is not doing what it should do & i am envious that everyone else is sleeping & pooping well!

We have a slightly heated discussion with Daniel at breakfast. As most were not feeling very well, we asked to change the plans slightly. We have decided that we do not wish to sleep in the crater (5700m) and instead would prefer if we went to Arrow Glacier & did an acclimatization walk to the crater but slept in Arrow Glacier for 2 nights. For reasons then unknown to us, this was not agreeable & Mayunga & Daniel seem to have stressful conversation with each other. At one point I believe Daniel insisted that we went to Arrow Glacier and decide but I was a bit annoyed about this & insisted that we do not sleep in the crater. So it was decided that we do not go to Arrow Glacier today & stop at Lava Camp. This sounded like a better idea, but it means we will have a long summit day.

After breakfast, we pose for a photo & make our way up to Lava Camp. It's a steeper but shorter walk today. The terrain is beginning to look like a desert strewn with volcanic rock & more of that "tree". Mt, Meru is visible throughout the walk. We play around with some yoga shots, mostly, it involved me stricking a pose while perching on the edge of a cliff or a boulder - but of course, you can't see this from the pictures....

<--mt meru

western breach

It starts to feel a little bit harder. My friends have gone quiet. It's probably the altitude. We have gone from the very flat Norwich to 4000+ meters in 4 days. I'm not very chatty myself. I don't really enjoy chatting while climbing (walking uphill) I find that there is so much going on in my body and mind at this time. Fascinating things - little battles in my head or thoughts that i do not seem to bother me at sea level, for example, thoughts about how amused my dad would be if he were still here today, etc. So i stay with my thoughts. My body feels strong and I am not struggling. I feel lucky. At the high altitude clinic in Nepal, I let them carry out some test on me & it seems my body copes well with altitude. It has nothing to do with fitness. (Contrary to popular belief, i am not very fit)

There is a last steep ascent up to the camp site, a bit of light scrambling and very dramatic view of Lava Tower. We are not alone at this camp tonight. There is a big group already camped out there. One of those posh tent group (but please remember, it's still a tent) on the way down but i am not sure which route they are on. Apparently, there are about 50 porters in the group!! They have 2 toilet tents with a sit down loo. I have toilet envy. the toilet provided at camp is not bad - a wooded shed with a hole - but i am glad it's there!! I was expecting to crap out in the open. Anyway, sorry to go on about toilets but it's one of those very real inconveniences you have to deal with. Easier if you're male & don't have to expose your whole backside & thighs to the cold just to have a peepee. I wish i had bought that she-wee.

Our table arrives & we get a new table cloth!! Lunch is served. It is actually very cold, even in the sun. I can't remember what was lunch but it looks like pasta in this picture. Anna & Steve express that they do not feel very well so after lunch, they decide to rest. Barney & I go off on another walk with Moses. I had wanted to take a walk up to a higher altitude but I think my suggestion was misunderstood as enthusiasm to take a walk. So Moses takes us for a walk, more or less downhill. But really, i can't see much to walk to. It was a bit like being on the moon, i would imagine. There is nothing much i can say about the walk really. We could have walked up Lava Tower but by the time we had come back from our little walk, I started to develop a headache, so i too decided to retire to my tent & rest.

So back in my tent, my headache intensifies and i take a half diamox. We have an early dinner out in the cold. It was a yummy vegetable curry stew of some sort with some pancakes and rice. I felt better after dinner but we all retired to bed. It was just too cold to sit outside and the sun had disappeared. Barney is not feeling too hot either. Seems like everyone is suffering some altitude sickness. To top that, Steve was having a cold of some sort and felt feverish.

Our tent is not very comfortable either tonight. We seem to have some rocks under us & between us. But at least it is quite flat. Some time in the night, my headache returns and becomes quite a scary experience. I could barely move my head. It felt like there was so much pressure in my head that it was just going to explode. I have no other way to describe it. I take more diamox and a nurofen. I think it must have looked scary too because Steve considered going to let Mayunga know. But the headache eases and i actually managed to sleep - i am not sure now if that was such a good idea. Live & learn. I should add that even the porters & our guide Daniel was sick.

