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Route:
Hoogte en afstandstabel:
De 7 en 8 daagse Lemosho
Glades routes via de noordelijke kant met uitzicht over Amboseli NP in Kenia,
heeft het voordeel niet samen te vallen met de meer gebruikte Machame en
Umbwe route.
Daarom adviseren wij
deze rustige noordelijke route via de noordelijke ijsvelden naar Third Cave
en de Schoolhut. met name als u met een grotere groep klimmers- (10) en
begeleidersgroep (35) omhoog gaat.
Een verblijf in de
Reusch Crater en een tocht naar de Ash pit, maakt deze beklimming nog meer
bijzonder.
Kilimanjaro via Lemosho, 8 Day (2009) Northern Route - including crater
night
Day 1
Transfer and Registration. You will normally be collected at 0730 from the
neighborhood of Kilimanjaro Airport..
Your driver will transfer you 111km and some 2 hours 10 minutes to
Londorossi Gate where we complete registration formalities. Climbers should
have their passport numbers for their registry entries (unless under 16
years of age or East African citizens), and are advised to have kept their
passports and valuables in the hotel safe (excluding the amount they will
budget for tipping their crew).
Following registration we continue a further 12km by vehicle to the route’s
start point. This final drive can take anywhere between 45 minutes and 1
hour 30, depending on road conditions. Please be very careful in wet weather
or following a spell of recent rains as the road can become badly damaged
and there is risk of being jolted inside the vehicle.
When the driver delivers you to the start point please also note that
following any transfer it is customary to tip the driver; around $5 - $10
per group is usual.
When the road is in poor condition it is sometimes not safe or even possible
for the vehicle to reach all the way to the road head. In this event there
will be some 180 additional metres of vertical ascent to trek and 1.9km
required to reach the start point.
From Lemosho Start Point (2424m) to Forest Camp (2821m) the distance is
5.4km,
over 400m of elevation gain. You are advised to stop regularly today and to
move quietly in the hope of sighting wildlife near to the trail. Sightings
of small antelope are virtually unique to the Lemosho and Rongai Routes.
Day 2
Trek from Forest Camp to Shira 1 Camp (3508m) on western edge of Shira
Plateau. It is normal to experience mild headaches on this day which should
be alleviated with paracetamol. Those choosing to take Diamox should begin
their course this morning with half a tablet (125mg) in the morning and the
other half with supper in the evening.
The distance to Shira 1 is
7.7km.
Optional afternoon acclimatisation ascent of Shira Ridge 3959m (Kilimanjaro’s
3rd volcanic summit) for arguably best views of Kibo (clear weather
permitting).
Descend to sleep lower at Shira One 3508m for overnight. Excursion distance
=
7.6km.
Day 3:
Trek from Shira 1 Camp (3508m) to Moir Hut (4166m) across Shira Plateau
before rising along the flank of a re-entrant.
Height gain 658m. Distance =
9.4km.
Sunset acclimatisation before dinner to 4305m to ridge. Excursion Distance =
1.9km.
Day 4:
Trek clockwise around the northern slopes of Kilimanjaro from Moir Hut
(4166m) to 3rd Caves Camp (3971m). Gradual traversing of Kili with classic
views to the North-West, North and North-East. Distance =
17km.
Day 5:
After gently traversing the northern slopes of Kilimanjaro, today we trek
upwards from 3rd Caves Camp (3971m) to School Hut (4722m).
Shorter distance than previous 2 days, but 751m of height gain. Distance =
4.9km.
Day 6:
Avoiding loose scree slopes above Kibo Hut, we ascend from School Hut
(4722m) via Hans Meyer Cave (5243m) and Gilman’s Point (5708m), to Uhuru
Peak (5895m). Descend to Crater Camp (5729m) for overnight (subject to
guide’s concurring that all are adequately acclimatised).
For quietest summit assault on Kilimanjaro we recommend summit bid to begin
at 0400 - 0500, however for greater likelihood of clear summit views or for
a dawn summit, we quit camp at around 2330 – 0100 (guide determines start
time according to his perception of group’s pace).
Around midnight (your guide will judge the time that is optimal for you
based on your pace thus far) quit camp for the assault via Gilman’s Point
(5708m) to the summit.
