The final stretch! (Courtesy of RTS)
During my twilight leak, just before the sunrise, Mt. Baker glowed in the post-full moon light. Jason, in his eternal quest for the perfect shot apparently spent 20 minutes in the foggy cold earlier (at 3 a.m.!) getting long exposure shots. Our neighbours had already left camp to continue their descent as we were having breakfast (oats, baked beans on toast with tea! Bring it on!). Green beans were on the dinner menu last night and this morning's beans were going to guarantee a rather trumpetous orchestra of multiple gaseous emissions. The lower air pressure at higher altitudes will surely contribute to this.
Constant cloud drifts across the glacial peaks
View the sublime and serene nature of the cloud movement
Margherita Camp (at 4,485 metres altitude) appears more austere than the rest, but the setting was truly majestic with Mt. Stanley looming above us. The Stanley Plateau glacier was visible, and beckoning us to our ultimate challenge. From Day 1, Richard insisted on never mentioning our target by name lest we invoke bad luck. Superstition aside, it can help one focus on the task at hand at that very moment instead of glory hunting and getting distracted. The weather changed very quickly. As we settled into our cosy cabin, the clouds drifted in engulfing our abode and creating smoky silhouettes on the mountain range. The lads were already out updating their diaries on the rocks in a clearing, as I walked out of the cabin with my fast evaporating tea to admire the view. Vegetable stew with noodles was all we could store in our systems to turbocharge our ascent.
We earnestly woke up at 3.30am to do final touches before our 4 am departure. We had a second guide today, Abel, who was scheduled to join us for the final ascent as per RTS (Rwenzori Trekking Service) regulations. The guides and porters struggled to get equipment (crampons, harnesses, ice axes, etc.) and breakfast together on time. However we eventually did set off (guides and trekkers only) not too long after the planned time. The was certainly time to do the business in the highest open air latrine in Uganda and, I was disappointed to say, the most rudimentary and foul: it featured a round shower rail, curtain and a pit, and let's just say that most previous visitors missed the target.
Base camp
View of the RMS Elena Hut located at 4,540m altitude
Under the moonlight we climbed up a rocky incline to Elena Camp, which is run by the RMS ( Rwenzori Mountaineering Services) as their base camp. After a while and at this point already breathless, I looked up some steep cliffs. Ropes were already laid out at key steep points on the ascent trail and this was the first one, where we get hooked at our harnesses by our guides and climb up to the rope support. It is pretty much a pulley system where you place your feet wide apart on the cliff face and pull yourself up on the rope. I had to learn fast and trust the guide. Thank God it was dark as I did not want to know what lay beneath me whilst I was already halfway up. By now there was virtually no vegetation and the scramble continued towards the big glacier on Stanley Plateau.
Richard preparing our harnesses and crampons the day before
A starry twilight (Courtesy of J. Chow)
Jase in abseil action under the experienced eye of Abel
It was time to put our crampons on in order to aid our glacial walk. It was not easy working the bindings on the crampons so once again we were assisted by the guides. Also our ice axes were out because with each step on the ice we needed to dig in the axe: the long end for gentle inclines and the top sharp end for steeper ones. All five of us were tied together by the harnesses, Richard at the front, Abel at the back. This is important in case one of us falls into a crevasse. Richard, at the top would have to dig his heels and axes (he carried several, just in case) into the ice. Luckily the main crevasses were visible and narrow. Stanley glacier starts steep then goes gentle until it tapers off. Richard would go up about 10m with slack rope until it tightens and until he finds a good anchor point for this crampons then we can tug ourselves up. This was the sequence until the end of the glacial trail slightly to the right at the top. The footprints from the previous day's ascent were still visible, which also meant that it had not snowed for about 24 hours. We kept our crampons on to save time. We actually need to go downhill in order to access the Margherita Glacier.
For our efforts, we were rewarded with a gorgeous sunrise vista and panorama of the Margherita glacier
Looking back at Stanley glacier (Courtesy of J. Chow)
Another glance back but this time after negotiating the steep section of Margherita glacier (Courtesy of J. Chow)
As I waited for Jason to complete one tough climb, I took time to soak it all up in motion picture
We were now at the second climbing point, this time to abseil. The sun had by now emerged from the eastern horizon just behind Mt. Baker. The sight was clear and truly glorious, despite my preoccupation with my physical state, equipment and suppression of all negative thoughts. The edge of Margherita Glacier is an interesting sight. It does not fold over its edge like that of Stanley. Once instead sees its full cross section and the extent of melting under the rising sun's rays. At the top of the glacier there are crystal blue icicles. This glacier is steeper but shorter than the one we just battled, therefore this climb was a greater struggle. My breath was really deep and short due to the part 4 to 5 hours workout up to an altitude already over 5,000m.