It was difficult climbing out of the sleeping bag this morning even though i had most of my layers on. Again, there was no rush today as it was only going to be a short hike up to the next camp. I could hear the other party packing up & leaving. I am actually happy that it is morning. the nights are just too difficult for me. If i could just keep walking, i would probably do it! Once i am out of the tent & in the sun, i am alive and happy again ;-)

packing up at Lava Camp

Day 4 Lava Camp - Arrow Glacier Camp 4800m

I have to be honest here - i don't remember much about walking from Lava Camp here. I do remember that it was a short & we got to camp before lunch. Anna and Barney are not feeling very well. Barney was apparently feeling constantly nauseous. Steve was working on holding back his cold. When didn't stop long at camp and walked on to "acclimatize" I say this because we didn't go very far - probably another hour or so up to about 5000m. If you refer to the 2 pictures above, the route is about straight up the center of the picture. It is also going to be our summit route. I get a bit frustrated here because there seems to be a reluctance on Daniel's part to walk up any further. (read on & this will be clear) I get a bit anxious that tomorrow, we will go from 4800 - almost 6000m. Daniel didn't explain why we could not go any further & i just assume that (1) he didn't think it was necessary (2) he was concerned that we were going to make ourselves tired. We all decided to walk on for about another half an hour & at this point Anna leans over her walking pole and says she doesn't feel well.....the conversation goes like this:

Daniel : "you ok?"

Anna : " i don't feel good"

Me: "you feel sick?"

Daniel: "you have a headache?"

Anna: "my legs ache"

Me, Daniel: "your legs????"

"ahh, lets go"

hahahahaha it did make it all a bit lighter in that moment

We walked for another half an hour and descended back to camp. On the way down, we notice some stick structure. Apparently it marks the grave of a Norwegian climber who had died on the route and had requested to be left there. I've not been able to find any news about him on google. the details of his death is unclear. Daniel explains that he took an overdose of medicine and combined with altitude sickness died.

We get back to camp & wait for lunch. Conversation now is limited to the climb. I can't even begin to explain how cold it is here. The porters let us use one of their tents to have our lunch in. It's a bit of a squeeze but it beats sitting out in the open cold. Even in the sun it feels cold. Very sweetly, they have placed 4 stones in the tent for us to sit on. Lunch is interesting - pancakes and fried cabbage. Barney has a pancake with fried cabbage & sugar........ & enjoys it..... note to self: i promised to make this for him when we get back. He is not feeling good and has thrown up several times from Lava Camp. Anna has also thrown up. Steve..... i have to say..... he amazes me. In Nepal, he was very sick with fever and cold & still made it all the way up to Kala Patar. So i think he is being quietly resilient.

Anyway, we also notice that some of our porters have no gloves and are using socks to cover their hands. Should have collected some unwanted warm stuff from home. Next time....

We also notice that they have a single skin tent - & here I was complaining about our tent - but... hang on..... ok so we didn't pay anything like some of the other clients had paid - something like US$3000-5000 per person. We paid US$1490 and i think for that, they could have provided a better tent. Our tent was drafty & the zips hardly worked so going in & out for a wee was a right pain in the...... This was going to be especially frustrating at this camp. But to be honest, if i had been better equipped myself, it would not have been that big a deal. So anyway, i think they key to sleeping in a single tent is.... numbers! I believe 4 of them slept in this tent.

<---lunch

After lunch we all went back into our tents to rest. I feel ok today. No more headaches. Phew! The sun is beating down on the tent & it actually warms up in the tent. So much that we actually have to open it! Nice!!! We enjoy this for a bit.

Yesterday, we also discovered that if you put some carbohydrate powder into the drink, the water taste much better. Everyone prepares water for the summit in this way. The guides take it a bit further and add the Vitamin C tablets we brought along as well.

Not long after, the sun sets and temperatures dip once again, this time, it feels arctic! The guides and porters were very kind and noticed that it was a bit tight in the lunch tent, so dinner was served in the kitchen tent instead. I am not allowed coffee today, or milk. I think dinner was some fried chicken and pancakes and french toast. I think most of us could have eaten more. It's something like 5pm and we have to try to get some sleep to wake up at 3.30am for a 4am start.

As the sun sets, my struggle starts. I had everything on, including a hot bottle of water in my sleeping bag. I just felt a constant draft on my neck and my face and i could not do anything about it. It could have been in my head. I decided not to take any diamox unless i feel sick. I actually decided to do this at the start of the trek because i wanted to know if my body could do without. I had them in my pocket just in case. I did think that i would take some before we start our summit attempt. So far, i had taken 1/2 on day 2 and 1 1/2 at Lava Camp.

Steve is also struggling to sleep so that is nice for me. It's not that we are talking much but there's some talking and laughing. Steve had given up going outside for a pee (last night) and has resorted to using my naglene water bottle ;-) That was the laughing. I tried once and i was rubbish at it & it worked out easier for me to just go outside. When i did step out this night, again, i was presented with the most spectacular sight in an almost full moon. It is beautiful. I also take a moment to enjoy this as i know that tomorrow, we start our descend. I don't think i have seen quite so many stars packed into a night sky.