Tonight is very difficult - particularly the final 550m - and you’ll need to
commit to fight for the
summit. You will inevitably feel like giving up and going to sleep. This is
normal and can be overcome with perseverance.
When resting please ensure you only stand or sit and
do not lie down or close your eyes.
Please trust your guide; he is very adept at judging whether your condition
will allow safe progress or whether you have succumbed to a potentially
dangerous condition and to proceed will not be safe. Nausea and headaches
are normal and around a quarter of climbers will vomit at or near Gilman’s
Point.
While very uncomfortable, these are not symptoms that are indicative of
being at risk, per se. The onset of cerebral and pulmonary oedema are marked
by distinctive early warning symptoms that your guide is capable of
identifying. Please maintain regular dialogue with him and frequently update
him on how you are feeling.
When you reach Gilman’s Point you will sit and rest. At this point the body
often thinks you have finished your uphill fight and will be trying to
coerce you into giving up and turning around. While you may genuinely
believe that you have already exhausted your reserves in reaching this
point, this is actually very unlikely to be so. Remember that you are only
187 vertical metres short of the summit (via Stella Point), the journey from
here is much less steep, and you have plenty of time for further pauses. If
you do feel the need to give up at Gilman’s Point please proceed towards the
summit for just two minutes before making your final decision. In most cases
this act of re-establishing momentum is enough to persuade the mind and body
to co-operate with your intentions and you will
ordinarily find hidden reserves for a final push, reserves that you were not
aware you still had.
On the summit your guide will advise how much time you can spend there in
consideration of your condition, your timings, and the weather. The brain
does not function very intelligently at this altitude so please remember to
take many photographs in all directions or you will probably regret not
having done so at a later stage.
From the summit you will continue to press westwards, passing Furtwangler
Point (5894m), before descending a steep slope to Crater Camp (5729m).
Having settled and enjoyed refreshments at Crater Camp you have the option
of requesting that your guide accompany you to the top of the Breach Wall to
watch the sunset over the Shira Plateau.
Distances on Summit Day
School Hut to Summit =
5.4km
Summit to Crater Camp =
0.8km.
Optional evening excursion to top of Western Breach (5725m) for sunset views
over Lava Tower and the Shira Plateau. Excursion distance =
1.7km.
Day 7:
This morning, provided climbers are feeling strong and motivated and are
judged by the guide to be in good health, we rise up from Crater Camp
towards the very centre of Kibo and the Reusch Ash Pit viewpoint at 5845m.
From here views are enjoyed towards the summit and into the centre of the
volcanic cone where fume roles and sulphur emissions can often be seen.
Strength permitting, we continue to circumnavigate the Ash Pit towards the
Eastern Icefields and Stella Point, where we begin the descent to Barafu
Camp, descending via its loose scree slopes. There is clear logic is
descending a loose scree slope; it is far easier on the knees and as the
ground collapses underfoot if you take short quick strides it’s easy to
maintain momentum. We do short bursts and take regular rests, pausing to
photograph the Saddle beneath us and Kenya to our left.
Descent from Stella Point (5752m) to Mweka Camp (3090m) via lunch at Barafu
Camp (4681m), or elsewhere, as per guide’s discretion before continuing to
Mweka (3090m) where we overnight.
Distances on Day 7:
Depending on which features are incorporated a crater excursion will cover
from
4.3km to 6.2km.
Stella Point to Barafu Camp:
3.3km
Barafu to Mweka Camp:
6.3km
Day 8:
This morning we descend from Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate (1641m) where we sign
the summit register. After signing we descend a further 15 minutes on foot
to Mweka Village to meet our transport, as the park authorities prefer
groups’ vehicles to avoid congesting the area immediately beside Mweka gate
as this is an important thoroughfare for casualty evacuations and is served
by a single track road.
Transfer from the gate back to the KIA Lodge. You should return back
sometime between 2 and 5pm, depending on your descent pace.
Distance
from Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate is
8.5km.
Typical tips for mountain crew tend to average some 10-15% of climb
cost. All climbers’ contributions are usually added together and the
total amount is presented to the chief guide at Mweka Gate. Our guides
always divide these tips fairly amongst their according to a customary
scale that is determined by the responsibilities and experience of each
staff member.
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