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Margherita Peak still stood above us on a very narrow cone of rocks. We undid our crampons and left them at a point where we would have lunch after enjoying the peak experience. The goal may have been just at my fingertips but my body experienced time and space completely differently. Much as the final climb to summit was about 20 metres taking about 5 minutes, it really felt like like 200m within 50 minutes. It was by now difficult to see far out as a considerable number of clouds had come in. Richard, James and Jason were already at the summit just as I caught size of the grand prize and at the same time felt like an oxygen deprived, overweight ninety year old. Gong! The sound of the metallic cover of the summit plaque when struck. We did it!
Crevices and icicles providing the paradoxical outstanding beauty and danger of the Margherita Glacier (Courtesy of J. Chow)
Got my game face on before the final onslaught (Courtesy of J. Chow)
The 3 amigos @ Margherita Peak. The 3rd highest point in Africa at an altitude of 5,109 metres
After 30 minutes of revelling we needed to start descending. I was about to learn why the descent (all the way to Kilembe!) is the hardest. The panting had only just begun. But let's think about that after lunch! Richard unleashed jumbo size Cadbury's milk chocolate bars, followed by a massive load of German rye bread with peanut butter. I had the impression that this menu must have been a unanimous result of feedback from previous clients of RTS on the ultimate conqueror's lunch.
We needed to get to Hunwick's Camp by dusk that day. It had been snowing on the glaciers and many parts were soft and harder to move through even whilst on crampons. Other parts, particularly at the bottom of Margherita Glacier, were very icy and required a different walking technique with crampons on: digging the toe end in first as you descend with your back facing away from the glacier. Any descent is hard on the joints, and also my local muscle work going down was taxing. I was really panting at the interglacial stage and Richard made a decision to carry my daypack as we were already running late. Normally one is expected to pass through Margherita Camp just after 11 am but our E.T.A. (estimated time of arrival) was approximately 3 pm. 4 hours late!
Mission Accomplished
I have to say that the guides and my trekking buddies, particularly Richard, were very patient and supportive. Jase (already training for the London marathon this year!) and James (former park ranger with lots of trekking experience!) coped well throughout the climb today. We were already slowing down on the ascent and at no point did anyone suggest I give up, most importantly on the ascent. Failure wasn't in my vocabulary at this point, on the descent. The ease of the load quickened my pace and I went ahead with Abel for the final abseil. We were hit by more hail, the rocks got even more slippery, and at some points we needed to slide down the rocks. The trudging, sliding, and clambering seemed eternal. We were almost back at our camp, and on passing RMS's Elena camp we came across a Japanese trekker (an RMS client) on his way to summit the following day. The Abel and the Japanese trekker's guide exchanged news and I still had the energy to try my broken Japanese on the visibly exhausted but very brave man, who must have been over 60 years old!
The lack of visibility, and rock to rock monotony ( a sign that I was reduced to take-every-moment-as-it-comes survival mode) made me not even recognise that we were at Margherita Camp as soon as the arrived. The others followed not far behind. We now had 1 hour to pack up, eat a snack, and rehydrate before heading down to Hunwick's camp to terminate the day. I was just barely hanging on. I hadn't urinated since that morning. A worrying sign, despite the steady sipping of water throughout the day. I was beginning to feel weak after all that exposure to the elements, but I had to push on with the team. It was still wet as we renegotiated the rocks down the valley that we had climbed up only the day before. I moved slowly and in the end Cyril and Richard held back with me. I tried to drink as much fluids as possible back at Margherita Camp but I still felt that I needed more water. I had almost ran out of water in my flask and camel-back and Richard proposed that we extract water from a Mt. Baker glacial steam, but we were 1 hour away from it. I continued sipping the little water I had left and munched on a few of my snack bars until then.
ah....now what's next....
It was 6.20 pm, the sun was dipping over the horizon, and Richard confirmed that at my current pace we would reach Hunwick's camp by 7.30 pm. As is with most struggles, it is the final leg that is the hardest. The boggy tussock grass area and the slippery incline to the camp was a mini expedition in itself. My legs felt like they were supporting an old, fat person who hadn't eaten properly that afternoon. My backpack was light, as Cyril carried more of my stuff, which I was grateful for, but I felt that my thinking brain was in heavy sleep and I was on auto-pilot mode, just barely showing vital signs of consciousness. To a casual observer I might as well would have been a zombie. I landed on the famous broad walk that goes down to the slippery latrine of doom, and met my trekking colleagues. Finally we could celebrate the day's monumental achievement with high fives and pats on the back! I heard mumblings about something that would make a caveman exalt in joy: camp fire and food! However I couldn't even put away a spoonful of the stew that night. I had no appetite and was extremely sleepy.
I later on enquired at the UWA ranger's station about Kenyan nationals who have conquered Margherita Peak. The ranger there said that in his 5 years or so experience with the UWA he has not encountered any. There exists a claim on ''the youngest Kenya woman'' to achieve this feat (in August 2008) on someone's photo album available online, but I haven't had the opportunity to obtain any other source material from a newspaper or public archive. Since the conclusion of the civil war in the late 1980s the national park was created in 1991, but tourism was slow to pick up. It was after 2001 that the numbers increased but the breakdown of the origins of the trekkers / climbers is not yet clear to me. So, in an attempt to tease out the truth, I am going to go ahead and say that I am the first Kenyan man to conquer Margherita Peak in the 21st Century. Whoever dares to challenge the claim, show yourself now!
Mission Accomplished
I have to say that the guides and my trekking buddies, particularly Richard, were very patient and supportive. Jase (already training for the London marathon this year!) and James (former park ranger with lots of trekking experience!) coped well throughout the climb today. We were already slowing down on the ascent and at no point did anyone suggest I give up, most importantly on the ascent. Failure wasn't in my vocabulary at this point, on the descent. The ease of the load quickened my pace and I went ahead with Abel for the final abseil. We were hit by more hail, the rocks got even more slippery, and at some points we needed to slide down the rocks. The trudging, sliding, and clambering seemed eternal. We were almost back at our camp, and on passing RMS's Elena camp we came across a Japanese trekker (an RMS client) on his way to summit the following day. The Abel and the Japanese trekker's guide exchanged news and I still had the energy to try my broken Japanese on the visibly exhausted but very brave man, who must have been over 60 years old!
The lack of visibility, and rock to rock monotony ( a sign that I was reduced to take-every-moment-as-it-comes survival mode) made me not even recognise that we were at Margherita Camp as soon as the arrived. The others followed not far behind. We now had 1 hour to pack up, eat a snack, and rehydrate before heading down to Hunwick's camp to terminate the day. I was just barely hanging on. I hadn't urinated since that morning. A worrying sign, despite the steady sipping of water throughout the day. I was beginning to feel weak after all that exposure to the elements, but I had to push on with the team. It was still wet as we renegotiated the rocks down the valley that we had climbed up only the day before. I moved slowly and in the end Cyril and Richard held back with me. I tried to drink as much fluids as possible back at Margherita Camp but I still felt that I needed more water. I had almost ran out of water in my flask and camel-back and Richard proposed that we extract water from a Mt. Baker glacial steam, but we were 1 hour away from it. I continued sipping the little water I had left and munched on a few of my snack bars until then.
ah....now what's next....
It was 6.20 pm, the sun was dipping over the horizon, and Richard confirmed that at my current pace we would reach Hunwick's camp by 7.30 pm. As is with most struggles, it is the final leg that is the hardest. The boggy tussock grass area and the slippery incline to the camp was a mini expedition in itself. My legs felt like they were supporting an old, fat person who hadn't eaten properly that afternoon. My backpack was light, as Cyril carried more of my stuff, which I was grateful for, but I felt that my thinking brain was in heavy sleep and I was on auto-pilot mode, just barely showing vital signs of consciousness. To a casual observer I might as well would have been a zombie. I landed on the famous broad walk that goes down to the slippery latrine of doom, and met my trekking colleagues. Finally we could celebrate the day's monumental achievement with high fives and pats on the back! I heard mumblings about something that would make a caveman exalt in joy: camp fire and food! However I couldn't even put away a spoonful of the stew that night. I had no appetite and was extremely sleepy.
I later on enquired at the UWA ranger's station about Kenyan nationals who have conquered Margherita Peak. The ranger there said that in his 5 years or so experience with the UWA he has not encountered any. There exists a claim on ''the youngest Kenya woman'' to achieve this feat (in August 2008) on someone's photo album available online, but I haven't had the opportunity to obtain any other source material from a newspaper or public archive. Since the conclusion of the civil war in the late 1980s the national park was created in 1991, but tourism was slow to pick up. It was after 2001 that the numbers increased but the breakdown of the origins of the trekkers / climbers is not yet clear to me. So, in an attempt to tease out the truth, I am going to go ahead and say that I am the first Kenyan man to conquer Margherita Peak in the 21st Century. Whoever dares to challenge the claim, show yourself now!
Also check out the The Rwenzori Journey - Day 5 and 6 - Photo Album here (Updated in December 2014 with new photos!).
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Postscript:
The shrinking glaciers of Mount Stanley (Courtesy of Crystalinks)
The glaciers of the entire Rwenzori mountain range, mostly notably Mount Stanley, are receding and the pace is currently accelerating. There is no better reason to go experience this beautiful part of the world, be aware of the changes happening to its climate, its impact on people and their environment, and to see where you fit in.
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